a few months ago, i was having a conversation w/ a xtian. it was a polite discourse and the guy was fairly intelligent and so forth...
anyway, we actually ended up stalemating on a subject that, to me, just seemed so absurd that i wasn't even sure how to respond. this guy actually contended that atheism is a religion. imagine my astonishment at such a ludicrous notion.. huh?
of course, the first thing that came to mind was to break out the dictionary:
re·li·gion (rĭ-lĭj'ən) pronunciation
n.
1.
1. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.
2. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.
2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order.
3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.
surely that should squelch his bizarre assertion. nope, he wasn't convinced. so, then i suggested to him that a necessary component of "religion" was a blind faith not rooted in intellectual reason. at this point, he scratched his head and said he'd have to think about that and get back to me -- he never did.
i'm wondering how you guys would have approached this odd and unexpected debate.
note: to be fair, i also found another definition, but it seemed to stretch the meaning of the word quite a bit: "A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion." doesn't this definition imply that "religion" is synonymous with "tenet" or even "maxim??" i don't think it is. thoughts on this as well?
|