[lbo-talk] RE: An Appeal to Ignorance

[C. G. Estabrook]

After traveling for two weeks, I'm trying to catch up on
messages on LBO, and I find (not unusually) an ardent
discussion of religion and theology.  Many messages contain
descriptions and analyses of beliefs (and the motives for
them) that the writer doesn't hold -– indeed often condemns.
Not a problem in itself -– it's been said that to refute an
argument you must understand it slightly better than those who
hold it -– but I do think that some imaginings about what the
religious believe contain an element of fantasy. 

A mundane example: my travels included the (sixtieth) annual
convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America, an
organization of academics in seminaries and university
departments of theology and religious studies; almost all the
members hold doctorates in theology, philosophy, or the social
sciences.  The political and social views expressed at the
meeting were quite compatible with those expressed on this
list: the presidential address, e.g., was an impassioned
denunciation of US neoliberal policies and the war in Iraq. --CGE