Among libertarians one finds quite a spectrum with regard to belief in God. Among the atheists, some (though by no means all) seem to have a bit of superiority complex — why, they’re just too darn sophisticated to believe in God, unlike these weaklings who need a crutch, etc.
On my show today I explained why it is not at all unreasonable or “irrational” to believe in God. I went through one of Thomas Aquinas’ “five ways.” The chances that an undergraduate will be exposed at any length to Thomism is about on par with his chances of encountering Austrian economics. It is surprising and disappointing to see libertarians acting like Paul Krugman, who can’t be bothered even to state Austrian business cycle theory correctly before laughing it off. We must demand more of ourselves. Even if you don’t ultimately agree with theists, at least find out what they’re saying before launching into ridicule.
I also address the ridiculous “Flying Spaghetti Monster” thing — that hey, these religious believers may as well revere the Flying Spaghetti Monster while they’re at it! If you have a background in Thomism, it takes precisely 20 seconds to refute this. What’s both sad and funny is that people who throw the Flying Spaghetti Monster around as a way of insulting the intelligence of theists really think they’re sticking it to their opponents, when in fact they are simply making fools of themselves in front of anyone who has actually read the works of classical Western theism.
We owe each other respect and intellectual honesty, in other words, not this kind of gratuitous abuse.
If the material in today’s episode interests you, I recommend these books by Edward Feser: The Last Superstition: A Refutation of the New Atheism and Aquinas. (Even though Aquinas is part of a “Beginner’s Guide” series, I caution you that it is challenging reading.)
Check out the YouTube version of today’s episode below, and get a commute-sized portion of liberty education Monday through Friday by subscribing to the Tom Woods Show on iTunes or Stitcher!
