[Buddha-l] Re: it's not about belief

[Richard P. Hayes]

On Tue, 2006-01-03 at 11:05 -0500, Curt Steinmetz wrote:

> The idea that 90% of humanity is "able" to hold beliefs without 
> evidence, while the other 10% is incapable of this, assumes that human 
> intellectual history began with the First Council of Nicaea, which it 
> did not. In fact, it nearly ended with the First Council of Nicaea! 
> Prior to that time anyone who believed things without evidence was 
> considered mentally or morally deficient - or both. As they should be.

After this beginning Herr Steinmetz treats us to a brief introduction to
Greek philosophy, which is in its own way illuminating but entirely
beside the point. That Greek philosophers soundly rejected the holding
of beliefs without evidence would be evidence against the claim that 90%
of humanity is genetically predisposed to hold beliefs without evidence
only if it could be shown that Greek philosophers made up more than 10%
of the human population. In fact, they did not.

Yes, it is true that many Greek philosophers favored reason. No, it is
not true that the Greek philosophers were heeded by more than a small
minority of Greeks. The philosophers were then, as now, more often than
not laughingstocks to the playwrights and the common people and
unwelcome thorns in the sides of politicians. So it is not true that the
world was all light and reason until the Nicene creed came on the scene.
Yes, the Nicene creed is a splendid example of human "thinking" at its
very worst, but it cannot be given credit for making human thinking any
worse. It was a product of the general inability of the population to
think clearly, not the cause of that inability. 

Mr Steinmetz, I suggest that you give up your attempts to turn
Christianity into a uniquely savage enemy of reason. It is a savage
enemy of reason, to be sure, but (to paraphrase your hero, Bob Dylan)
"in this it is not so unique." One can find examples of savagery of
equal magnitude anywhere where one can find human beings.

-- 
Richard Hayes
***
"When the power of love is greater than the love of power,
we will have peace."    ---Jimi Hendrix