Faith and Reason

I have a question that's going to seem contentious and condescending. It's not consciously meant to be that way though. It has been wiggling around in my brain for over a week now.
First a little background. I downloaded two Christian podcasts based off of a sought out recommendation. The first one is called 'Fighting for the Faith', and the second is 'Table Talk Radio'. They are both Lutheran based podcasts. I sought them out mainly to try and find some well thought out and contrary views to my own. Mainly just to keep challenging myself and to not always listen/read viewpoints that align with my own. I've only listened to a couple of episodes, they're not very well thought out, but they are contrary. I also am listening to the oldest ones first, so I'm not gonna give up on them yet. I can't remember which one, but one of them basically said Reason needs to be subservient to Faith. That it can't be trusted if it contradicts what one reads in the Bible. I found this a little odd, wondering what mental gymnastics they accomplished to reach that conclusion without 'reasoning' their way into it. It's like the silliness that says you don't interpret the Bible, you just read it. Now to my question. What's separates being a Lutheran from a cult, or cult-like thinking at least? I'm picking on the Lutherans specifically because of Luther's quotes about reason and it's relation to faith. When I think of a cult, I think of a group that doesn't like questions, or critical examination of it's beliefs. The underlining thought is that if you, or an idea, is contrary to the groups beliefs, the groups beliefs can never be wrong. Therefore it's you and the reasoning that got you there that has to be wrong. In this case the 'group' is the Bible. I don't think it's just the Lutherans that do this. It's probably the type of thinking that leads William Craig to argue the way he does.
Am I way off on this? Can one be a critical thinker and have religious faith? How do the people out there mash the two together for themselves?
I found a site called The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy when doing some searching on this subject. It had a entry on Martin Luther and an entry on Faith and Reason. People might find that interesting reading for more background.
Cheers,
Scott
PS - Full disclosure, my Mennonite heritage makes me predisposed not to like Luther, or his intellectual descendants, though everyone's all ecumenical nowadays. Can one have intellectual descendants when one dislikes Reason?
PPS - I'm still looking for more podcasts to give me different religious perspectives. I just ask they are not scientifically illiterate. Recommendations welcome.

God and Disaster

A.C. Grayling recently wrote a small essay on the RD website, and I thought I would reprint it here. I saw one too many "I'm praying for Japan" tweets and Facebook status'. I understand the desire to want to help. I also realize it can make one feel like they are helping. The idea that praying for Japan means one actually did something tangible to help makes me feel a little melancholy. Especially if it would lead a person to think, "I don't need to donate or help out this disaster, I prayed for them." I think the essay sums up things fairly well.
Cheers,
Scott
PS - If one wants to donate, to help the relief efforts in Japan, CBC has a web page set up of different organizations. http://www.cbc.ca/japanrelief/

"One thinks with sorrow of the hundreds of thousands whose lives have been horrendously lost or affected by the great Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which will put a black mark against this year 2011 in the annals, coming so soon after the earthquake that hit Christchurch in New Zealand. The events are almost certainly linked tectonically, reminding us of the vast forces of nature that are normal for the planet itself but inimical to human life, especially when lived dangerously close to the jigsaw cracks of the earth’s surface.

Someone told me that there were to be special prayers in their local church for the people of Japan. This well-intentioned and fundamentally kindly proceeding nevertheless shows how absurd, in the literal sense of this term, are religious belief and practice. When I saw the television footage of people going to church in Christchurch after the tragic quake there, the following thoughts pressed.

It would be very unkind to think that the churchgoers were going to give thanks that they personally escaped; one would not wish to impute selfishness and personal relief in the midst of a disaster in which many people arbitrarily and suddenly lost their lives through ‘an act of God’. If they were going to pray for their god to look after the souls of those who had died, why would they think he would do so since he had just caused, or allowed, their bodies to be suddenly and violently crushed or drowned?

Indeed, were they praising and supplicating a deity who designed a world that causes such arbitrary and sudden mass killings? An omniscient being would know all the implications of what it does, so it would know it was arranging matters with these awful outcomes. Were they praising the planner of their sufferings for their sufferings, and also begging his help to escape what he had planned?

