Hey, it’s another Sunday and as usual Jon Benjamin has something for the religious guys. I think you should start coming here every Sunday to look at my take on his posts.
Today, he picked a quote by Albert Einstein. It says, ‘the ethical behavior of man is better based on sympathy, education, and social relationships, and requires no support from religion. Man’s plight would, indeed, be sad if he had to be kept in order through fear of punishment and hope of rewards after death.’
Notice that Albert Einstein isn’t making a statement about all religions. It would be difficult for him to do so because all religions are not the same. That’s probably the mistake in his thinking. His statement may be right for some religious beliefs but certainly not all.
I think this is where many people get it wrong: they first assume all religions are the same and then draw their deductions from that.
The Christian faith actually supports Albert Einstein in the final part of his quote that, ‘Man’s plight would, indeed, be sad if he had to be kept in order through fear of punishment and hope of rewards after death.’ However, the only problem would be his opening statement: the ethical behavior of man is better based on sympathy, education… and requires no support from religion.’
My question is, why is an ethical behavior based on sympathy, education, etc. better than a religion that keeps us in order through fear?
You see, a humanist in his thinking rejects any supernatural or divine ideas. Albert Einstein, by sticking to his humanist philosophy, makes a judgment over the two cases. He calls ethical behaviors based on education and social relationships better than a religion that keeps us in order through fear. If we can extend his thinking to mean that being judgmental is a good thing for any humanist, we are in for serious trouble.
Hey, it’s another Sunday and as usual Jon Benjamin has something for the religious guys. I think you should start coming here every Sunday to look at my take on his posts.
Today, he picked a quote by Albert Einstein. It says, ‘the ethical behavior of man is better based on sympathy, education, and social relationships, and requires no support from religion. Man’s plight would, indeed, be sad if he had to be kept in order through fear of punishment and hope of rewards after death.’
Notice that Albert Einstein isn’t making a statement about all religions. It would be difficult for him to do so because all religions are not the same. That’s probably the mistake in his thinking. His statement may be right for some religious beliefs but certainly not all.
I think this is where many people get it wrong: they first assume all religions are the same and then draw their deductions from that.
The Christian faith actually supports Albert Einstein in the final part of his quote that, ‘Man’s plight would, indeed, be sad if he had to be kept in order through fear of punishment and hope of rewards after death.’ However, the only problem would be his opening statement: the ethical behavior of man is better based on sympathy, education… and requires no support from religion.’
My question is, why is an ethical behavior based on sympathy, education, etc. better than a religion that keeps us in order through fear?
You see, a humanist in his thinking rejects any supernatural or divine ideas. Albert Einstein, by sticking to his humanist philosophy, makes a judgment over the two cases. He calls ethical behaviors based on education and social relationships better than a religion that keeps us in order through fear. If we can extend his thinking to mean that being judgmental is a good thing for any humanist, we are in for serious trouble.
