This is where I realise, with some shamefaced embarassment, how long it’s been since my last post.
I have spent some time over the last few weeks, discussing things with fellow secularists and some Jehovah’s Witnesses we have the acquaintance of. The discussions are relating to God, Creationism and Evolution; the usual, in other words. I do try to keep things as polite and civil as I can, I try to make my points gently and without causing offence. But I do begin to understand why many secular people get frustrated when dealing with true believers, so I’d like to open the can of worms here; at least part of the way.
I write from the perspective of a Secular Buddhist, and my understanding is this. Our problems stem from the fact we do not see clearly. We clutch after things we believe are solid and permanent without realising that they are changing and impermanent, our illusions blind us to the basic impermanence of the world and also of ourselves. This is why you’ll sometimes hear Buddhists referred to as believing the world is an illusion, that’s because the world most of us inhabit is; it’s an illusion that exists only in our minds. The trouble starts when we respond to this illusion as if it were concrete reality, then we start storing up trouble for the future (think Karma). There’s a lot more I could say, but I’ll save it for another time. Believe it or not, I’ve expressed the above to an Anglican and a Jehovah’s Witness and both have agreed with the sentiment that responding to our illusions as if they were real is nothing but trouble. I can’t imagine that either would agree with what I have to say next.
When expressing ideas to believers, I’ve found that no matter how well you put things or how you back things up with proof, there is a wall. You can get so far, then you’re up against faith and you can get no further. From what I can see, the whole position of ‘supernatural’ religions would seem to be exactly the problem I describe in my last paragraph; they have their beliefs from their book and regardless of the evidence will stick to those beliefs with varying degrees of rigidity.
The level of intellectual evasion can be quite breathtaking at times. I’ve seen false dichotomies and strawman arguments presented confidently as fact in articles sourced from around the Internet and thought “Why?”, “Why distort things like this, when it undermines everything you’re trying to do?” I can understand defending a cherished belief, I can genuinely empathise, but if you can’t defend it honestly then why is it worth defending at all?
But it’s when I see believers taking these things and accepting them as accurate logic without a peep, not even a murmur; when I start to realise how many people are doing this, and not bringing even a shred of critical thought to bear on these things, it’s then that I start to get a glimpse of the sheer enormity of what the Buddha meant.
