I was interested to hear that the journalists kidnapped in the Middle East, and recently released were supposedly converted to Islam. This got me thinking about belief systems, and our world view. How do most of us feel about our beliefs?
There was a time when most of civilisation took their beliefs seriously. This attitude now seems to have contracted to small pockets of fundamentalism outside of the developing world and the Middle East. In the west anybody who actually believes anything is labelled a fundamentalist and is ostracised. To be without paradigm is to be smart and modern – chic if you will. This shift in attitudes can be traced back to the enlightenment. Simplistic I know but this is not a treatise on the breakdown of traditional belief systems, just some random thoughts. We traded blind (so we are told) belief for a more rational approach using evidence and rational based thinking. Hence many so called “religious†people pretend that their beliefs are based in rationalism, which gives rise to such things as intelligent design and participation in discussions on ethical norms.
So, once we abandon or old beliefs what do we have left? It was perfectly natural for people without conviction to become Moslems. In all likelihood they would have declared an undying commitment to the Vulcan belief system if it meant their release. Don’t get me wrong; I am not criticising them. On the basis of our abandonment of belief this is not at all unreasonable. However – what this does mean is that we have to abandon our right to criticise anybody for their belief. To have a humanistic position that declares the sanctity of life is no more or less moral than the suicide bomber that justifies his destruction of innocents on his devotion to his god. The Christian devotion to helping his fellow man is no more or less right than the megalomaniac ruler who holds power through gross abuse of human rights.
You see high minded ideals are really only relative to our philosophical position. Above I suggested that in the west we have no paradigm. This is not true – however much we like to fool ourselves. We all have a paradigm; it is just different for each of us. I listen with amusement to scientists who criticise those who believe in creation and then go on to make morel judgments that are equally based on arbitrary belief systems. It is so much self delusion to think that we are so more rational than the billions who have come before us. We cannot be purely rational and live. The two things are mutually exclusive. There will always be one sense in which every living person is irrational.
I have a belief system and I do not apologise for it. I know what I believe and have a reason for that belief. You see, the scientist who denies the possibility of an intelligent creator has no reason for that denial. He has an indefensible position because he cannot say that there is no intelligence without proof and he has no proof. Proving a positive is far easier than disproving an existence without evidence. If the scientist says that there is no evidence of intelligence then the best he can do is to plead ignorance. However, if you claim to see the hand of design and the influence of the creator then those who deny that perception are at best naysayers.
I think it is about time to stop pretending that we are being a tolerant society when exhibit so many aspects of intolerance. I freely admit that I am intolerant but I know the nature and bounds of my intolerance, most people do not. We need to stop fooling ourselves and come clean. We do have irrational beliefs. We are intolerant. Be honest and stop hiding behind so called rationalism or humanism and be honest about our belief system.