Introduction to Religion Humanities 215.02 February 20, 2013 Review of Friday Prothero: Atheism Allen: Pascal

Existentialism Modernity Enlightenment Antiquity Post- Modernity Medieval

Atheism or Theism “Whoever lives in daily and festive communion with the thought that there is a God could hardly wish to spoil this for himself, or see it spoiled, by piecing together a definition of what God is... Man... is a synthesis of psyche and body, but also... of the temporal and the eternal.” Soren Kierkegaard Atheistic existentialism... declares with greater consistency that if God does not exist there is at least one being whose existence comes before its essence... That being is man....” Jean-Paul Sartre

“Atheists argue that the human problem cannot be solved by religion, because religion itself is the problem...” ~ Prothero

If You Agree... Why? What’s To Be Done About The Problem? How Would You Take The First Step?

If You Dis-Agree... Why? How Would You Address The Atheists’ Concerns (Irrational... Superstitious...)? In What Sense Might You Already Be A Functional Atheist?

Is Atheism A Religion?

Creed? Ethical Code? Community? Ultimate Concern?

We have a choice. We have two options as human beings We have a choice. We have two options as human beings. We have a choice between conversation and war. That's it. Conversation and violence. And faith is a conversation stopper. --Sam Harris That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence... --Christopher Hitchens One of the truly bad effects of religion is that it teaches us that it is a virtue to be satisfied with not understanding. --Richard Dawkins I think that there are no forces on this planet more dangerous to us all than the fanaticisms of fundamentalism, of all the species: Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, as well as countless smaller infections. Is there a conflict between science and religion here? There most certainly is. --Daniel Dennett

The very fact of its being, and of our own, is a mystery absolute, and the only miracle worthy of the name. --Sam Harris

Reason To Know What, When, How... To Act Well, Reduce Suffering, Do Good I Exist Why? To Experience As Much Pleasure As Possible

Applying Reason...

“Thoughts” ~1659

Blaise Pascal’s Bio. Born 1623 (Edge of the Enlightenment) Invented First Calculating Machine Paris Public Transporation Mathematician/Scientist JoinedCatholic Reform Movement (Paris, France) 30 Years War Between Catholics & Protestants

Christianity... Deserves Respect Is Attractive Is True Requires Faith (& Reason)

Must We Jettison Reason In Order to Believe (Exercise Faith)? Caveat: We’re Not Trying to Endorse Christianity. We’re Trying to Track With Pascal’s Thinking @ Religion.

F 173. If we submit everything to reason F 173 If we submit everything to reason our religion will be left with nothing mysterious supernatural.

Respect, p. 18-26 F 12 F 80 F 200

Attractive, p. 26-32 F 136 F 70 F 117 F 116

True (3 Orders), p. 32-46 F 308 F 418 F 242 F 446

The Order of the Body What Bible Calls “The Flesh” Desires... Wishes... Acquisition of Power External Appearances

The Order of the Mind Reason, Intellect & Genius... How & What The Way of Objectivity May Show Us That We Are Incomprehensible to Ourselves

The Order of the Heart Greatness (of this Level) Not Accessible to the Body or the Mind The Way of Subjectivity Sensitivity to the Supernatural, Beyond the Sensual, Beyond the Empirical Divine Wisdom

The Famous Wager If God Exists, You Gain Everything By Belief If God Doesn’t Exist, You Lose Nothing It’s Therefore Logical to Wager “Belief”

But the greatest problem with the wager—and it is a problem that infects religious thinking generally—is its suggestion that a rational person can knowingly will himself to believe a proposition for which he has no evidence. A person can profess any creed he likes, of course, but to really believe something, he must also believe that the belief under consideration is true. To believe that there is a God, for instance, is to believe that you are not just fooling yourself; it is to believe that you stand in some relation to God’s existence such that, if He didn’t exist, you wouldn’t believe in him. How does Pascal’s wager fit into this scheme? It doesn’t. ~Sam Harris

It is often thought both by supporters and critics that this (Pascal’s Wager) is the basis on which Pascal recommends Christianity for belief. Actually the context of the Wager Argument must be considered, for it is proposed to an imaginary person who is a gambler... (p. 39). The Wager Argument belongs to the level of the flesh, which is below the level of the mind... (p. 40).

Believing/Faith, p. 46-51 The Subjective Self Christian Claims Evidence Faith Cannot Be Reduced to Way of Objectivity, to Evidence

Pascal’s apology for the credibility of Christianity has faith as its crown, the faith of an intellect which has learned when to yield to what is beyond its domain...

For Friday Read Pascal, S.K. & Weil Small Group Research