August 21, 2007

Religions without God

An interesting thought from "Western Civilization, Our Tradition" by James Kurth:

The rejection of the Christian faith by Western elites does not mean that they have rejected all faiths. Despite the claims and conceits of rationalists and scientists, every human being believes in some things that cannot be proven (and therefore cannot be established by reason) or that cannot be seen (and therefore cannot be established by science) and that therefore have to be taken on faith. Ever since the coming of the Enlightenment, Western elites have adhered to a variety of secularist and universalist faiths, which in effect have been religions without God.

I have been at a loss for words when it comes to explaining how non-religion is a religion itself, and Kurth may have taken care of it...

Posted by alan at 3:40 PM

June 13, 2005

Tolerance

From David Limbaugh's book, Persecution:

The postmodern rule, more accurately formulated, is that all ideas must be tolerated except those that refuse to accept the doctrine that all ideas are equally valid.

Posted by alan at 8:35 AM | TrackBack

June 10, 2005

Perpetual adolescence

It's of no surprise to me that Theodore Dalrymple has written another article I want to quote from in the most recent National Review ("Looking for Boundaries"):

It is true, nevertheless, that precocity is no longer a merely individual phenomenon, but one that occurs on a social scale: It often seems to me that adolescense is now reached very early in life, but then is never really left.

I haven't thought it or said it as concisely, but I couldn't agree more with the second sentence...

Posted by alan at 10:02 AM | TrackBack

June 2, 2005

Information Overload

Speaking of interesting articles, today's "A Slice of Infinity" installment is worth your time to read. Even if you don't believe in God, "Seeking Sense in an Age of Confusion" posits a potential reason why we struggle for order as we are deluged by items seeking our attention. An excerpt:

The voices clamoring for our attention range from the mystical voices of popular sitcoms, to the voices that promise an unbiased and serious engagement with issues and concerns. We are left with the impression that the world is one of chaos, a mess in need of individual, even if incompatible, interpretations. And yet we find such an impression troubling. If the world is one of chaos, why do we find in ourselves the desire for order, meaning, and purpose?

The world we live in is a created order. It functions by design and intent of a purposeful Creator. The denial or refusal of God, God's wisdom, or God's way tends to lead to a substitution of worship, wisdom, and way, not a complete vacancy of it....

Posted by alan at 10:35 AM | TrackBack

Playground rules

Interesting editorial, "Enough Already With Kid Gloves," in yesterday's USA Today. For instance, will having teachers grade in a color other than red help children's self-esteem, and does it matter?

Posted by alan at 10:30 AM | TrackBack