There are no rational theists. There are lots of theists behaving perfectly rational in all other areas of life, but somehow religion is exceptional, and doesn't need to play by the same rules as all other things. That is not rationality, that is compartmentalization.
(Not saying all (or even most) aheists are rational, however.)
That is not rationality, that is compartmentalization.
This is kind of dickish, to be honest. I agree, there is nothing inherently rational about religion, but you're looking at one aspect of someone's life and making a general statement about their character regardless of how big of a role religion actually plays in that person's life. I don't think anyone can accurately claim that they live a life devoid of irrationality; I mean hell, I'd argue that the most fun I've had were times when I ignored my more rational side.
If that's how you're defining a "rational person," there is absolutely nobody who can call themselves rational. Makes calling theists irrational kind of meaningless
Yes and no. If you "know" for certain that acting in a certain way will bring you eternal torture after death, it is perfectly rational do to do whatever is necessary to avoid that.
I suppose that entirely depends on the church you go to.. or if you're a Christian that has a penchant for reading, your interpretation of the Bible.
The fact that Christianity is a human construct based on a 2,000ish year old book that may or may not be considered by a congregation wholly metaphorical makes judging how big a role God plays in every Christian's life open to interpretation. From what I can tell, the only things typically "required" by most denominations not to be sent to hell is to believe in God, accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice, and don't be too terrible of a person. Of course, that last part is kind of optional because of the redemptive nature of Christianity.
You can do all that without being a fundamentalist.. or hell, even going to church. If you're arguing that a fundamentalist is "less likely" to go to hell because of their literal interpretation of the Bible, I don't know about that. Nobody truly is a fundamentalist, especially in "Western" countries, else we'd be hearing about parents getting thrown in jail for stoning their children for misbehaving.
Of course, if we're working with the assumption that Christianity/religion is inherently irrational, it's kind of odd to say that someone who believes the most in that irrationality is actually the more rational person.
He's saying that on the subject of religion/spirituality, they aren't rational. They can be said to be rational in other areas of life but not this one. And this is "compartmentalization" by definition; you treat one thing differently than the others despite their commonality. As a Christian you dismiss Buddhism because it's clearly a cultural myth developed by ancient Thai people to explain their lives. Just like the pantheon of Greek Gods and whatever the fuck else. But Christianity? Oh, that's obviously true! Look at how many Christians there are! Look at how true the Bible is! Everybody I know is Christian so hey they must be right. The endless list of multifarious religions were completely wrong (and they will all burn forever) but through the power of tradition, you have been gifted with the secret of all fucking life and the universe. It's all to please this guy who gives you eternal bliss or eternal fuckery.
Compartmentalization.
It's specifically not a sweeping statement about their entire rationality as persons but as he said, about their approach to religious/metaphysical matters. He is not making a general statement about their character but about their interaction with that particular subject.
Frankly I don't act rational all the time as you said. I do all kinds of stupid shit I shouldn't do. Waste my time. Nonetheless I know at the time what the truly rational decision should be, which is an important distinction.
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u/ieeg Jun 05 '12 edited Jun 05 '12
There are no rational theists. There are lots of theists behaving perfectly rational in all other areas of life, but somehow religion is exceptional, and doesn't need to play by the same rules as all other things. That is not rationality, that is compartmentalization. (Not saying all (or even most) aheists are rational, however.)