[net.religion] Should I be rational?

ddb@mrvax.DEC (DAVID DYER-BENNET MRO1-2/L14 DTN 231-4076) (04/10/84)

This was the title of a course I took back in college.
It was in the philosophy department, and was conducted as a seminar.

Yes, I should be rational, and so should you.  Being rational simply means
using all the information and creativity and intelligence you have to
attain the goals you want, and to refine those goals.  Note that being
Christian isn't necessarily "irrational" by my standards; if your experience
or logic drives you to christianity as the most effective way to fulfill some
part of your needs, then it would be irrational NOT to be Christian (and
this is equally true whether Christianity is true or false).

To quickly defuse some popular myths about rationality, let me say that
ignoring emotions is irrational.  Sometimes rationality can lead one to
set emotions aside temporarily -- for example, when accepting an immediate
loss for an important, but longer term, gain.  But rationality as I understand
it is not opposed to emotion.  Emotion is a reality, a part of the real world,
that must be dealt with, not ignored.

This time I'm going to remember to sign my message.  Really.

			-- David Dyer-Bennet
			-- {ihnp4,purdue,shasta,ucbvax}!decwrl!rhea!mrvax!ddb