re: #591 Aceofwhat?

As SFZ said, he’s not like this on other topics. It’s frustrating. And I’m an absolutely hardcore atheist. But I think the behavior of religion and the beliefs of religion are very separate.

To me, the beliefs behind all religions are the same, in that they’re all just about the supernatural, which doesn’t exist.

However, the behavior of religious individuals varies wildly, and there are clearly many for whom the practice of their religion is actually an incentive towards rational thought, not away from it. Jewish ethical scholarship is a good example of this, as is Zen mysticism, and, yes, Lewis. Moreover, religious behavior is for many people simply an expression of their joy at being alive in an amazing universe.

Basically, as long as someone doesn’t actually claim to know the will of god, their religion or lack thereof matters as much to me as if they believe in ‘luck’ or not.