Perhaps they think that their god was not responsible for the earthquake. If they believe that their god designed a world in which such things happen but left the world alone thereafter and does not intervene when it turns lethal on his creatures, then they implicitly question his moral character. If he is not powerful enough to do something about the world’s periodic murderous indifference to human beings, then in what sense is he a god? Instead he seems to be a big helpless ghost, useless to pray to and unworthy of praise.

For if he is not competent to stop an earthquake or save its victims, he is definitely not competent to create a world. And if he is powerful enough to do both, but created a dangerous world that inflicts violent and agonizing sufferings arbitrarily on sentient creatures, then he is vile. Either way, what are people thinking who believe in such a being, and who go to church to praise and worship it? How, in the face of events which human kindness and concern registers as tragic and in need of help – help which human beings proceed to give to their fellows: no angels appear from the sky to do it – can they believe such an incoherent fiction as the idea of a deity? This is a perennial puzzle."

True Grit

My favourite minor character. Bear Man.

I just saw the new True Grit. I enjoyed the movie, and would recommend anyone to see it. It left me feeling thoughtful. The crunch of the snow, the blowing wind, and my long black cloak seemed very fitting as I left the theatre. I just needed boots, gun and cowboy hat. My cousin, who I saw it with, and  I  parted ways after the show. I had the car ride home to ponder. I didn't listen to the radio or podcasts. There are many little things I enjoyed about the movie. The hymns playing throughout were beautiful, gave one a sense of gravitas, and old time religion. The language of the characters could at the same time seem uneducated and well spoken. It was an language stripped of diplomacy, but direct and functional. There was a lot of quick little bits of humour in the script for those paying attention. There was an honesty and a bluntness to the film I appreciated. It gave you the feeling of a way of living that was hard, matter of fact and not so comfortable. The movie seemed to say, 'that's the way life is, people die, shit happens, you deal with it as you can'. It was not gruesomely violent and what violence there was seemed to make a point rather than be violent for it's own sake. There were many little moments that I enjoyed. When a man didn't stand for a women and she insulted him for it made me smile. The portrayal of abuse, sexism and casual racism was felt subtly, rather than shouted at you. From start to finish I was engrossed. There are other things I could say, but I think I'll leave it at that. I'm not a professional when it comes to reviewing movies, but it was entertaining, thoughtful, and enjoyable. That's all I can ask.
Cheers.
Scott
PS - The fact that John Wayne and his acting had no part in this movie helped. I know he's an American icon and all, but the man could not act.
PPS -  The other recent theatre film I have seen is The King's Speech. Great film, go see it if you feel True Grit would not be your cup of tea.

A Belated Happy New Year.

We're not that far from February, but happy new year all the same. What's the protocol on that? How long do I have to say it before I get shunned? I was just wondering, what sort of resolutions people have made? Mine is to call a friend that I have not talked to for over a month, at least once a week. Facebook sucks for actually staying close with friends, so this is my solution. I trust everyone is well, and look forward to chatting with some good friends.
If anyone's resolution is to buy me stuff, I found that I can order all the discworld novels, signed by the author. The internet is truly a wonderful thing.
My favourite quote from the latest discworld novels is what I'll end this little entry with.
"The Patrician took a sip of his beer. "I have told this to few people, gentlemen, and I suspect I never will again, but one day when I was a young boy on holiday in Uberwald I was walking along the bank of a stream when I saw a mother otter with her cubs. A very endearing sight, I'm sure you will agree, and even as I watched, the mother otter dived into the water and came up with a plump salmon, which she subdued and dragged onto a half-submerged log. As she ate it, while of course it was still alive, the body split and I remember to its day the sweet pinkness of its roes as they spilled out, much to the delight of the baby otters who scrambled over themselves to feed on the delicacy. One of nature's wonders, gentlemen: mother and children dining upon mother and children. And that's when I first learned about evil. It is built in to the very nature of the universe. Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being, I told myself, it is up to all of us to become his moral superior."
-- Terry Pratchett, Unseen Academicals
Cheers.

