I adore Pat Condell. He's insightful and brazen in speaking his personal truth.
That being said, I think there's a vast difference between religion and spirituality.
Religion, as I see it, is codifying the infinite unto finite boxes defined by sectarian bias and fleshed out through the channel of anthropomorphism, ego-centrism, bigotry and greed. Thereby making God in the image and likeness of the believer in that Deific identity that always loves them best.
There's a video entitled, "The God Who Wasn't There". Produced by a former Theist who also use to attend parochial school, the young man makes his way back to that church school and interviews it's pastor/principle. A man who proudly sits at his desk while a collage of framed documents alluding to his credibility as a man of God adorn the wall behind and are intended to send the message one seated before that desk is speaking with a learned man.
During the interview the pastor says he takes it on faith that Jesus did exist. While there is no evidence the Biblical Joshua/Yeshua/Jesus did at all. Especially given the New Testament was 2/3rds compiled by Paul, who never knew Jesus in the flesh.
And then the pastor says one has to set aside the intellect in order to hold faith. (Because faith precludes fact)
Perfection! But not quite. Because unfortunately amid all those framed pieces of paper alluding to his having jumped through the particular hoops required to earn them, the one thing he was in deficit of was integrity.
Because in very short order he recanted what he'd said about setting aside intellect in order to hold faith.
The young man, to his credit kept his cool and showed respect to his former pastor/principle, and offered to rewind the live video tape and show the pastor where he had said just that. The man refused and ended up storming out of his own office.
It's a movie I highly recommend, and can be had through one's public library (or through "Inter Library Loan" if not available in the local collection) or online through various outlets, like Amazon, eBay, etc...
It is true. One has to set aside the rational intellect in order to hope that something never proven to exist not only is responsible for everything that does, but has a personal empathetic investment in the human condition.
Whereas Spirituality, is something else. It's respect for what is unknown while living what is perceived as a real life that one is personally responsible for. Someone can certainly feel connected to nature, to the powers that invigorate all that exists and not be religious.
Religion as I see it, is thinking those energies, powers, elements within all that exists, are created by something super natural but possessed of human characteristics.
As in the Christian God who, if one reads the Christian Bible, is described as the greatest of all sinners. Because he is not only guilty of the 7 deadly sins, but he's violently psychotic, murderous, egotistical, self-centered and narcissistic.
That's not a being supreme to the human condition. That's the worst possible profile for the most depraved pathological person.
As to the OP title, faith of idiots, perhaps. I wouldn't classify it across the board as such because I've met a number of intelligent Theists.So it would depend on a case by case basis. Anti-abortion activists that murder life in the name of preserving the life of a fetus are certainly idiots. Unfortunately, they're pathological terrorists which, combined with idiocy, make for a surmountable problem in civilized society.
However, I would say one can not exercise their intellect and arrive at the rational conclusion Christianity or any Deific religion is credible. I do however believe spirituality is credible and a positive attribute if possessed by someone in whom it inspires positive characteristics that serve to benefit the individual and the society in which they are a contributing member.
And if this reply appears as a full on block of text without proper paragraphs, etc... it is the server issue and not mine. I have striven to create paragraphs with every post I've made since I joined and unfortunately the glitch in this sites server system precludes that from taking effect.
So if you've read this far, I appreciate your patience.
