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| Note to self ("typing aloud") Possible titles: -"Do you believe in God?" -Theism, Atheism, and Communication -Reconciling Religion and Objectivism [too ambitious and potentially too offputting to mainstream Objectivists; throw this one out] Possible sources: -What Ed Hudgins told us at RoR Conference #1 -That neat article George Cordero wrote which I criticized prematurely (the one that provides the springboard from which I will take my dive) -That stuff Penn Jillette had to say about agnosticism being orthogonal to atheism by virtue of being entirely epistemological in nature; about the onus of proof being on those who actively believe (rather than those on the sidelines); about how "God" is the primary indicator of 'right wing social engineering'; about how the argument isn't about the existence of God, it is about the existence of belief -My own essay on how to think about God -The "Unholy Trinity" I told Stan and Carol about -The evidence base for my theory that M. Scott Peck was an atheist masquerading as a Christian -The Jefferson Bible -The Gnostic Bible, specifically the Gospel of Thomas and that stuff I found out about its relation to the 4 main Gospels -The Tom Snyder interview of Rand, where she said she is not so much against God, per se, but against faith and the thinking standards that are set by the use or the robotic idolization of faith; where she said she actually likes the phrases: "Thank God" and "God bless you" -- because they refer to what is either actually or at least potentially most right and good in the world (i.e., "it means the highest possible to me") Possible key themes: -The fact that the people who ask the 5-word question: "Do you believe in God?" do not totally understand all 5 words of that question, and how that fact matters immensely to you if you still want or need them in your life -The 2 ways to distill and analyze pretty much all thought and all talk about God (1. Do you decide, or not; 2. Does someone decide, or not) -The bilateral interplay of value contribution from intellect and character, producing a person of some esteem -How the temporal order in which people are exposed to various worldviews might matter (and, in some cases, it might even be deal-breaking) -How to find what common ground you do have -How to set limits or boundaries in an atmosphere that breeds mutual respect -Scratch the note above -How to create an atmosphere wherein it is not just possible but very likely that you will be able to set and receive limits or boundaries without losing mutual respect -What most people believe they mean, when they use the 5 words -The real meaning of the 5 words -Cool substitutions for the 5-word question -Philosphical analysis of the passage from Luke 17:21 ("the kingdom of God is within you") -What critics will have to say about all of this (e.g., the "Ted Keer" issue) -Potential rebuttals to this kind of criticism -Starting a new religion, complete with a church and a steeple, and a late-night televangelist in a suit with a big gold watch and perfect hair, reading novels from Ayn Rand and doing "reason-healings" -When the time comes, don't forget to add the words: "Just kidding" to the note above -Ah, screw it, just run it up the flagpole, you only live once -Scratch the note above [Aha! Gotcha! I was just checking to see if anyone else is in here reading my "personal" notes!] :-) | ||||
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