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Originally Posted by irateplatypus
loganmule,
i have difficulty understanding your meaning. you say religion cannot encompass legitimate philosophy because it relies on underlying assumptions about God.
yet, nearly all philosophies assume things we cannot empirically prove that are built from the mind's perception of truth.
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Sorry for the confusion. Clearly, religion can encompass legitimate philosophy, if the practitioners take a liberal view, openly conceding their assumption of the accuracy of the sacred texts they rely upon in practising their faith, and considering that the texts may properly be read as metaphor or variously interpreted.
Here in the Bible Belt, however, we are populated extensively with Christian fundamentalists. To them, or to fundamentalists of other faiths, there are only facts, not assumptions, and anyone taking a contrary view would be branded a heathen. As they are certain they have empirical proof, they have no need for philosophy, and would reject it anyway, to the extent it is inconsistent with the "facts" as enunciated in the Bible or other sacred texts.
As my earlier post suggested, my remarks were based upon a narrow view of religion to refer to fundamentalists. Thanks for calling to my attention the need for some clarity on that.