I think there is a large asymmetry between rationality quotes and unrationality quotes. The first strive to set a good example, or in some cases just to be funny while still true. So you can go through a long list of quotes and pick out the best ones, and accomplish your purpose. But unrationality quotes are attempting to demonstrate a preponderance, even a dominance, of dis-rationality over rationality in a particular tradition. For this it is not sufficient to cherry-pick a round dozen quotes from 2 millennia; you must also demonstrate that there are not counterweights to the ones you show. For all we know from what you’ve shown, these are the bottom 10% of Christian thinking; the rationality quotes, on the other hand, are avowedly picked from the top 10%.
Your thesis may still be true, indeed I think it is, but the quotes do not demonstrate it.
That said, the post might be a useful Dark Side weapon for making the first chink in someone’s armour of rationalisations.
For all we know from what you’ve shown, these are the bottom 10% of Christian thinking; the rationality quotes, on the other hand, are avowedly picked from the top 10%.
Supposing there have been 2 billion Christians, all of the quotes are by authors who I would say are in the top .000002% of Christian thinking. (Criteria for selection was having a “2 per century” reputation.)
I think there is a large asymmetry between rationality quotes and unrationality quotes. The first strive to set a good example, or in some cases just to be funny while still true. So you can go through a long list of quotes and pick out the best ones, and accomplish your purpose. But unrationality quotes are attempting to demonstrate a preponderance, even a dominance, of dis-rationality over rationality in a particular tradition. For this it is not sufficient to cherry-pick a round dozen quotes from 2 millennia; you must also demonstrate that there are not counterweights to the ones you show. For all we know from what you’ve shown, these are the bottom 10% of Christian thinking; the rationality quotes, on the other hand, are avowedly picked from the top 10%.
Your thesis may still be true, indeed I think it is, but the quotes do not demonstrate it.
That said, the post might be a useful Dark Side weapon for making the first chink in someone’s armour of rationalisations.
Supposing there have been 2 billion Christians, all of the quotes are by authors who I would say are in the top .000002% of Christian thinking. (Criteria for selection was having a “2 per century” reputation.)
Also see my response to gjm, below.