Entry 707, on 2008-02-26 at 19:21:13 (Rating 4, Philosophy)
I listened to some more Point of Inquiry podcasts today and one of the more interesting involved an interview with a mathematician who was discussing his thoughts on the logical evidence for the existence of god and on religion in general.
One of the issues which regularly comes up with people like him - that is scientists and intellectuals who criticise religion - is that he isn't qualified to comment on theology. But my attitude to theology is beginning to change. I used to think of it as a genuine area of academic study and I took the opinions of theologians seriously. I still think these people are incredibly knowledgeable within their area but I wonder about how seriously that area can be taken.
In some ways theology is a bit like UFOlogy, except perhaps its a bit more within the mainstream of academia and is a lot more formal in that it is recognised as a subject which is acceptable within universities and other institutions. But in many ways there is a lot of similarity between the thought patterns of theologians and various believers in other areas of the paranormal, such as UFOs, astrology, and ESP.
It seems reasonable that astronomers can comment on the beliefs of astrologers and UFOlogist. The paranormal believers aren't going to give their subject a rigorous, fair assessment so its up to someone from a more objective area to do that. I think the same applies to theology. I know that its possible for a theologian to treat the subjective realistically, but most of them start with a belief in a deity - often a specific one.
By starting with the assumption that god exists everything else they do is doomed to fail because it is based on a false premise. So mathematicians, biologists, and other scientists should comment on religion, I think. If they don't, who else will give the area of theology a fair appraisal?
Comment 1 by Anonymous on 2008-02-27 at 18:15:22:
I also listened to that podcast and I see your point but I don't know if I agree with you about theologians. I think you might be underestimating them a lot.
Comment 2 by OJB on 2008-04-08 at 17:34:32:
I look at some of the greatest thoughts of theologians in the past, such as the ontological argument for the proof of god, and I think would that sort of inane nonsense be taken seriously in any area apart from theology? It seems that, in a desperate attempt to prove something which isn't true, theologians have fallen into the trap of accepting substandard evidence and arguments.
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