Beliefs and Rationality

Many atheists and religious persons would argue that the other is not rational, but what does it mean to be rational? Webster says it is to have reasoning or understanding, that’s not much help. Maybe we can ask what it means to be logical. Logic is based on validity which simply asks do one’s premises properly lead to their conclusion. Now one premise that can be said to be at the core of Descartes’ work is that God exists for this is what he seeks to philosophically prove with his dualism of the mind and body. This premise cannot be disproven or proven and neither can its counterpart, God does not exist (feel free to argue against this, but for the sake of this POST I am taking an agnostic stance). So is anyone that believes in God or does not believe in God more or less rational than the other?

Let’s take Blessed Teresa and her followers for example. Her followers obviously had a worldview that held that God exists and interacts with people through acts like prayer (a common religious viewpoint) and when presented with a religious woman that had been given a mark of divinity in the form of stigmata and resistance to dehydration/starving they did not question this. Is this irrational? I would say no because this is valid with their worldview based on the premise that God exists as he is able to perform miracles such at this.

Now take me for example who is on the other spectrum. When Robin introduced us to the historical figure of Blessed Teresa and her alleged feats my initial response and the one I maintain after further thought is that Blessed Teresa is simply lying. My worldview does not account for people living for 27 years without food or water so I reject her claim. Am I being irrational and stubborn? I think not as if one begins with the premise that God does not exist it is easy to see how her lying is a valid conclusion.

So what’s my point? There are always going to be people with different views either worshipping a different god or none at all and these views will sometimes directly conflict with yours. There will always be people saying there is no evidence of a higher power versus those that follow a religion based on faith and neither can be said to be more rational than the other. No one's reality is superior or more correct in a universal sense. The only thing that can be said is that one should not force their views on another and preach some sort of greater enlightenment ( I’m talking to you Descartes and Richard Dawkins) as any attempt to do so would be foolhardy and of no benefit to either persons.