Monday, January 29, 2007

A rich fantasy life

This process of coming out as an atheist has been pretty interesting, and it is only with stuff like this that I realize both how inane the intelligent design idea is, and how impossible it would be to argue with someone (say, a fundamentalist) who has no intention of ever letting rational thought interfere with their beliefs. My mother asked me the other day how I can discount her personal experience of god, and I replied "I think you are someone with a rich fantasy life which includes some kind of higher being."

We got into a brief discussion of Richard Dawkins, as she was with me when I was buying "The God delusion" to surprise Spouse One on our recent vacation. (The surprise went well, Spouse One was delighted, btw.) My mother was trying to explain to me how, as an anglican, she was part of a christianity that was more skeptical and down-to-earth than most.

While I can see her point, compared to some of the cults/churches which she (and I) have attended, it seems incompatible to proclaim a sort-of open-minded skepticism, and yet to still claim that god spoke to her personally about her illness, and healed her. I think that will have to be the subject of another post, though.

So, for now, congratulations to all of you who have understood your imaginary friends for being just that, and gone on to more sophisticated understandings of the universe.

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