Theists that you respect?

voltaire28
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Theists that you respect?

I know that most of us spend our time attacking irrational belief systems and exposing their negative consequences, but I was wondering if there are any theists who you still respect and see as positive figures, even though their supernatural beliefs are misguided.   Here are a few theists that I have an honest respect for, despite my personal disbelief in their theological views:

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Malcolm X

John Brown

Daniel & Phil Berrigan

Oscar Romero

Dorothy Day

 

 


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My parents.

My parents.


Tomcat
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My family, and myself for

My family, and myself for the first 18 years of my life.


22jesus22
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I would probably have to say

I would probably have to say Jesus! 


deludedgod
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Francis Collins. If

Francis Collins. If possible, he is more devoted to genetics than Dawkins, and like any good scientist, he doesnt let anything cloud his scientific judgement.

"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.

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Susan
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My veterinarian. He's a

My veterinarian.

He's a very staunch Catholic and a member of Promise Keepers.

When it comes to my critters, he goes more than the extra mile. If he thinks that more can be done than he or local specialists can do, he will contact experts in the field for help. Without telling me, when I had a kitty with multiple maladies, he wrote everything up and sent it to an internist at the University of Michigan to see if anything more could/should be done. The expert agreed with exactly what he had already done, but it was sure nice that he went to all that trouble.

One night he opened the clinic for me when I wasn't sure if I should take the kitty to the emergeny room.

He's not afraid to learn from clients. Some time ago, when he found out I was checking blood glucose levels on my diabetic kitty at home, he asked me to teach the staff (including him) how to do a blood glucose level on a cat with an ear prick and human glucometer. They now teach clients with diabetic cats how to do this.

He's honest when it's time to "make a decision."

He gives pretty good hugs when you lose fur-kid and always writes a lovely sympathy note.

He's very likely the kindest man I've ever known.

If all theists were like my vet, there would be a lot less problems in the world.

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J.S. Bach Bach ended each of

J.S. Bach

Bach ended each of his manuscripts with "To God alone, the glory." But his music is amazing.


lester ballard
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sidebar

Most of us admire some historical personages who were believers in differing ways (Jefferson, Einstein).

The error is in our generalizing, lumping all believers together and then taking shots.  

The problem is with fundamentalists.  They are the ones who have blocked stem cell research, attacked education, etc.  Whether we like it or not the issue is political, not philosophical.

I admire Michelangelo without sharing his belief.  I am awed by the Mozart Requiem.  I can enjoy wandering for hours in the National Cathedral (D.C.)

I'd bet that very few evangelicals are into things like these.


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A southern baptist

A southern baptist minister. Only preacher that ever shook my hand knowing that I am an atheist and meant it. Kept it a secret from the congregation too.

Gave me a role model to model a 'christian' family by. Unfortunately, we didn't see 'eye to eye' concerning a few science ethics questions. Throw out god belief and influence and there was someone to respect.

Haven't met anyone yet that came that close to the 'true christian' idea in my opinion.

 

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Following up your lead,

Following up your lead, darth_josh, I still admire the christian thinker Francis Schaeffer. His work is top notch, and is the only thing that kept me a christian for so long, even when I had my doubts. Unlike many ministers, I think he really understood "the other side."

Here's a choice quote:

Schaeffer wrote:
Christians have tended to despise the concept of philosophy. This has been one of the weaknesses of evangelical, orthodox Christianity -- we have been proud in despising philosophy, and we have been exceedingly proud in despising the intellect. Our theological seminaries hardly ever relate their theology to philosophy, and specifically to the current philosophy. Thus, students go out from the theological seminaries not knowing how to relate Christianity to the surrounding world-view. It is not that they do not know the answers. My observation is that most students graduating from our theological seminaries do not know the questions.


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I hope you don't mind me

I hope you don't mind me including a comment in this thread.  I am a theist but I thought I might add my oppinion as to atheists that I respect even though I think that their views are incorrect.

I respect Richard Dawkins.  I like the fact that he has strong views and that he speaks his mind.  I think he is sincere and makes some very interesting and elegant arguments.  I also think that he is a brilliant writer and I wish I could write half as well.


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If he really is a theist

If he really is a theist (Catholic), I have a hell of a lot of respect for Stephen Colbert.  No one can sock it to the reich-wing talking heads like he can. Smiling

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Connor
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My mom and everyone at St.

My mom and everyone at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, the people there were genuinely friendly and giving, and I would have joined them if wasn't for pesky ol' christianity.


AL
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deludedgod wrote: Francis

deludedgod wrote:
Francis Collins. If possible, he is more devoted to genetics than Dawkins, and like any good scientist, he doesnt let anything cloud his scientific judgement.

I admire Collins' work as a scientist as well, but when I hear him talk about his theism, it drives me up the wall with its sheer inanity.  Overall, I end up with mixed feelings about the man's (very, very compartmentalized) thoughts.

If atheism is a religion, why am I paying taxes?


