This is an interesting piece, thought provoking, but the core premise is unconvincing. As you’ve presented things, maybe in this case, I have to accept that there is some super-powerful being that will do really bad things to me if I don’t kowtow, or do really good stuff for me if I do, but that’s not the same as truly accepting that this being is the fundamental reference for right and wrong, and that aligning with what this being says is ultimately good, and not aligning with it is evil. There’s a fundamental difference between believing, “According to God, [religiously proscribed thing] is wrong”, and, “[religiously proscribed thing] is wrong”. In your scenario, maybe I become convinced of the former, and either rebel, or avoid [religiously proscribed thing], or try find some way to appease God, while in the second case, I’ll either be genuinely trying to change, or at least feeling really guilty about being such a bad person.
There’s a big difference between being an Atheist in a quandary, versus being truly converted.
The scenario you’ve presented starts with the discovery that the universe is different than previously believed, but glosses over the steps for me to become convinced “with p(99%), that Christianity is and always has been true”. Maybe for someone at 4 or 5 on the Dawkins scale, just seeing some strong evidence supporting the existence of God nudges them to 1 or 2. But, for me (6), Atheism is not just a matter of lack of evidence, but the cumulative effect of experience and logic. There are versions of God that I could accept, but an arbitrary, anthropomorphized God is a much bigger leap. To get from A to B would involve such a fundamental rewiring of my thought processes, that I’m no longer really the same person I am now. If I got there somehow, I would not be rebelling.
This is an interesting piece, thought provoking, but the core premise is unconvincing. As you’ve presented things, maybe in this case, I have to accept that there is some super-powerful being that will do really bad things to me if I don’t kowtow, or do really good stuff for me if I do, but that’s not the same as truly accepting that this being is the fundamental reference for right and wrong, and that aligning with what this being says is ultimately good, and not aligning with it is evil. There’s a fundamental difference between believing, “According to God, [religiously proscribed thing] is wrong”, and, “[religiously proscribed thing] is wrong”. In your scenario, maybe I become convinced of the former, and either rebel, or avoid [religiously proscribed thing], or try find some way to appease God, while in the second case, I’ll either be genuinely trying to change, or at least feeling really guilty about being such a bad person.
There’s a big difference between being an Atheist in a quandary, versus being truly converted.
The scenario you’ve presented starts with the discovery that the universe is different than previously believed, but glosses over the steps for me to become convinced “with p(99%), that Christianity is and always has been true”. Maybe for someone at 4 or 5 on the Dawkins scale, just seeing some strong evidence supporting the existence of God nudges them to 1 or 2. But, for me (6), Atheism is not just a matter of lack of evidence, but the cumulative effect of experience and logic. There are versions of God that I could accept, but an arbitrary, anthropomorphized God is a much bigger leap. To get from A to B would involve such a fundamental rewiring of my thought processes, that I’m no longer really the same person I am now. If I got there somehow, I would not be rebelling.