Sunday, May 2, 2010

Daniel Dennett & Percy Sledge?

Daniel Dennett, when interviewed by BeliefNet, http://www.beliefnet.com was asked:

You write that loyalty to religion is a bit like falling in love, and that's why people take such great offense when you try to counter their views. How are they similar?

The emotional passion with which people declare their love for their religion should be taken very seriously. Whenever there is a love object, whether it is another person, or a nation or a religious creed or the Boston Red Sox, there is a built-in, outraged response to anything that threatens or demeans or is even skeptical [of that love object]. If you start saying something skeptical of my loved one, my dukes are up. That's a response which I'm quite sure is genetically favored in our species, in the same way it's favored in mammals in general to protect their young.

This reminded me of the song by Percy Sledge, ‘When a Man Loves a Woman”. Read through the lyrics and replace “woman” with “Jesus”, and, ‘voila!’, you have a religious fundamentalist.

When a man loves a woman Jesus
Can't keep his mind on nothing else
He'll trade the world
For the good thing he's found
If she's bad he can't see it
She can do no wrong
Turn his back on his best friend
If he put her him down

When a man loves a woman Jesus
Spend his very last dime
Tryin' to hold on to what he needs
He'd give up all his comfort
Sleep out in the rain
If she said that's the way it ought to be

Well, this man loves a woman Jesus
I gave you everything I had
Tryin' to hold on to your precious love
Baby, Jesus, please don't treat me bad

When a man loves a woman Jesus
Down deep in his soul
She can bring him such misery
If she plays him for a fool
He's the last one to know
Lovin' eyes can't ever see

When a man loves a woman Jesus
He can do no wrong
He can never own some other girl God
Yes when a man loves a woman Jesus
I know exactly how he feels
'Cause baby, baby, baby, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus you're my world

When a man loves a woman Jesus.....

Don't you think the expressions “Love is Blind” and “Blind Faith” go together?

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