Evidence-based spirituality

The problem isn’t believing in things we can’t see; the problem is investing ourselves into beliefs for which there is no evidence. We can’t see gravity or electromagnetism, but we can believe they exist due to the overwhelming evidence.

By contrast, there is at best anecdotal evidence or personal testimony and speculation about life after death, heaven or hell, the existence of gods or a god, and so on.

But that doesn’t leave us with no spirituality. We can have spirituality based in something for which there is plenty of evidence : the idea that humans and other beings thrive on loving kindness, and that our actions here on Earth affect the well-being of human and non-human animals.

‘Evidence’ isn’t something that’s emotionally cold. Instead, rationalism, thru the sciences and the humanities gives us a framework with which to build common understanding, across cultures and historical eras. As Sam Harris, (an author I take issue with regarding his over-generalizations about Islam) points out, there is no Muslim mathematics nor Christian physics, only mathematics and physics with rules and laws constant across all cultures.

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