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RE: Should Believers Turned Atheists Self-Censor What They Share?
First off, I enjoy reading your work. This is another example of a well thought through philosophy.
Secondly, Facebook is always a difficult place to discuss ideas. I believe you do have a responsibility to your audience. Yet, everyone has a unique situation so I won't say what you ought to do - that is your business.
If you could, may you reply with the link to these videos? I am a believer and would enjoy listening to these gentlemen.
Thank you! I really appreciate hearing from believers who are not upset by the sharing of ideas, even if they disagree with them. The videos can be found here. The second video (Sam Harris) is dead, so skip that one. Some include examples of attacking strawmen and some, I'm sure, are taken out of context without the rebuttal. They are, as many things, more along the lines of echoing things those within that tribe already agree with, though again, I do think there are some important ideas here I wish someone had shared with me earlier so I could have wrestled through them as I developed my faith. It's possible I'd still have some version of faith today if I had done so.
And yes, I agree Facebook can be difficult, but I've also taken it up as a personal challenge to share interesting ideas there. I've had many friends also tell me how much they appreciate my posts. Sometimes they do so in private messages or via texts or when I see them in person. I understand, for many, a simple reply or like is a scary thing because it signals something to your tribe which they may not be prepared to deal with yet.
Thank you for the videos! I have a few picked out that I want to watch first - the bible contradiction quiz show looks amusing.
You obviously take great care in how you present information. The fact that people are approaching you to show their appreciation is a testament to your integrity. I look forward to your next post Luke!
Thank you!
Be careful with that quiz show one. Some of their arguments aren't that great and some of the scriptures are taken out of context. Like the one where they say there's a contradiction where Judas hung himself or he fell in a field and his insides exploded (or something like that). Clearly it could have been both if hung himself and then later, as a corpse, fell to the ground with a not-so-pleasant result.
That said, most of them are probably quite reasonable and the mental gymnastics I used to do to justify those contradictions are quite fascinating. I used to have a counter argument for every contradiction, but I didn't recognize my own bias. I wasn't looking for reasonable explanations, I was looking for confirmation. That's not, IMO, a great way to know what's real.
Haha. A contradiction with Judas is a new one for me. Thank you for the heads up.
I get a chuckle out of bringing up contradictions with some of my believer friends. You're right, the mental gymnastics to justify your own bias is not healthy. It does not need to be that difficult.