Reply To: Reeling from Christian friend's bigotry

[Simon Paynton]

@SteveInCo – of course, no need to apologise. & @Strega, What I mean by the evolutionary basis for mysticism, of which the quote from Christine Cainer is an example, is the inbuilt tendency of all living things to thrive, and to seek survival. These tendencies are not conscious, but automatic, and are a direct result of evolution and natural selection, because they make reproduction more likely. This is equivalent to God’s love, and God’s love is the basis for religious mysticism, along with “awareness of reality” or truth. Look again at Christine Cainer’s quote and maybe you will see what I mean.

This is something religious people are really good at.

So this evolutionary basis is the raw material of compassion: when we make someone thrive, it’s these tendencies doing all the actual work. Just like when we nurture a plant in our garden to make it grow. That’s the best analogy I can come up with.

It’s a very neat, very powerful idea that links evolution and religion. Can you see how subversive it is? Not that I’m into being subversive.