Wayne, I like what you said about uncertainty. The way I see it, the less we know about a proposition, the more staunchly we tend to defend it. It happens in science too much. But it happens in religion, even more. In the end, we can know with some certainty what we feel at the moment. And with a great deal of reasoning we can be pretty sure of the proposition "I think I think; therefore I think I am." Further afield, we actually know very little. So I tend to think that the truth of a religious proposition lies not in some essence of fact, but in how we would feel about living in a group, a society, a world that embraces the same proposition. For example "all people are equal before the law." When religious ideas and practices help us to be more kind, reflective, and open to other people, I think they can help us feel better about our place in society. And they can help us be part of a happier society. It is my opinion, however, that a great deal of theolog...
Comments
Yeah, I've read this. It sounds very good, but I believe this is the
same guy who described where he was as a place with clouds floating
around, A beautiful woman whom he apparently didn't know. Then he
talked with (and I forget the exact words here, but this is the idea)
the creator and sustainer of the entire Cosmos. The clouds in
particular sound more like a popular idea of heaven than what heaven
must really be like, In other words, although there are plenty of
near-death experiences that are convincing to me, I'm suspicious of
this one.
Thanks, Jim
I also think there may be some questionnable elements here, but I did find the main points compelling--such an experience when functionally brain-dead is a convincing element...I'm not sure that heaven would not have clouds?