Agnostic.com

5 1

I've often wondered if christians realize the difference between the actual philosophy of materialism, and the strawman fallacy "materialism" they created.

Materialism:a theory that physical matter is the only or fundamental reality and that all being and processes and phenomena can be explained as manifestations or results of matter (thenk you, Merriam Webster

Christia strawman materialism: Acquiring good and wealth is the only goal, with nothing else mattering.

Like so many other christian strawman arguments, no one actually follows the christian idea of materialism.

Robotbuilder 7 Apr 15
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

5 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

4

Very few, if any, christians follow the christian idea of anything.

4

Oh, I don't know about that. There are plenty of people into wealth and status and possesions as their top priority. And that is, in fact, ONE of the dictionary definitions of materialism. The other is the one you mention -- the philosophical sense of the word.

So Christians didn't invent a new meaning for the word. What they ARE often guilty of, is to conflate two very different meanings or usages of a word. They do this with words like "faith" and "theory" for example.

Here, I don't think that's even the case, as they have separate critiques of philosophlical materialism and of "the love of money". However they ARE still conflating something quite often in my experience: some of them have a tendency to assume that if a person is wealthy or respected that they automatically got that way because they sold their soul for money, power and status. This doubtless comes from the Biblical teaching that "it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven".

Also, I have little doubt that some people in and out of Christianity who aren't versed in philosophy, aren't even aware of philosophical materialism (the notion that the natural world is all there is, that there's no supernatural world) or that it shares little more than the word "materialism" with the other meaning. And I am sure that some believe one leads to the other.

Thank you! You stated it a lot better than I did.

0

That is something that interests me. Their material things help their worth as a human being. They progressed in life, by how much they have to show for it...in material possessions!

0

Not sure I understand. Are you saying no one pursues material wealth over all else?

skado Level 9 Apr 15, 2018
1

No one thinks critically enough to ever examine the beliefs they hold.
Especially in the current age of intentional ignorance and FAKE NEWS.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:58605
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.