“Spirituality authors, who are generally forgiving of most human foibles ... take a hard line on intellectualism.... Skepticism they view with contempt, as the refuge of the unenlightened.” HumansHardSpiritualityLinesViewsAtheismForgivingPositive AtheismContemptSkepticismRefugeIntellectualismFoibles Book:Sleeping with Extra-terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety Source: Sleeping with Extra-terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety
“There's a way in which all of these grazers at the spirituality buffet are performing a service, because you could argue that grazing leads to a kind of tolerance. People who incorporate teachings from a lot of different traditions into their own belief systems are going to be more tolerant than people who confine themselves within the strict boundaries of one particular religion. Does it contribute to our confusion? I don't know if it contributes to confusion so much as it is evidence of a certain kind of silliness and shallowness.” PeopleKindDifferentSpiritualityBeliefTeachingEvidenceTraditionArguingToleranceBoundariesConfusionPerformingSillinessShallowness Author:Wendy Kaminer
“What makes fantastic declarations believable is, in part, the vehemence with which they're proffered. Again, in the world of spirituality as well as of pop psychology, intensity of personal belief is evidence of truth. It is considered very bad form - even abuse - to challenge the veracity of any personal testimony that might be offered in a twelve-step group or on a talk show, unless the testimony itself is equivocal... Whatever sells, whatever many people believe strongly, must be true.” PeopleWorldBelieveWellsShowsMightFormReligionSpiritualityBeliefChallengesStepsPsychologyGroupsEvidenceAbuseSellsPopsBeing TrueFantasticIntensityTwelveDeclarationTestimonyBelievableTalk ShowsTrue ReligionVeracityVehemencePersonal Beliefs Author:Wendy Kaminer
“Religions, of course, have their own demanding intellectual traditions, as Jesuits and Talmudic scholars might attest.... But, in its less rigorous, popular forms, religion is about as intellectually challenging as the average self-help book. (Like personal development literature, mass market books about spirituality and religion celebrate emotionalism and denigrate reason. They elevate the "truths" of myths and parables over empiricism.) In its more authoritarian forms, religion punishes questioning and rewards gullibility. Faith is not a function of stupidity but a frequent cause of it.” BookSelfReasonHelpingMightFormSpiritualityCoursesLiteratureCausesChallengesSelf HelpDevelopmentMassIntellectualTraditionFunctionRewardsAveragePositive AtheismStupidityMythPersonal DevelopmentPunishmentCelebrateScholarQuestioningParablesEmpiricismGullibilityJesuitSelf Help BooksHelp Book Author:Wendy Kaminer