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Bob Marley! BB  

Bob Marley!

BB

 


Iruka Naminori
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lester ballard wrote:

lester ballard wrote:

The error is in our generalizing, lumping all believers together and then taking shots.

I've begun to think differently. Faith--all faith--is the enemy here. Because it is tolerated, nutbar fundies exist. Faith itself is to blame for this.

Moderate and liberal religionists betray faith and reason equally. Fundies have actually studied the "holy scriptures" and they are right about them. The scriptures really are as intolerant and hateful as the fundies say they are.

Even fundies pick and choose which scriptures to uphold, but when it comes to cherry-picking scriptures, moderate and liberal religionists are the champs. They turn a blind eye to unpleasant scriptures yet insist we respect faith, thus giving aid and shelter to their crazy fundy counterparts.

Moderate and liberal religionists also betray reason by believing in things for which there is no proof (the essence of faith). They want to have a foot planted in both worlds, but by doing so, they enable the crazy contingent of faith.

Faith itself is the enemy.

"Faith is not the result of fuzzy thinking; it is the cause of it." - Dan Barker

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Digital_Babu
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Iruka Naminori

Iruka Naminori wrote:

Moderate and liberal religionists also betray reason by believing in things for which there is no proof (the essence of faith). They want to have a foot planted in both worlds, but by doing so, they enable the crazy contingent of faith.

Faith itself is the enemy.

"Faith is not the result of fuzzy thinking; it is the cause of it." - Dan Barker

 

Is faith the enemy of reason, or is it rationality. Because it seems to me wholely unreasonable to expect that it is for any human being possible to be free of any unrational assumptions. I for one indulge in everyday irrationalities by some form of faith, let's say reasonable faith that in content is irrational. I love my girlfriend, I talk to my cat as if it were a human being, I expect that the social world around me behaves in a fashion and accordingly I act.

 

Oh and I respect any theist unless the respectful relation loses reciprocity, or the said theist starts to show ?fascistoid? tendencies. But this condition is also appropriate to any kind of human being.


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The Trappist Monks: They

The Trappist Monks:

They make good beer.


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  Dr. Kenneth

 

Dr. Kenneth Miller

Professor of Biology, Brown University, destroyer of intelligent design creationism and renowned softball umpire.

 

I'm off myspace.com so you can only find me here: http://geoffreymgolia.blogspot.com


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Conn_in_Brooklyn wrote:

Conn_in_Brooklyn wrote:

Dr. Kenneth Miller

Professor of Biology, Brown University, destroyer of intelligent design creationism and renowned softball umpire.

 

I think that's the guy from the youtube video.

He is 10 shades of awesome. 

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I was gonna say Ken Miller

I was gonna say Ken Miller too.  I have no idea how someone who defeated ID in Dover can be a Catholic too. It boggles my mind.  He wrote a book called Finding Darwin's God, where he wrote about evolution and God.  I haven't read it, because I can't even accept that Jesus was a real person.

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Darwins-God-Scientists-Evolution/dp/0060930497?tag2=gp04-20 

 


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All my money goes to stephen

All my money goes to stephen colbert.


Conn_in_Brooklyn
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I would highly suggest

I would highly suggest "Finding Darwin's God" to anyone who wants to understand the fallacy of ID creationism.  Ken Miller is just sucha  great writer and scientist ... also, he has a lot of interesting thoughts on materialism, NOMA, etc. that, while I don't agree with, should be known by our community.  And he's from New England.

I'm off myspace.com so you can only find me here: http://geoffreymgolia.blogspot.com


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Finding Darwin's God is

Finding Darwin's God is excellent, and I have no problem with colleagues like Miller and Collins. Some of the reviews said that Miller was advocating Intelligent Design. this is ridiculous:

An important distinction

Theistically driven evolution: All the mechanisms of evolution, endosymbioses, mutation and accumulation, punctuated equilibrium, gene flow and transfer, Darwinism and selection, can all be explained naturally. A deity might have got it started in the right direction by infusing the primordial soup, perhaps sparking the RNA world or Autocatalysis, but after that allowed evolution to take its course

Intelligent Design: A bearded guy in the sky sat down and drew up blueprints for all life, and made them as he would a watch.  

"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.

-Me

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Redeeminator
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John Shelby Spong

John Shelby Spong


deludedgod
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Absolutely. Bishop Sponge

Absolutely. Bishop Sponge is a man I hold in highest esteem. His rational pantheistic, evidence-based understanding of the world and the necessary second reformation of religion (theism is dead) is music to my ears. It is men like Sponge that make me feel so guilty for my despisal of religion.

GO SPONGE!  

"Physical reality” isn’t some arbitrary demarcation. It is defined in terms of what we can systematically investigate, directly or not, by means of our senses. It is preposterous to assert that the process of systematic scientific reasoning arbitrarily excludes “non-physical explanations” because the very notion of “non-physical explanation” is contradictory.

-Me

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