It's almost Hogswatch!

I just finished watching The Hogfather movie last night, which was enjoyable. If I ever had a nanny, I would want it to be Susan of Sto Helit. Wish Death could have been more like I imagined though, but that's the problem with movies from books is it not. As always, Mr Pratchett has some great lines in amongst the humour. My favourite would be the following, which was taken from the book:
Susan: "Thank you. Now ... tell me ..."
Death: What would have happened if you hadn't saved him"
"Yes! The sun would have risen just the same, yes?"
No.
"Oh, come on. You can't expect me to believe that. It's an astronomical fact."
The sun would not have risen.
She turned on him.
"It's been a long night, Grandfather! I'm tired and I need a bath! I don't need silliness!"
The sun would not have risen.
"Really? Then what would have happened, pray?"
A mere ball of flaming gas would have illuminated the world.
They walked in silence for a moment.
"Ah," said Susan dully. "Trickery with words. I would have thought you'd have been more literal-minded than that."
I am nothing if not literal-minded. Trickery with words is where humans live.
"All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying that humans need ... fantasies to make life bearable."
Really? As if it was some kind of pink pill? No. Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the falling angel meets the rising ape.
"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little ---"
Yes. As practice. You have to start out learning to believe the little lies.
"So we can believe the big ones?"
Yes. Justice. Mercy. Duty. That sort of thing.
"They're not the same at all!"
You think so? Then take the universe and grind it down to the finest powder and sieve it through the finest sieve and then show me one atom of justice, one molecule of mercy. And yet --- Death waved a hand. And yet you act as if there is some ideal order in the world, as if there is some ... rightness in the universe by which it may be judged.
"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point ---"
My point exactly.
She tried to assemble her thoughts.
There is a place where two galaxies have been colliding for a million years, said Death, apropos of nothing. Don't try to tell me that's right.
"Yes, but people don't think about that," said Susan. Somewhere there was a bed ...
Correct. Stars explode, worlds collide, there's hardly anywhere in the universe where humans can live without being frozen or fried, and yet you believe that a ... a bed is a normal thing. It is the most amazing talent.
"Talent?"
Oh, yes. A very special kind of stupidity. You think that the whole universe is inside your heads.
"You make us sound mad," said Susan. A nice warm bed ...
No. You need to believe in things that aren't true. How else can they become? said Death, helping her up onto Binky.
"These mountains," said Susan, as the horse rose. "Are they real mountains, or some sort of shadows?"
Yes.
Susan knew that was all she was going to get.

The line about human being where the fallen angel meets the rising ape, that's what I'm celebrating. Happy Hogswatch everyone, and Merry Christmas.
Scott

PS And other things ending in 'olly

Winter Solstice & Lunar Eclipse

It's all over the interwebs, but just in case you didn't know, a full Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice fall on the same day this year. Get out there and look at that moon. If you're like me and on MST, then total eclipse will begin at 0:41 MST on Tuesday. Here's a link to NASA's page. I sure hope we have clear skies for it. "Good night, and keep watching the skis."
Cheers,
Scott
This picture can be found here.

Happy Saturnalia!

Today is the traditional first day of Saturnalia, Dec 17. I love the Christmas season, so much history, across so many cultures. Living in the north, with cold, dark and snow a constant, celebrating seems like a proper reaction. In a different time of my life, I used to feel offended when people would take away from a Christian focused Christmas time, now I know how silly that was. James McGrath has a good entry on that topic. With that in mind, I very much appreciate the Wikipedia entry on Winter Solstice observances. It has a list of a lot of other celebrations during this time of year. So many good excuses to party and be with the ones you love. It seems like there are also many good excuses to scare small children.
Music is an integral part of the Christmas season, and my favourite modern Christmas song is by Tim Minchin. It have some very good lines that sum up how I feel about Christmas. If you choose to buy it on itunes, all the proceeds go to charity. Go buy it. I really like this song.



For an older Christmas carol, I love the Roger Miller classic "Old Toy Trains".