“I think there’s absolutely a level among liberals of not wanting to be defined by their lack of belief,” says Wear. “But there’s also an element of wanting to hold on to the spiritual benefits or comfort of theological beliefs that come with religion, while not wanting to be associated with a lot of the public implications of faith, including social issues.”One wonders why, in this society, more tolerant of unbelief than ever before, and more tolerant than of any ancient.
Nor are we intolerant of questioning. Does not The Ballad of the White Horse say:
But Mark was come of the glittering towns
Where hot white details show,
Where men can number and expound,
And his faith grew in a hard ground
Of doubt and reason and falsehood found,
Where no faith else could grow.
Belief that grew of all beliefs
One moment back was blown
And belief that stood on unbelief
Stood up iron and alone.
Why lie about something so intimate, in an age when you will confess your most intimate transgressions to the crowd?
1 comment:
What's being "confessed" to the crowd is the open, obvious stuff that any with eyes can see, and nothing at all of an intimate nature to a group that claims "me first; it's all about me, for my name is Julia." And an ego stroke: see how self-critical I can seem--far more than you are being--I win!
It's easy to profess, hard actually to believe--and harder still to defend the belief, however inarticulately the defense might be made.
And it's laziness: the lie is easy, the emptiness of the claim is easy and of a piece with the emptiness of what passes for progressive...thought.
there’s also an element of wanting to hold on to the spiritual benefits or comfort of theological beliefs...while not wanting to be associated with....
Say, instead, there's an element of wanting the trappings of the beliefs without the substance. Or, say talk is cheap.
Eric Hines
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