Noah,
Watch this 19min. video by Alain de Botton. Atheist who proposes an Atheism 2.0.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this TED talk presentation.
https://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0#t-510483
Here are my questions to you in response to the Talk:
What do you agree most about what he says?
What are your points of disagreement?
In light of what he is saying--learning from aspects of religion that give us greater meaning, consolation, and community--what aspects of Christianity would you adopt into your life to better help you live a life of meaning and purpose?
Excited to talk about this!
Wade
Watch this 19min. video by Alain de Botton. Atheist who proposes an Atheism 2.0.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this TED talk presentation.
https://www.ted.com/talks/alain_de_botton_atheism_2_0#t-510483
Here are my questions to you in response to the Talk:
What do you agree most about what he says?
What are your points of disagreement?
In light of what he is saying--learning from aspects of religion that give us greater meaning, consolation, and community--what aspects of Christianity would you adopt into your life to better help you live a life of meaning and purpose?
Excited to talk about this!
Wade
Wade,
ReplyDeleteAmazing video - thank you so much for sharing.
"most people in the community certainly don't think that religion is going away any time soon and want to find the language to have a constructive dialogue and to feel like we can actually talk to each other and at least share some things in common. Are we foolish to be optimistic about the possibility of a world where, instead of religion being the great rallying cry of divide and war, that there could be bridging?"
This is exactly what you and I are doing with this blog. We are having this constructive dialogue, sharing common ideas and values, bridging the gap between two major groups of people in the world who are commonly thought to be incompatible.
I very much like Alain's advice to learn from the structure and techniques of the church. There's a reason it's such a massively popular organization, and we can apply these techniques outside of religion as well. :)
My only point of disagreement is in response to Alain's attitude that it is better to ignore parts of religion with which we don't agree and rather try to find a way to understand it. For example, if you tell me "I prayed for me last night", instead of simply ignoring the comment, I could response "I meditated on our relationship earlier today". Keep finding common ground. Neither side is 100% right or 100% wrong, the world is never going to be that black and white. Sometimes the percentages don't even add up to 100. Haha.
What would I like to adopt from Christianity into my life? Community. I feel that I don't have a solid group with which I can gather each week. I have friends all over, some with whom I write blogs with ;) and some whom I see in person, but I don't have that solid group I can get together with each week and share some music, ideas, and food. Maybe I can create a similar group online...
Thanks again for the video Wade. Can you share some of the biggest takeaways you got from watching it?
Peace and love my friend,
-Noah
Hey bro,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response. I think your desire for community is wonderful. Maybe you could find a church nearby in Chile and start hanging out with some Christians! :) heheh
Enjoy Christmas with family in the States.
I will respond soon about my thoughts on Botton. i was super intrigued by what he proposes.
Wade