tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578496623140464256.post8295431278435027004..comments2023-05-11T08:00:50.001-05:00Comments on A Glass Darkly: Listening to critics: a surprising pluralismDenis Haackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04401098607183612613noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578496623140464256.post-635325525410793582010-03-26T15:59:01.201-05:002010-03-26T15:59:01.201-05:00Daniel:
The views of the New Atheists, of which Sa...Daniel:<br />The views of the New Atheists, of which Sam Harris is one, are popular though I doubt whether they are all that influential. By that I mean that though their books are best-sellers and they attract a lot of attention, I doubt they have made many converts. Instead, they make unbelief more plausible, or at least reinforce the idea that people should be spiritual without committing to any religious tradition.<br /><br />I get my news from a variety of sources that come from a variety of perspectives in an attempt to hear the best arguments from all sides.Denis Haackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04401098607183612613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578496623140464256.post-15065310014463945342010-03-26T15:49:14.209-05:002010-03-26T15:49:14.209-05:00Denis, thank you for your commentary!
I came acro...Denis, thank you for your commentary!<br /><br />I came across a video interview of Sam Harris on "Why to Ditch Religion". I know it's not a new idea, but its growing presence in the media (this video was on cnn.com's homepage) makes me wonder if this view is more a bias of certain media outlets or if it is indeed a reflection of its increasing popularity in society. Or..?<br /><br />What sources of news do you prefer? and why?<br /><br />(the view is here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/25/ted.sam.harris/index.html)<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />DanielDanielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01429259860741154059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578496623140464256.post-37493404215775016942010-03-21T17:31:08.746-05:002010-03-21T17:31:08.746-05:00Greg:
You raise an interesting question, and one I...Greg:<br />You raise an interesting question, and one I wish he could answer. My sense is that he would reply that he is not a relativist: God exists and has revealed himself in human history, in a succession of prophets ending with Muhammad. These prophets have all revealed the same God and called on his creatures to seek righteousness in submission to his will. Thus, rather than Islam being "against" Christianity, it fulfills it in the sense that Christians have mistaken the original message of Jesus. So, when Jews, Christians, and Muslims sit down in dialogue, all three must begin by recognizing the faith of the other two as true revelation from God. This is not only necessary for mutual respect as fellow believers but essential to bring peace to a conflict-ridden world. Then, Ayoub seems to take this one step further and apply it to all religious impulse in any form.<br /><br />I realize the next question is whether this does not do damage to the actual teaching of the various religions, which brings them into conflict. I suspect he would argue that this mistakes the essential core of the various religions and proves the peaceful foundation of Islam as taught by the Qur'an.<br /><br />To me the real surprise comes less in the details of the argument, which of course is open to debate. The real surprise is the number of Shi'a clerics now arguing for pluralism. This is not to say they will steer world Islam in a new direction, but their appearance is an interesting development to say the least. It also shows that Islam is not the simple single world-wide unified phenomenon we sometimes imagine it to be.Denis Haackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04401098607183612613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8578496623140464256.post-77963471098144915182010-03-19T17:08:07.295-05:002010-03-19T17:08:07.295-05:00Thanks for mentioning this, Denis. I look forward ...Thanks for mentioning this, Denis. I look forward to reading it. I have one little semantic question for Ayoub: does "pluralism" really mean "relativism"? Religious pluralism is a fact of life in this world. Embracing philosophic relativism is a common response to it. In my opinion equating the two makes true tolerance more elusive.greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05754912128060898594noreply@blogger.com