Several bloggers have drawn attention to the cartoon above, including PZ Myers and Gavin Rumney. It is interesting to take a closer look at it in view of the recent attempts at discussion with atheists around a post on this blog. There have been a few individuals who’ve wanted to reduce discussions of “God” to one particular definition used by one particular subset of religious individuals. But the realities of human language, as of human religion, are more complex, and to fully set forth the range of uses of a term, the precise nuances, involves a commitment of time that few internet commenters seem interested in – with the impressive exception of many regular commenters on this blog, I must add!
I almost didn’t return to the cartoon, but then Gavin pointed out the side of the fork in the road that the bookshelf is on, and then I knew I had to revisit it and share it. It is so hard to get someone to read a book – whether about evolution, the historical Jesus, a particular stream of religious thought, or any other topic – when they show themselves eager to debate a topic about which they lack basic and crucial information. “Don’t recommend a book” they often say – “just give me the key points in a few words.”
As someone once famously said, there is a way that seems right to many people, but the end thereof is death. Well, actually, death is inevitable on both paths – but ignorance is not.
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