I FINALLY GOT THE “STAY DUMB” ARGUMENT.
Was having a mini conversation with my religious mother last night while in the car.
Conversation started with parents responsibility to lgbtq to free will to bible to faith.
Ultimately at the end if the conversation she said that she is baffled by how “non-believers know so much about the bible. You educated people over analyze things.”
I mentioned that “what we should do then is stay dumb & not be educated?”
She said “NO, that’s not what I’m saying.”
I said “YES it is. You are saying that because I am educating myself on religion & the bible & looking at it from a logical, reasonable, intelligent mindset... you are saying to turn my intelligent mind off; the same intelligent mind that god supposedly gave us...”
Then she went quiet for a few seconds & then changed the subject.
Excellent conversation ... your poor mom! I had a pastor once who became tired of my questions, and said, 'You just have to have faith that God has a plan.' I felt that his willingness to stop probing and remain ignorant was an irrational position. Later I came across this quote by Robert Green Ingersoll, whose lectures from the 1800's were incredibly insightful.
“The doctrine that future happiness depends upon belief is monstrous. It is the infamy of infamies. The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be relieved only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance, called "faith."
The Gods, 1873
Insanity + Ignorance → Faith