Just a quick post about something I ran across today. I actually have a much more in-depth post coming up on the Book of Job that should be ready in the next week or so. But while I was working today, I listened to an interview that Stephen Colbert gave to Salt + Light, which is a Catholic media site that I’d never heard of before.
Colbert is one of my favorite people. If I could choose to meet any celebrity, he’d be one of my top choices. I just find him incredibly interesting. I’ve known for a long time that he’s Catholic, though my wife and I have often wondered if his Catholicism is more cultural than sincere. So I was excited to see that he’d given a fairly lengthy interview with a Catholic priest, and I thought many of you would be interested in it as well:
Finding Truth 
I’d rather meet Shakira, but that’s just me.
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I’m all pope-d out.
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Gary, why don’t you come over here and give us a hand, or two –?
https://yourphariseefriend.wordpress.com/2015/09/16/why-i-left-jesus-by-fred/
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I like Colbert but I get why one would want to meet Shakira too 😉 personally Vin Diesel does it for me lol
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I like Stephen Colbert. One thing while watching this video that I noticed was that he seems genuinely happy and at peace. We could argue over what makes him that way, but I’d rather not; I envy his apparent contentment and approachability. Plus, he sounds intelligent and well read – something I’d like to achieve. And then there’s his beard – it speaks for itself.
There were a few things he said that stuck out to me,
“Faith can’t be argued, faith has to be felt.”
“Logic itself will not lead me toward God, but my love of the world and my gratitude toward it will.”
For the first one, I think he is right. We argue over logic and what is said versus what isn’t said, compared to what we see in science or history, and what have you, but when I was a believer, it wasn’t those things that held my belief, it was something else.
For the second, I can sort of see this point. I cannot accept it completely as I cannot help but think of all the other faiths and religions and gods, and could it honestly be said that love will only lead on to the God of the bible and away from all else? Hardly, as it would seem to indicate that only the loving would be found in Christianity, which isn’t so, and that the loving would only be Christian, which also of course isn’t so. But maybe if “god” is used as a personification of the perfect forms or perfection itself, then I could possibly buy into this statement for completely.
And I can see where love is most important. Whether it leads you to religion or somewhere else, it is love that mends issues and joins people and leads towards progress. While I don’t believe in the divine origins of the bible, I can still see many good things in it, and still find myself reciting old passages in my head when in search of bettering myself or reassessing my priorities or when reviewing my own life and its many shortcomings.
Maybe anything that causes us to examine ourselves and that provokes us to help others and improve our own selves is good.
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@William
Not only will logic itself not lead us to religion, logic leads us away from religion.
Also: if examining ourselves and provoking us to improve and help others was ALL it did, whatever it we are talking about is good. If, however, the it we are talking about also divides us into US and OTHERS, SAVED and LOST, etc so that others must conform to how we think it should be, then it is not so good.
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I do agree. Years ago I had believed the Christianity was only good, then immediately after my deconversion I was bitter toward it seeing it mostly as bad – but now, after the smoke has cleared, i think i can see more clearly the good and the bad.
If someone believes it and is not only harmless, but empathetic and compassionate and loving individuals, then i personally see no need to combat them on their beliefs. I may discuss here or there, but i would be content to let it rest at agree to disagree.
However, like you point out, they be divisive, spiteful and hateful, then I it may be our duty to combat such.
I also agree that reason would lead us away from religion and I think that is what brought me out of it. But I dont want to suggest that a reasonable person is always perfectly reasonable, so I see some leeway there and I believe that reasonable people can and do forego reason for reasonable pursuits – like love and self improvement. Their goal is reasonable, but the path they take to get there may not be – if that makes sense.
Like blankets add no security, yet many feel comforted by them just the same. If someone’s security blanket is their religion, and if they create no harm by using it, then I can let them be.
But I still want to stress that just because the blanket offers no real security that it doesn’t serve many other real purposes. Religion and the specifically the bible still has good teachings and thoughts in it, even if it is bogus overall.
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“If, however, the it we are talking about also divides us into US and OTHERS, SAVED and LOST, etc so that others must conform to how we think it should be, then it is not so good.”
Great comment Exrelayman . This is the defense we should all use when engaging “the believers”
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the same could be said about SMART and DUMB, or RATIONAL v IRRATIONAL, etc.
I just dont want to guilty of the same things they are, disguising it as reason.
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That was a wonderful interview. I was most impressed by Stephen Colbert. I actually do wish that his version of religion was true. But unfortunately I fear it is not.
As an aside I was glad to see that they like me find the philosophical arguments of Anselm of Canterbury wholly unsatisfying.
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Great interview 🙂
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