Karen Armstrong - Making a Case for God

[Aggie]

Interview with Karen Armstrong; well worth a listen.  IMHO some taddy ideas here; also some good discourse on science & religion.

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/tapestry_20091122_23377.mp3

[Opsa]

I'm listening to it, now.

It's making me think of something I read in the Washington Post this morning about the atheists annual (as of last year) holiday Metrobus advertisements. This year, they say: "No God? No problem!", which I just love. It doesn't tell anyone what to think, it just very simply says it's okay not to believe, too.

The problem seems to be not so much God or No God, but Whose God. If we believe that everyone has a right to believe or not believe, we are probably seen as atheists, even if some of us at least leave the possibility open for the presence of a Great Everything. It seems that those who are absolutely sure that there IS a God have such a clear picture of what God is that any other idea seems totally wrong to them. We need to be more flexible.

Ms. Armstrong is saying that the purpose of religion is to deal with the emotional aspects of life. Science helps us deal with the physical aspects of life. I see no reason why the two cannot co-exist.

Interesting points about ego, in this interview.

Edit: PS- I really liked this, Aggie! The end points about engagement/involvement really hit home. Thank you, Sib!

[Aggie]

Thank my tax dollars - I looooves the fact that this kind of radio is government-funded (and mainstream) up here.

I listened to a LOT of CBC over the past week, as I was largely sitting in the truck watching big machines and trucks move dirt about.

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

How incredibly refreshing listen to someone talk about religion in a different way from that of forcing views unto others!!!

I've personally met with people with views like those, both moderate catholics and those interested in far east religions but sadly not in the States (excluding the monastery, of course).

With the loud voices here, its all or nothing, either you are with us or against us, you accept Jesus as your personal savior or may you rot in hell (with the not so subtle hint of expediting the process).

Her words reminded me what religion was all about before I got here (which tells how intolerant I have become myself  ).

Thanks for a great post Aggie.

[Opsa]

The Unitarian Universalists try to figure out ways to make some of the points Ms. Armstrong makes, but are often seen as too wishy-washy or "politically correct" (whatever the heck that means). She found ways to express some good ideas while still seeming very strong. Her educated opinions come through really well.

_{PS: The UU link there has a write-up on The Whole World Kin- a book celebrating Darwin's Origin of the Species. Try finding that in yer average religious websites!}

[Aggie]

Listening to this again - I like the points about not antagonizing religious fanatics ('cause it feeds them).

There's also an interesting statement there that "God does not exist, because our concept of existence is too limited to apply to God".  Definitely strikes a chord with my notoriously broad concept of God.

EDIT: One more, at about 44 minutes (on listening to all voices, in the taddy sense): "Whether one believes in God or not is neither here nor there. You know what God is if you behave like that."




There's some other good ones at the main site, worth checking out:
http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/podcast.html

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Or some more to the point in TED.

[Aggie]

I picked up her book (The Case For God) and so far it's excellent.  The introduction and first chapter touches on some of the same material as the interview, but expands on it; the second chapter starts getting into some new material. 

To be honest - I can't think of any book that engaged me as firmly right from the introduction (which seems like a proper lead-in, not just something the author slapped on the front at the end of the process).  Very well-written and readable.