Socrates Cafe participants gather to debate: "'Doubt is a dirty word in religious circles,' said Steve Roecklein, 59, a social worker who lives in northeast Minneapolis."
This is a fascinating article; maybe I only think that because of that philosophy major. But, anyway, I think that "doubt" is a subtantial component of my faith, not a challenge to it.
The reason I'm so ardently pro-life is because I have no idea if a fetus is a "human person" or not; it seems to have pretty good indications that it is, and when in doubt, we shouldn't intentionally kill things that are human. The reason that I'm an evangelical Christian is because Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Maybe he was misunderstood or crazy or evil, but we have pretty good indications that he wasn't any of those things, and if he was right then we'd better listen to what he says and follow him!
So, in my experience, "religion" doesn't seek to remove all doubt but to encourage us toward wisdom, and wisdom which challenges us apply reason to doubt and act accordingly.
This is a fascinating article; maybe I only think that because of that philosophy major. But, anyway, I think that "doubt" is a subtantial component of my faith, not a challenge to it.
The reason I'm so ardently pro-life is because I have no idea if a fetus is a "human person" or not; it seems to have pretty good indications that it is, and when in doubt, we shouldn't intentionally kill things that are human. The reason that I'm an evangelical Christian is because Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). Maybe he was misunderstood or crazy or evil, but we have pretty good indications that he wasn't any of those things, and if he was right then we'd better listen to what he says and follow him!
So, in my experience, "religion" doesn't seek to remove all doubt but to encourage us toward wisdom, and wisdom which challenges us apply reason to doubt and act accordingly.
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