A review of “Skepticism and Religious Relativism” (audiobook)

I was expecting something very different from this audiobook. Specifically, I was expecting to get an overview of agnostics, atheists, and other like-minded groups (including “secularists”). And these groups are certainly covered therein. But it is really a treatment of religious skepticism, including within the religious community. This audiobook also talks about the different kinds of skepticism, and the responses to it from within the believing community. And it finally talks about religious relativism – the idea that all religions are just a “state of mind,” and that none of them is more valid than any other. (More about that later.)

Interestingly, this audiobook is written by someone with training in philosophy, and edited by someone with training in the Hebrew scriptures. This helps to explain their chosen method of covering their subject. Specifically, they start in antiquity with classical religions, and the religions of the Mediterranean basin (covered in another audiobook). Then they talk about the “discovery” of philosophy (as they put it) – with people like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Some mention is also made of Confucius in China, and of the ancient philosophies of India. Then then talk about St. Augustine in Christianity, and eventually discuss early Islam and its medieval-era philosophy. Many other philosophers are covered (including St. Thomas Aquinas), and they characterize the later Enlightenment as a time of religious skepticism. They cover Enlightenment-era religions like Deism, held by people like Voltaire. And, eventually, they get to the major critics of religion like Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche famously proclaimed in the nineteenth century that “God is dead.” This has led to humorous bumper stickers quoting God as saying that “Nietzsche is dead.” Regardless, Nietzsche’s views have helped to lead to the rise of anti-theism, a popular religious viewpoint today.

Friedrich Nietzsche

I was surprised that they omitted the statistics of those who identify as “non-religious.” This is a category that includes agnostics, atheists, and the self-described “secularists.” Thus, if you lumped them all together into one category, they would be the third largest religion in the world. Islam is the second largest, while Christianity is the very largest. (see source) They do mention, however, that “non-religious” people often see themselves as preferring science. This audiobook covers the relationship between faith and reason, both within the believing community and from its critics outside it. They also discuss beliefs about a “cosmic order,” and whether it is knowable by reason or science. I was not expecting such a philosophical treatment of these skeptical movements. Near the end, they start to cover the more modern movements of agnosticism, atheism, and anti-theism. This is more what I had initially expected from this audiobook. After three hours, they actually give the last word to twentieth-century theologians, who respond to some of the concerns of these modern skeptics.

Charles Darwin

Many in my generation reject the very word “religion,” seeing it as an ancient superstition. Thus, they tend to identify as “non-religious,” something that they see as a morally superior choice. Whether their beliefs still qualify as “religion” is another debate, which I will have to omit here. But I applaud their belief in science, even if some of them harbor some very unscientific beliefs. Those of them that are truly scientific deserve to be praised in their honest search for truth. I have some reservations about religious relativism, or any other form of relativism. These beliefs seem to be based on misinterpretations of Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity. Albert Einstein believed that the laws of physics are the same in all places. Thus, to me, there is such a thing as objective truth, and it is discoverable by reason. This audiobook covers the search for truth by believers and nonbelievers alike. Their methods for seeking it vary from group to group, but this search is at the heart of this audiobook, and its coverage of this age-old religious debate.

Audiobook at AudiobooksNow.com

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A review of Simon Schama’s “The Story of the Jews”

A review of “Ancient Roads from Christ to Constantine”

A review of “The Life of Muhammad”

A review of “The Buddha: The Story of Siddhartha”

“Man is the measure of all things” … or is he?

A review of “20th Century European Philosophy” (audiobook)

Part of an audiobook series

Religions, Scriptures, and Spirituality

Classical Religions and Myths of the Mediterranean Basin

Judaism

Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christianity

Islam

Protestant Christianity

Skepticism and Religious Relativism

Others to be covered later

See also the audiobook series

The World of Philosophy

Socrates
Stoics and Epicureans
Avicenna and Medieval Muslim Philosophy

Maimonides and Medieval Jewish Philosophy

Duns Scotus and Medieval Christianity

Descartes, Bacon, and Modern Philosophy

Voltaire and Rousseau

William James, Charles Peirce, and American Pragmatism

Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead

20th Century European Philosophy

Others to be covered later