I've written a little, just not "blogs" as it were.
I've mulled over the topic of tonight's blog for a while, and I haven't really settled on anything. The couple that I'm really thinking about would take a little more research than I have time in one evening and another that I've started is in the same state (the research is started, as is the blog itself I just have a ways to go on it).
I suppose with that in mind I'd like to talk about truth.
I want the truth. I want reality as it actually happens. If I can get first hand accounts of events, facts, statistics I'm very happy. I lived a large part of my life, like most people, being fed things that may or may not be true. Religion for instance. I can't discredit religion, to simplify my own viewpoint on it, I think it can be useful. It's more about the journey than the destination. That being said, some individuals grow in ways that are not copacetic to religious doctrine. Usually these individuals study or are in fields like the sciences, or philosophy. That isn't to say everybody who is a scientist or who has studied philosophy is areligious, agnostic, or atheist, just that these fields of study can lead people to question and at times those questions are directed towards religion and faith.
Now, can truth be found in religion. I think so, but how to gauge truth coming from religious doctrine is a bit more than difficult. You can go off of gut feelings I guess. That's the approach many modern day religions take, particularly Mormonism and many evangelical faiths. Of course, anybody who wants some way to measure truth will dismiss that. I do. It's not that I don't believe in the sincerity of the individuals making these claims, I do, it's just that I have no personal way to measure and show the finding of my results to others with out it being dubious. Of course some of you reading this who are religious will point out the bearing of testimony as one such way. It's popular in the LDS faith, but is found in other religions under other names. It's essentially claiming your beliefs, telling how those beliefs have affected you in your life, and how others can share in those beliefs. This is fine, I accept that you believe this, but most people bearing their testimonies or witnessing for Christ don't state it as a belief (I believe Christ is the savior), they state it as fact (I know Christ was the savior). Ok. Other than your unshaking belief in the bible and how the lord touched your heart how do you "know" this? It's the fundamental problem I have with a majority of religions. They make claims of fact when honestly there is no way to objectively confirm those facts.
People reading my blog will, no doubt get the impression that I'm going to occasionally pick on religion. In honesty, this is probably true. I don't want to bash on religion, and I fall back to the Mormon/LDS faith because it is the one I am personally most versed in. This isn't a dig against LDS folks, it isn't meant to be the biggest share of the time, it's simply my personal opinion. That being said, there's a point to all this: as somebody who's interested in the Truth. Fact as it were I am baffled by those who are not also interested in learning the Truth of things. These are not religious truths. I can not claim a religious truth outside myself, nor can anybody else. However scientific truths, historical fact (which is something academics are constantly striving for), facts of the present (whether they be political, social, or economical) these are things I strive to learn and understand.
It's not easy. In fact I dare say it's impossible. We have the internet, a juggernaut of information, with everybody writing on topics of interest for everybody else. We get conflicting view points: right, left, and over there. Of course then there's the international perspective. It's all coming at us eager and waiting if we're keen to look for it.
Something occurred to me about all of this though, everybody has an agenda. Everybody online has a goal. Usually that goal is to bring you around to their way of thinking. It's worked marvelous honestly. Much like a majority of religions the folks writing about these different topics with the authority of truth want you to join up and be part of the herd. Hell, even I want a few people to read this blog, even if it's utterly dismissed in a day or two. Now that being said, it doesn't mean that those individuals are wholly sincere in their writings. Just that they are willing to ignore contrary evidence, another sides points, or justified criticism in favor of their own belief/truth structure.
Simply put we cannot get away from bias. That is my goal, but even I know that it's futile. The best I can hope for personally is compromise.
But honestly that's not very satisfactory.
This will come up again. Both idea of religious and bias.
Labels: Bias's, Religious Criticism
posted by F.G. Shaw @ 1:03 AM
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