This is part five of a series. Part one is here. Part two is here. Part three is here. Part four is here. In the last post, I talked about the “Practical Approach” to religious claims. In this concluding post, I expand on this further and talk about adopting a reasonable approach to religion. Toward Reasonable Religion When you follow the practical approach, you accept that no matter what church you belong to, it is important to update your religious…
This is part four of a series. Part one is here. Part two is here. Part three is here. Part five is here. Last post, started talking about the first three of four possible reasonable approaches to religious claims: 1) the gaps approach; 2) the symbolic approach; 3) the rejection approach; and 4) the practical approach. In this post, I talk about my favored approach, the practical approach (presentist eclecticism). The Practical Approach (Presentist Eclecticism) The practical approach is to…
This is part three of a series. Part one is here. Part two is here. Part four is here. Part five is here. Last post, I talked about the problems with adopting a literal approach to religions’ claims. As alternatives to the literal approach to religious teachings, I listed four reasonable approaches to religious claims beyond just relying on statements from purported authorities: 1) the gaps approach; 2) the symbolic approach; 3) the rejection approach; and 4) the practical approach….
This is part two of a series. Part one is here. Part three is here. Part four is here. Part five is here. Last post, I talked about the great benefits that have come from religion, but also about how many of the great religions’ cosmological claims have been proven false. In this post, I’ll talk about the problem with adopting a literal approach to religions’ claims. Much of what our ancestors believed about cosmology is plainly contradicted by what…
This is part one of a series. Part two is here. Part three is here. Part four is here. Part five is here. Over the tens of thousands of years of human existence, human cultures have developed much knowledge about creating and maintaining good relationships and building communities. In the development of human society over the last 100,000 years, humans moved from simple hunter-gatherer tribes to societies of increasing complexity and size. The large and complex societies of the last…