Mr. Grouchypants

This is a pretty funny piece. It is The Onion though, so expect some foul language.

(Via AnalPhilosopher)

A few years ago, I was reading an article in Rolling Stone about singer, Marilyn Manson. Manson made a comment which basically stated that intelligence isn’t mentioned as a virtue anywhere in the bible. I’m not sure that is entirely correct given the “be wise as serpents” passage, but let’s assume that Manson was correct. Should the bible be faulted if it doesn’t count intelligence among the virtues? I don’t think so, and the reason for this is simple. Intelligence isn’t a virtue.

Intelligence is a trait which can be used for a variety of actions. And not all of those actions are virtuous. Serial killers illustrate this point quite well. In this regard, intelligence is no different than physical strength and charisma. All three are good traits to have, and all three can be used for good actions. But they can just as easily be used for nefarious goals. So, at best, intelligence is neutral when it comes to virtue.

The Problem of Evil is a powerful (I would say convincing) argument against the existence of God. For this reason, one frequently will see atheists challenge theists with it. What I often don’t see is atheists dealing with the consequences of the argument. If you argue that there is too much suffering in the world for there to be a God, aren’t you committed to taking a rather bleak view of the world? Shouldn’t one conclude that the world is a bad place after accepting the argument from evil? If not, why not? How can there be enough suffering in the world to negate the idea of God but not enough to make the world a bad place? I suspect that most atheists deal with this issue the same way that most theists deal with the argument itself: they ignore it.

How do I deal with it you ask? Ok, even if you don’t ask I’ll still give an answer. Well, I can’t really give much in the way of an answer, because I don’t really have one. That’s probably why part of me can’t completely shake the idea of theism. Because of the suffering I see in the world, I want theism to be true even with all the logical difficulties that come with it. Theism provides the possibility for some recompense for the suffering in this world. Without that, I don’t see any realistic reaction to the problem of evil other than concluding that the world as a whole is a bad place. So for the time being, all I can do is hope that I am wrong about God.

I have never been a fan of Donna Brazile, but in the past couple of years she has seemed much more reasonable than many in the Democratic party. In a recent Washington Post article, she praises the President’s New Orleans speech and pledges to work with him to rebuild the area. She also urges others to join in the effort. I would like to think that liberals across the country would heed her call and put aside some of their animosity towards Bush, but I’m not going to hold my breath. All the same, Brazile deserves credit for reaching out.

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.
- Oscar Wilde

While I don’t believe in God, I’m not hostile to the idea. In fact, I would prefer there to be a God for a number of reasons. I am what you could call a friendly atheist. Regardless of labels, I am interested in the notion of God and enjoy discussing religious ideas. I actually attended an Episcopalian church for about a year while I was in college, hoping to be able to find others with whom I could discuss religious ideas.

However, I found that most of the people I met were not very interested in discussing their religion. And it wasn’t that I was being hostile when discussing God with them. I always tried to be respectful, yet I rarely found people willing to talk about it at any length. This has always struck me as odd. Supposedly one’s religion is fundamental to one’s life. If something is that important to you, shouldn’t you want to talk about it? At the very least, shouldn’t you be able to talk about it without appearing uncomfortable?

I suspect that most people don’t talk much about their religion simply because they don’t think about it very much. If one views religion as something you do rather than as an intellectual exercise, this is understandable to a degree. On the other hand, religion does involve a lot of ideas, some of which aren’t particularly trivial. So why not reflect on those ideas from time to time?

And I have considered the possibility that they simply didn’t want to discuss religion with ME. I just don’t think that can explain all of it. And who wouldn’t want to talk to me anyway? I do it all the time and rarely get on my nerves.

I’ve noticed that there are lots of companies running ads that appeal to people that think they are stretched too thin and have too little time. The commercials are usually for things like online bill pay or other technological marvels that let people shave precious seconds off various tasks. But if you are having trouble finding time to get your bills paid, shouldn’t you take a step back and take a look at your schedule? Of course you should, but people like to feel like martyrs sometimes. So the advertisers flatter them by playing along. Now I don’t have a problem with people choosing demanding careers or enrolling their kids in every extracurricular activity under the sun. They just shouldn’t expect people to feel sorry for them when their choices eat up their time.

I have really been slacking on posting recently. I was out of town for several days at the end of August and haven’t been able to get back into any kind of a groove since then. On a positive note, I have managed to modify my sites template to allow three columns. It’s more than just a little sad that I’m excited about something like that.

Check out Heather MacDonald’s article, The Racism Charges Won’t Wash, in City Journal. She raises some legitimate questions about the charges of racism in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. If the country is as racist as some would have you believe, then it is difficult to understand the massive outpouring of charity directed towards the victims of the storm.

(Via The Inkwell)

Mort Kondracke has a good article on Bush’s response to Katrina here.