Up@dawn 2.0

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Jonathan Driver's Questions for Group 3 H01- Charles Bradlaugh

Factual Question:

What was Bradlaugh's motto?
A) Right On!
B)Borough
C)Just Do It
D) Thorough!

Answer: D) Thorough

Discussion Question:

Bradlaugh did not believe in the Christian God, nor any other god for that matter, and said that he could not believe in a God because he had no concept of such a being. He also said that he did not believe in God because he could not believe in the existence of another being or world other than the one humans know. How do you feel about this? Do you agree or disagree? Why do you feel the way you do? Do you think you have some proof of your belief?

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous2:05 PM CST

    First of all i would like to apologize to you for being snappy last week. Ive been wanting to apologize but decided to wait until you posted something so you would actually read. Anyhoo you felt as though i was trying to push my beliefs on you and i was being super defensive and snappy. Just wanted to let you know im sorry to have offended you. I wasn't trying to push anything on you though, just was trying to win an argument. Either case i lost my usual calm demeanor and ended up snapping at you, sorry man. Wont happen again. (I will respond to your discussion question within yhis post). You know i am a believer in God, but i tolerate and respect those that do not have the same beliefs. I think our text for this section demonstrates the benefits of the civil interaction btw believers and nonbelievers(although you are a believer of some sort, at least a follower of Buddhist philosopy and principles). In Bradlaugh's case, he was a respected member of parliament and established a large following of the "Free thought movement". His posistion and influence on a believing nation was profound. He allowed those who felt religiously oppressed a platform to speak upon. Now i am a believer firmly, but i think that people should have the right to choose their spiritual path. Remember i said "God is a gentleman, he will not force himself upon you". It is humanity that forces religion down people's throats, not God, and all this does is create a resentment toward God that should be directed to well-meaning but misguided religious leaders. Although i dont agree with a nonbelievers spiritual path, or lack thereof, they are still a person with unique talents, abilities and thoughts. These thoughts should be expressed, not oppressed. Take myself, i have some religious views that dont neccessarily coincide with typical Christian faith, but because of my faith in my freedom of speech i can openly write about those feelings on this blog and speak of them in class. Without these freedoms imposed by certain "happen to be nonbelievers" i would be subject to strict, probably outdated religious doctrine. I would not be free to feel the way i feel about my God and my spirituality and possibly hold resentment to said spirituality. This would be counterproductive. Free thought in religion actually promotes further, higher level religious thought. So, in a roundabout way, atheists like mr Bradlaugh actually can promote religion in that they open it up to freedom. That being said, this is a perfect reason why believers and nonbelievers should find middle ground. I am sure advancement will take place on both sides of the fence and i hope it is for the greater good. That is all for now!

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