Hmmm ... I dunno. Ezra is definitely cherry picking: "More of this ethical policy!" I find Douthat interesting because he wrestles with the nature of the whole (Catholic) cherry tree -- fruit, branch, trunk & roots. He thinks policy works like Ezra can't see the forest or the tree -- only the cherries.
You write, "We can’t expect to keep harvesting the ethical fruits of the Biblical Story — “sympathy for refugees… a buffer against greed and cruelty” — if we kill the narrative fruit tree."
Can't the narrative be a rational one, that establishing a buffer against greed and cruelty is in the best interests of both the individual and society at large? Can't atheists be good people too? Can't the meaning be that doing good feels good? Enlightened self interest?
Douthat says, "I think it’s really hard from that point of view for you to get anywhere in arguments with people who still believe in that structure."
It's really hard to get anywhere with any arguments in any circumstance. Logic is a very weak medium.
(I thought I already sent this, but I'll try again...)
"Can't the narrative be a rational one..."? I dunno. Why don't you give it a try? But don't give me an argument or a set of facts or a scientific treatise. Give me a story -- a connected narrative that has a beginning, middle, and possible end. Here, I'll get you started...
"In the beginning...." Okay, Phil. You can take it from there. Any story at all! I'll wait here. :-)
I guess proof texting and cherry picking from a religious tradition what suits one’s argument is alive and well.
Who was cherry picking?
Ezra and Ross both.
Hmmm ... I dunno. Ezra is definitely cherry picking: "More of this ethical policy!" I find Douthat interesting because he wrestles with the nature of the whole (Catholic) cherry tree -- fruit, branch, trunk & roots. He thinks policy works like Ezra can't see the forest or the tree -- only the cherries.
* policy WONK 😊
You write, "We can’t expect to keep harvesting the ethical fruits of the Biblical Story — “sympathy for refugees… a buffer against greed and cruelty” — if we kill the narrative fruit tree."
Can't the narrative be a rational one, that establishing a buffer against greed and cruelty is in the best interests of both the individual and society at large? Can't atheists be good people too? Can't the meaning be that doing good feels good? Enlightened self interest?
Douthat says, "I think it’s really hard from that point of view for you to get anywhere in arguments with people who still believe in that structure."
It's really hard to get anywhere with any arguments in any circumstance. Logic is a very weak medium.
(I thought I already sent this, but I'll try again...)
"Can't the narrative be a rational one..."? I dunno. Why don't you give it a try? But don't give me an argument or a set of facts or a scientific treatise. Give me a story -- a connected narrative that has a beginning, middle, and possible end. Here, I'll get you started...
"In the beginning...." Okay, Phil. You can take it from there. Any story at all! I'll wait here. :-)
Shorter version: #73
Atheists can definitely be good people!
Absolutely! Some of them are my friends. 😊
Me too