LionKimbro recounts an experience of talking about Evolutionary Spirituality on a geek mailing list, "FoRK."
Originally written: LionKimbro 06:14, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
Report[]
- There were about 3-6 supportive people, 3 of whom emailed in private.
- A few people asked questions, but didn't express support or lack of support.
- Most people were silent.
- "Classical atheists," numbering perhaps 3-4, were extremely skeptical. Objections, paraphrased:
- "Aren't you just trying to trick people?"
- "Why not just tell people to think whatever they want?"
- "Why are you pandering to religions? They don't deserve it."
- "This looks like a religion, smells like a religion... ...It is a religion! We're against religion. Religion does bad things."
- "People just need to get a grip."
- "Woah-woah-woah-- what do you mean, the Universe became aware?"
- "So much clap-trap."
Anecdote[]
One of the classical atheists wrote:
- Folks just need to get a grip. (...)
- You come to grips with the fact that the only purpose of life is what you make of it; that the world is a cold, hollow, soulless place, and that no --- you are not a precious fucking snowflake.
Every statement of evolutionary spirituality was viewed as an opportunity for deceit.
Talk about language was considered "clap-trap" and trickery.
The idea that "We participate in this cosmic creativity by way of language, which is in inherently symbolic, meaningful, consequential, and ever changing," [1] was derided as (paraphrasing) "saying nothing." One person asked, (paraphrasing) "What could this even mean?!" They saw this as (paraphrasing) "new age pseudo-science clap-trap nonsense."
---
The classical atheists originally thought that we were saying that the universe has an independent consciousness, (like a classical God.) I think I convinced them otherwise, but they're squinting their eyes, saying, "Really..."
References[]
- FoRK Mailing List Archives (selection I) -- all articles titled "Thanks for the Facts. Now Sell Them."
- FoRK Mailing List Archives (selection II) -- all articles titled "Thanks for the Facts. Now Sell Them."