Something I hear quite frequently from agnostics and atheists is, "Well, that Catholic thing doesn't seem to be working for you guys. Look at all those pedophile priests!"
Allow me to suggest that the appropriate response is not to make excuses or claim the problem is really pretty small, but to say, "Well, that secularist thing doesn't seem to be working, either. You guys are going extinct in Europe!"
That's not how faith works, is it? You don't believe because it pays off with higher income, more friends and happier children, you believe because you found something that explains the world better than the alternatives. Whether that's secular politics, Catholicism, Hinduism or whatever, you're only partially looking at the payoffs. In the end, aren't those payoffs proof of the belief system?
In other words, the effort to optimize your life is only partially connected to your belief system. The first step is to find a belief system and then optimize within that.
Just a thought.
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| One payoff to following your parents' belief system is that you don't tick off grandma. She can be quite a handful. |
Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he think himself wise.
ReplyDeleteDo not answer a fool according to his folly, lest he think himself wise.
"Something I hear quite frequently from agnostics and atheists . . ."
ReplyDeleteThe question is, when do you hear that? Do they tell it to you out of a clear blue sky, without any provocation?
Or is it, maybe, in response to something you said? What are you saying to them to get that response?
I'm mentioning this because, in my experience, agnostics (and most atheists) don't even talk about religion unless someone else brings it up first.
Well, yes. You have to bring it up, such as having any visual or verbal indication you are not an atheist or an agnostic, such as mentioning you used a recipe at a church retreat.
ReplyDeleteThat's generally not considered a reasonable provocation....
Both wife kitteh and I have had people say these things to us out of the blue when they hear we're deeply involved in the Catholic Church. It's not all that common, but it is repeated. I've also seen our kids' friends on Facebook post memes about it. That's very common, actually.
ReplyDelete