by leavingwt 22 Replies latest jw friends
> they possess a theory of the world that we can examine, comprehend, and even test.
Where did the universe come from? God did it.
Where did life come from? God did it.
Why does it rain? God did it.
Why does the earth have a moon? God did it.
How does gravity work? God did it.
How do atoms work? God did it.
How to computers work? God did it.
See folks, Elsewhere gets it.
"coherent worldview" = extremely predictable
lol, yeah, when you put it that way. But a liberal christian is just as coherent; you just have to add the words "...a long time ago" to all of the things answered with "God did it....".
Where did life come from? God did it. A long time ago.
well I too have a lot of admiration for people who can commit to something wholeheartedly by keeping a unifying vision of everything in front of them. But I think that it is just as admirable to be able to commit to something wholeheartedly and not have a unifying vision.
We all strive for coherence and this can be achieved even when lots of other people's unifying visions overlap. Regarding Weinberg, I also sense frustration with liberal christians - they are not an easy proposition if he is looking to lead them to atheism.
Except when they blow up abortion clinics full of people.
And try to heal epileptics by exorcisms.
Where did life come from? God did it. A long time ago.
6000 years isn't all that long ago.
LeavingWT posted: "What Weinberg said, and I am paraphrasing greatly here, is that religious fundamentalists have a coherent worldview while religious liberals do not. What makes the fundamentalists more appealing to some of us is that they possess a theory of the world that we can examine, comprehend, and even test. Weinberg said that this appeals to him as a scientist, and I think he's absolutely right...."
It appears that the aspect of this "Coherent World View" that appeals to Weinberg, is the idea that it [coherent world view] can, in effect, be put under a microscope and tested...
Of course, the absolute certainty of fundamentalist Christians' "Coherent World View" - sounds too much like the mentality of the "Neptunists" in the 1700's - during the infancy of the science of vulcanology - volcanology... The Neptunists had a "coherent world view" that "explained" all - ALL - geologic features on the known areas of the planet as resulting from the "Great Flood" of "Noah's" day... The downfall of their "coherent world view" was the stubborn, obvious existence of volcanoes...
Think what the world would be like today if that "coherent world view" had persisted... Death rates from volcanic disasters would be much, much higher... Yellowstone's extreme hazard would be unknown, or poorly percieved, at best... Epochs of geologic time would be lumped together as if they all occurred at once - the piles of fossilized bones of Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus Rex, various 'raptor' dinosaurs, Brachiosaurus, Stegosaurus, Proceratops and Triceratops - would all be viewed as having happened "all at once" during the "Great Flood", instead of resulting from the various extinction-level events that caused the 'separations' of the major and minor geological periods - Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and so on...
And again, with an accompanying, potentially deadly 'blindness' to the actual causes of said extinctions - that "coherent world view" would leave us terribly ignorant of the deadly potential of asteroid strikes, which would also lead to an absolutely unprepared scientific community, military forces, and civil authorities...
Science - TRUE science - is all about change and modification - open-mindedness... Though I can see how the constantly shifting viewpoints of TRUE science would cause feelings of uneasiness within people who crave a Newtonian, 'ordered' universe...
But think of it this way - when one is traveling - in a car, train, or plane - as one watches the landscape slip by, one has - MUST HAVE - a constantly changing viewpoint of the scenery, as one's position changes in relation to the landscape due to the forward movement of the vehicle - thereby, one's own forward movement...
To have a "Coherent World View" would be like painting a scene of a sylvan lake on the insides of the car's/train's/plane's windows... Which would then lead to great disorientation when the observer is faced with the fact that his pretty, static viewpoint was a delusion... Especially if one lands in an arid place like Arizona or southern Nevada, or a large city like Los Angeles... The difficulties in adapting to the harsh reality (of an arid, barren desert) after looking at a painted picture of a lush lakeside view would be great, indeed...
On the other hand, a "liberal" Christian has his/her mind OPEN - to further information! Their views can be MODIFIED to fit the facts - and I'll take THAT state of affairs over some rigid, unyielding, absolute "Coherent World View" ANY DAY!!
Zid
While watching The Atheism Tapes, I found that Mr. Weinberg's take on fundamentalists makes sense, from an outsider's perspective. There definitely is the appearance of a "coherent worldview" in many fundamentalist groups.
The willingness to admit that you don't have all of the answers, and the willingness to change your view in light of new ideas and new evidence - that intellectual honesty tends to look "soft" or "weak".
This is not a problem with fundamentalists.
"The willingness to admit that you don't have all of the answers, and the willingness to change your view in light of new ideas and new evidence - that intellectual honesty tends to look "soft" or "weak"...."
Good point, Zoiks... That, in fact, was what sunk Kerry's presidential campaign [in large part...] - the fundamentalists attacked his flexibility and ability to see the 'gray' areas, as 'weaknesses'... Fundamentalists want absolutes, certainty.... As do most uncertain, frightened people...
