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xssve -> RE: Why do people think it's ok to strawman an atheist? (6/24/2010 8:56:24 AM)
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Those who have been arguing that religion is an example of an attempt to search for meaning, and explanatory narratives are correct - it gives organized religion itself no end of fits, because they second they "lay down the la" in terms of dogma, the peeps start making up new stuff - the majority of the Saints are pre-Christian god and demi-gods, Catholicism became syncretic out of necessity, taking bits and pieces of other religions and syncretizing them into Christianity: Christmas, Easter (the festival of Astarte, the Spring equinox), Halloween, etc., etc., the ritual of transubstantiation is lifted directly from Mithric rites.
In empirical terms, "the war" is about control over the narrative - over time, there has been a general consensus that, as slow and painstaking as it is, the empirical method itself is the only to know anything for sure, but it often conflicts with tribal narratives, and the entrenched interests that they often represent.
Similarly, politically, the trend of democracy is to enable free consensus formation and social mobility, since the alternative is typically an autocratic minority ruling by fiat - which describes theocracy, whereas both democracy and science are open to debate or question by anyone - but you do have to prove your point with respect to the empirical evidence.
Not a thing ecclesiastics, religious, political, or economic, often appreciate.
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