Skeptical Enlightenment
4:24 AM
The Washington Post’s web-site had an editorial today about the conflict (or lack thereof) inherent in being a Christian who practices yoga. Bishop Jakes, from Dallas, put together a straight-forward and competent, albeit bland, dissertation on the topic: As a Christian, yoga is okay if it’s used to bring you closer to God; if it’s used to bring you closer to the Hindu spirituality that traditionally underscores yoga, however, that’s wrong.
Whatever. This view may or may not be of interest to you. What I found fascinating, however, was one of the comments posted beneath the essay. One paragraph in particular amazed me:
“For example: my concept of mathamatical principles has been freed from the view of there being absolute truth. This is very liberating, trust me. No one can ever tell me I have a math problem wrong now…that’s their view, but my new truth allows for multiple answers to an equation. It’s really great stuff.”
I’d love to harp on the incorrect spelling of mathEmatical, but there’s a bigger issue to consider. You see, the author of this crap kernel is a dangerous idiot.
Reality exists. If you doubt this, hit your thumb with a hammer. Did it hurt? You see, reality has laws. You can hate these laws. You can dispute them. But they don’t care. They will still exist whether or not you acknowledge their existence. If you jump off a 20th story balcony, your body will accelerate at 32 feet per second. That’s not an opinion – it’s not open to debate. The writer above can’t arrive at a different answer – say, five feet per second – and land softly on the ground, unharmed.
I wonder how this writer would react if he purchased a one dollar apple with a 20 dollar bill and the store clerk only gave him 10 dollars back in change. Can’t you just picture the clerk’s reasoning? “But sir, you can’t tell me I have a math problem wrong – that’s just your view.”
What does this have to do with yoga? Plenty. Yoga can be a terrific way to relieve stress, find calm, and exercise your body. It’s hard to dispute that these are positive things. But when yoga becomes spirituality, undisciplined thinking can quickly take hold. For example, some yoga practitioners claim to be able to levitate. This is patently false. People cannot fly. Doubt me? Refer back to the balcony test I outlined above.
Often yoga is embraced as part of a larger mish-mash of spirituality and “new age” practices. This may include energy healing, belief in astrology, reincarnation, Eastern mysticism, et cetera. I’m not going to tell you what to believe, nor am I going to argue that any religion is superior to another. But as you encounter the various characters who sometimes gravitate towards this pot pourri of fantasy, I would encourage you to remember the dolt above: reality is not a matter of opinion.
Yes, what we think reality contains can sometimes be a matter of opinion. Scientists can disagree about the nature of something, and all the phenomena that exist in reality have not yet been documented. But reality IS, regardless of opinion – it doesn’t change to suit our whims. Gravity doesn’t disappear because you really want it to when you fall off a building.
And this is very important: All descriptions of reality are not equal. Some more closely adhere to reality than others, and we can prove that this is the case. A person who says 2 + 2 = 4 has described reality more accurately than a person who says 2 + 2 = 5. The proof? Let’s say there’s a four mile stretch of road that ends in a brick wall. If I say to the first person, “drive two miles, then two miles more, then stop,” that person will drive four miles and safely brake before the brick wall. If I say the same thing to the second person, he’ll still be driving full speed when he hits the brick wall.
Don’t believe things because they’re fun to believe, or because belief promises peace, enlightenment or everlasting life. These supposed benefits have absolutely nothing to do with the truth. Truth is independent of our wishes. So greet the claims of all spirituality – traditional, new age, mystical – with skepticism, and begin a true path to enlightenment: adhering more closely to truth and reality, and rejecting childish fantasies.
Whatever. This view may or may not be of interest to you. What I found fascinating, however, was one of the comments posted beneath the essay. One paragraph in particular amazed me:
“For example: my concept of mathamatical principles has been freed from the view of there being absolute truth. This is very liberating, trust me. No one can ever tell me I have a math problem wrong now…that’s their view, but my new truth allows for multiple answers to an equation. It’s really great stuff.”
I’d love to harp on the incorrect spelling of mathEmatical, but there’s a bigger issue to consider. You see, the author of this crap kernel is a dangerous idiot.
Reality exists. If you doubt this, hit your thumb with a hammer. Did it hurt? You see, reality has laws. You can hate these laws. You can dispute them. But they don’t care. They will still exist whether or not you acknowledge their existence. If you jump off a 20th story balcony, your body will accelerate at 32 feet per second. That’s not an opinion – it’s not open to debate. The writer above can’t arrive at a different answer – say, five feet per second – and land softly on the ground, unharmed.
I wonder how this writer would react if he purchased a one dollar apple with a 20 dollar bill and the store clerk only gave him 10 dollars back in change. Can’t you just picture the clerk’s reasoning? “But sir, you can’t tell me I have a math problem wrong – that’s just your view.”
What does this have to do with yoga? Plenty. Yoga can be a terrific way to relieve stress, find calm, and exercise your body. It’s hard to dispute that these are positive things. But when yoga becomes spirituality, undisciplined thinking can quickly take hold. For example, some yoga practitioners claim to be able to levitate. This is patently false. People cannot fly. Doubt me? Refer back to the balcony test I outlined above.
Often yoga is embraced as part of a larger mish-mash of spirituality and “new age” practices. This may include energy healing, belief in astrology, reincarnation, Eastern mysticism, et cetera. I’m not going to tell you what to believe, nor am I going to argue that any religion is superior to another. But as you encounter the various characters who sometimes gravitate towards this pot pourri of fantasy, I would encourage you to remember the dolt above: reality is not a matter of opinion.
Yes, what we think reality contains can sometimes be a matter of opinion. Scientists can disagree about the nature of something, and all the phenomena that exist in reality have not yet been documented. But reality IS, regardless of opinion – it doesn’t change to suit our whims. Gravity doesn’t disappear because you really want it to when you fall off a building.
And this is very important: All descriptions of reality are not equal. Some more closely adhere to reality than others, and we can prove that this is the case. A person who says 2 + 2 = 4 has described reality more accurately than a person who says 2 + 2 = 5. The proof? Let’s say there’s a four mile stretch of road that ends in a brick wall. If I say to the first person, “drive two miles, then two miles more, then stop,” that person will drive four miles and safely brake before the brick wall. If I say the same thing to the second person, he’ll still be driving full speed when he hits the brick wall.
Don’t believe things because they’re fun to believe, or because belief promises peace, enlightenment or everlasting life. These supposed benefits have absolutely nothing to do with the truth. Truth is independent of our wishes. So greet the claims of all spirituality – traditional, new age, mystical – with skepticism, and begin a true path to enlightenment: adhering more closely to truth and reality, and rejecting childish fantasies.
