I found this story in the New York Times to be telling of the mental state of America. A former facility of Bethlehem Steel has been converted to a $743 million Sands casino and enjoying a lucrative opening. We have come to believe that the main component of success is luck. Instead of work, thrift, community support, access to opportunity and perserverance, it all comes down to a cosmic numbers game. No wonder we’re depressed and can’t invision a hopeful future.
Stanley Fish is continuing his observations in the New York Times on the belief in the unattached mind most often promoted by those hostile to religion. Fish is preceptive in clarifying why a mind uncommitted to any pre-conceived notions can not think at all. He argues that those who would belittle religion usually have a distorted view of what religious people actually believe. Fish’s arguement suggest that instead of religious people being “pie in the sky” types who refuse to face reality, they may actually have greater realism regarding the human condition.
In the New York Times Stanley Fish reviews Reason, Faith and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate by British cultural critic Terry Eagleton. In the battle of the gods, old and new, it has become fashionable to regard religion as a throw back and reactionary impulse that stands in the way of progress. Eagleton challenges the “superstition” of progress which in the end can not answer some of the most profound questions regarding the human experience. On the other hand, Eagleton sees the problems associated with the instituionalization of faith. Fish’s review is tantalizing enough for me to want to read this one. One more book for the stack.
