(no subject)
A theory devised last night: theism is like chemical painkillers. You apply it to painful, frightening, or confusing moments in life in order to soothe them; different people have different painkiller/deity/religion preferences ("I take ibuprofen", "I'm a buddhist") because they find whatever works better for them, some people prefer to get by without painkillers, and some people find painkillers just don't work with their body chemistry, either failing to soothe the pain or coming with so many side-effects that it's not worth it.
Under this analogy I imagine people would be a bit politer about conflicting faiths:
"What's up?"
"My aunt died last week, I feel really low."
"Oh, man, that's awful, I'm sorry. Have you tried Yahweh? When my uncle passed away I tried Yahweh."
"Thanks, I'm more of an Allah person myself."
"Okay, man, whatever works."
They'd probably also be slightly more forgiving about non-use:
"Ugh, I'm so confused. I have a really difficult moral choice ahead of me and no one I know has any experience of it."
"Hrm, well, short of asking the internet I suppose you could consult Vishnu, that's what I do when I'm faced with a difficult ethical decision."
"Vishnu doesn't work for me, I'm afraid."
"Damn - what about ancestor spirits? Barry's always checked with his ancestors."
"Nah, it's alright, I'm a bit supernatural-resistant, that stuff rarely turns out for me. I'm going to have a look at the internet, though, thanks for that suggestion."
"No worries, let me know how it goes!"
I suppose there's still leeway for people to be assholes, though:
"Have you heard about Tina?"
"No?"
"Never takes anything for her grief."
"Well, that's just stupid. Does she enjoy it or something?"
"No, no, she's convinced it's better for her soul if she doesn't rely on 'outmoded and unreal forms of emotional support'."
"That's a bit rude."
"Tell me about it. I said, are you some kind of spiritual ascetic, she said 'well someone's got to show some backbone around here'."
"Bloody inconsiderate, I call it."
(Should this be a blog entry as well? I cannot decide).
Under this analogy I imagine people would be a bit politer about conflicting faiths:
"What's up?"
"My aunt died last week, I feel really low."
"Oh, man, that's awful, I'm sorry. Have you tried Yahweh? When my uncle passed away I tried Yahweh."
"Thanks, I'm more of an Allah person myself."
"Okay, man, whatever works."
They'd probably also be slightly more forgiving about non-use:
"Ugh, I'm so confused. I have a really difficult moral choice ahead of me and no one I know has any experience of it."
"Hrm, well, short of asking the internet I suppose you could consult Vishnu, that's what I do when I'm faced with a difficult ethical decision."
"Vishnu doesn't work for me, I'm afraid."
"Damn - what about ancestor spirits? Barry's always checked with his ancestors."
"Nah, it's alright, I'm a bit supernatural-resistant, that stuff rarely turns out for me. I'm going to have a look at the internet, though, thanks for that suggestion."
"No worries, let me know how it goes!"
I suppose there's still leeway for people to be assholes, though:
"Have you heard about Tina?"
"No?"
"Never takes anything for her grief."
"Well, that's just stupid. Does she enjoy it or something?"
"No, no, she's convinced it's better for her soul if she doesn't rely on 'outmoded and unreal forms of emotional support'."
"That's a bit rude."
"Tell me about it. I said, are you some kind of spiritual ascetic, she said 'well someone's got to show some backbone around here'."
"Bloody inconsiderate, I call it."
(Should this be a blog entry as well? I cannot decide).