Tuesday, November 22, 2005
The illogical faith of Penn Jillette
First Jillette says that atheism is the logical starting point of a search for God.
"So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God."
Then he says that his disbelief is belief.
"But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by. So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God.""
He goes on to talk about how cool not believing in God is. Of course he told us that it was perfectly logical, so why the leap of faith? Because it is illogical, because like he said you can't prove a negative.
To ask the question you could rationally start by saying "There is a God, I will try and dissprove him." Or, as Jillette says, you could say "There is no God, I will try and prove his existence." But the objective starting point would be "I don't know if there is a God." The first two hypothesis just frame the question so it can be discussed.
The logical starting point is agnosticism. So where is Jillette's argument against the existence of God? Oh, he doesn't need one, he has a leap of faith. Isn't it wonderful that he is so much more rational than those believing fools?
"So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God."
Then he says that his disbelief is belief.
"But, this "This I Believe" thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life's big picture, some rules to live by. So, I'm saying, "This I believe: I believe there is no God.""
He goes on to talk about how cool not believing in God is. Of course he told us that it was perfectly logical, so why the leap of faith? Because it is illogical, because like he said you can't prove a negative.
To ask the question you could rationally start by saying "There is a God, I will try and dissprove him." Or, as Jillette says, you could say "There is no God, I will try and prove his existence." But the objective starting point would be "I don't know if there is a God." The first two hypothesis just frame the question so it can be discussed.
The logical starting point is agnosticism. So where is Jillette's argument against the existence of God? Oh, he doesn't need one, he has a leap of faith. Isn't it wonderful that he is so much more rational than those believing fools?
