Examine All Claims, Not Just Religious
Originally published in the Ottawa Citizen on September 4, 2010.
I’m glad to see that Justin Trottier and the Center for Inquiry are at least finding a bit more precision with their bus poster slogans. The author of the 2009 bus slogan: ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life” equivocated with the first sentence, since it is evident that God either exists or does not exist (the word “probably” should have been removed). Moreover, who is to say one would stop worrying and enjoy their lives with such a realization? Existentialist philosophers realized the implications of the inexistence of God long ago. Needless to say, the implications are quite grim. We have seen its ramifications in the past century with the bloodshed of two world wars.
I believe it is good to question all things. This is how more understanding is reached. Evidence must be presented for
all claims. The question that remains before us is the following: Is the Center for Inquiry prepared to use the same
level of scrutiny towards its own beliefs? Is it prepared to question its own views of materialism and naturalism? It’s
important to note that materialism is even more ancient than Christianity. The question of its validity has remained
with us since the time of its origination with the pre-Socratic philosophers. Nonetheless, philosophy and science
seem to be pointing more than ever away from the view of materialism and towards a transcendent reality.
To be more objective, I think the Center for Inquiry should change its new posters to: “Extraordinary Claims Require
Extraordinary Evidence – Naturalism -Atheism – Materialism – Scientism -Allah -Zeus – Christ.” Let’s examine
claims, bullet’s examine all of them honestlyand objectively.