--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: <snip> > I mean, if God is true, anything can be true, right? If we > don't know EVERYTHING, we can be wrong about anything, right? <snip> > But if we don't > allow God to have that freedom, to be that deeply dramatic > over the lifetimes of billions of souls, then we don't really > want a redoubtable God and instead are hoping for a doubtable > God. It's about faith, not certainty, right?
Came across two pieces of material this morning that tie into the issue of doubt more or less directly. The first was an email to Andrew Sullivan concerning his debate with Sam Harris about faith vs. science, which Andrew posted on his blog: "Moderation vs. Fundamentalism. How much doubt is too much? Why not doubt the whole shebang? "The answer: because doubting the whole shebang is a 'certainty' that could be as mistaken as believing in any particular religion. The argument for believing in a 'tolerant' religious framework is because we do not, and cannot, know the truth of either atheism or of any theism....One can neither prove nor disprove the existence of God. But all scientific evidence suggests the physical limitations of the human consciousness separate us from the true nature of the universe. God is merely that true nature; religion, like science, a path to glimpse a part of it, not an expression of the whole." http://tinyurl.com/2r8hyt In other words: Doubt the doubt. Then I was curious about when David Orme-Johnson had been kicked off the MUM faculty and went to his TruthAboutTM Web site to find out (2004). I nosed around the site a bit and found this: "Issue: Is the Transcendental Meditation organization a cult? "The Evidence: "The Transcendental Meditation organization is not a cult and 'thought reform' is not used in the Transcendental Meditation program. "Background: "Research on the Transcendental Meditation program shows that the effects it produces are the opposite to those found in people who allegedly get involved in cults. For example, a doctoral dissertation conducted at York University found that high school students became more autonomous, independent, and innovative through the Transcendental Meditation program, with increased ability to deal with abstract and complex situations. They also showed increases on creativity, general intelligence and self-esteem. Similarly, a doctoral dissertation at Harvard found that the Transcendental Meditation program increased autonomous thought in prisoners, and increased moral reasoning to levels that displays mature, independent judgement based on principles. This is highly significant, because cult following is allegedly based on the oppositeblind faith and rigid adherence to arbitrary rules and authority, which are characteristic of a lower level of moral reasoning measured by the psychological tests used in the study. "A wide variety of other research also demonstrates the growth of independent thinking in those who practice the Transcendental Meditation program. For example, well controlled studies have found that the Transcendental Meditation program increases field independence. Research has shown that field independent individuals are more independent in their thinking and are more resistant to peer pressure to do anything that they feel is not right. "An essential feature of a cult is that it is a closed system of thought that does not submit itself to outside validation. The Transcendental Meditation organization is the opposite because it submits its theories to the rigors of scientific testing, encourages research by independent universities and research organizations (to date, 209 universities have conducted research on the Transcendental Meditation program), publishes in peer-reviewed journals, and participates actively in scientific conferences worldwide." http://tinyurl.com/2shu7w This really got me chuckling. Obviously the last paragraph is ironic considering what the TMO has become; but what really struck me--and others have made pretty much the same point, but this highlights it so clearly--is the inherent contradiction in trying to run a coherent movement deeply committed to the universal practice of a technique that fosters autonomy and independent thinking (and hence encourages doubt). Such a movement willy-nilly carries the seeds of its own destruction.
