Conversations: Other Faiths

Helena
It is interesting to observe that every devout Muslim has the same reasons for being a Muslim as Christians have for being Christian. And yet neither Muslims nor Christians find the other’s reasons compelling.

Sappho
So why do Christians not lose any sleep over whether or not to convert to Islam?

Helena
I think Christians feel they do not need to disprove the foundation of Islam in order to reject the beliefs of Muslims. They feel the burden is upon Muslims to prove that their beliefs about God and Muhammad are valid.

Sappho
Well, it is indeed clear to anyone who is not anaesthetized by the dogma is Islam that Muslims are simply not making claims about reality that can be corroborated. And ironically, Christians agree with us about this, “Isn’t it obvious that Muslims are fooling themselves?” you can hear them say.

Helena
That is an interesting point is it not, Christians know exactly what it is like to be an atheist with respect to the beliefs of Muslims.

Sappho
Indeed. I believe it was Richard Dawkins who said “We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.”

Helena
Quite so, and more importantly, I feel Christians should understand that the way they view Islam is precisely the way devout Muslims view Christianity. And it is the way we view all religions.

(Based on: Harris. S. 2006. Letter To A Christian Nation p. 4-5)

See other: Philosophical Conversations

Conversations: Faith

Helena
There are people who believe certain propositions about the world we live in, not because those propositions make them feel good, but because they think they are true.

Lysandra
I see that it is obvious that those propositions can either be true or untrue. And if one proposition is right, the contradictory proposition must be wrong. For instance, the Bible is either the word of God, or it is not.

Helena
Exactly. Consider your example, if the basic doctrine of Christianity is correct, we have misused our lives in the worst conceivable way.

Lysandra
Well, if the basic tenets of Christianity are true, then there are some very grim surprises in store for people like ourselves.

Helena
Indeed, but let us return to your example so I can expand on it a little: either the Bible is just an ordinary book, written by mortals, or it is not. Either Christ was divine, or he was not. If the Bible is an ordinary book, and Christ an ordinary man, the basic doctrine of Christianity is false. Now, you would think there are quite convincing reasons for believing that if you drink the blood of a fictional carpenter’s son you can live forever, but there do not seem to be any.

Lysandra
That is an interesting point. And you would think the fact that our continuous and public rejection of a collective delusion such as Christianity does not worry us in the least should suggest to Christians just how inadequate we think their reasons for being Christian are.

(Based on: Harris. S. 2006. Letter To A Christian Nation p. 4)

See other: Philosophical Conversations

Buttonhole [Verb.]

To detain someone in conversation against their will.