http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19140641/site/newsweek/
This topic interests me. It is a dilemma for non believers. The challenge of staying in rapport while being true to your own position, which is by definition, a negation of someone else's POV. Right now there are a few books out that aren't pulling any punches and some come off as pretty caustic to believers. I keep reading criticisms of these books that focus on their disrespectful tone and a claim that the authors are unfairly lumping together fundamentalists believers with people the reviewers consider more thoughtful,(themselves). Sometimes the reviewers come off as just as rudely dismissive of fundamentalist believers as the atheists. I don't see anyone spelling out what exactly their God belief includes in any detail. Just a lot of dodge ball, "That isn't my version, not that either, nope you aren't talking about mine". Andrew Sullivan was the master of this game in his debate with Sam Harris, reducing his God belief into certain uncontroversial human emotions, (We all like puppies right? Then my God is puppies). In philosophy people are trained how to argue points so that it doesn't become a personal attack. This is difficult to pull off in real life outside an academic setting. I find it is a rare person who can discuss their spiritual beliefs without taking it personally and getting upset. When it works here on this board I am really impressed, it can be done. It takes practice I think, and a commitment to mutual respect. It is possible to believe you are right about your perspective while allowing that someone else may benefit from seeing it differently. It would be intellectually disingenuous for me to say that they just have a different truth. I think it is OK to believe that someone is wrong about something while respecting their right to believe what they want. It helps to have an awareness of all the times in the past that I have been wrong about things and the fact that it is hard to figure out the things I am wrong about right now, but passionately believe. There may be a bigger category of different versions of "right". I think FFL is helping me improve the ability to discuss ideas in a respectful way. It helps that many posters are mature in their own spirituality so my skepticism doesn't stir more than a light breeze. It often feels safe to be honest here about what I believe and don't believe and the larger area of "I don't know". There are rough patches here, but we are all works in progress and this project isn't the easiest to pull off gracefully. I guess the bottom line is that the balance is to be true to your own perspective without being a dick about it. Sometimes that is a fine line, and sometimes it is pretty obvious. I know my limitations, I may never be able to gain this balance with certain posters. But watching the process unfold between different people is fascinating. I'm a fan of what goes on here. Kumbaya baby!
