Reading Ross Douthat and Tyler Cowen have a back and forth
on religious belief that is laughable.
Among Cowen’s biggest hoots is deploring the lack of
Bayesianism in most religious belief. I suppose he thinks Richard Carrier’s
Bayesian book-cooking in the name of Jesus mythicism is spot on? Cowen also
confirms that his libertarian bona fides are deep and thoroughgoing when he
claims to be a Straussian on religious issues. Anyone who invokes Leo Strauss
for THAT bears careful watching. (Note to Massimo Pigliucci: Remember, Cowen
strongly blurbed Harry Frankfurt’s new book, which was the first reason I
became highly skeptical of it.
Douthat responds by ignoring that both Blaise Pascal and
C.S. Lewis stacked the deck with their wagers on, respectively, the existence
of god and the divinity of Jesus.
Cowen then replies that he takes William James seriously.
Wow. “Varieties” only shows how deep-seated are the human mental evolutions
that have been “hijacked” by the development of religion. Nothing more.
Rusty then extends that to a “mystical ineffability means
its true!” stance.
Surprisingly, near the end, Douthat lays out his own
Bayesian take, and only 45 percent of his total of 100 percent is for classical
theism.
That’s called “Cafeteria Catholic,” Rusty, next time you lay
that label on the likes of John Kerry or any pro-choice Catholic.
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Douthat finishes by invoking Nicholas Taleb’s black swans
and saying that, among religions, Christianity is the blackest of all. This is
nothing more than a fancy new presentation of Tertullian’s “Credo quia
absurdum.”
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