Blogger Lindy West,
responding to a creationist's argument that dragons were literally real:
Now, I don't personally believe in Satan (or dragons, or demons, or resurrection, or underground pits of eternally burning gay people, or that a guy can build a campfire in a whale's colon), but I don't mind if people do as long as their commitment to literalism remains wholly separate from my country's legislation and scientific progress. I recognize that religious beliefs, institutions, and structured rituals—even ones that seem arbitrary to an outsider—can be extremely fortifying for people, especially communities of people that have been abandoned or demonized by the status quo.
On the one hand, this is a great succinct example of sound and healthy skepticism. On the other hand, West is implicitly throwing critics of religion under the bus (specifically, those critics who
do mind if people believe in supernatural entities, and who think that such belief helps to normalize certain undesirable and dangerous attitudes and behaviors).
On the
other other hand, she acknowledges the benevolent role religious participation can play in believers' lives, without endorsing said supernaturalism. Two out of three ain't bad! (via
Jezebel)
*
And, how could we deprive you of the opportunity to watch a guy argue for the existence of dragons on theological grounds? Here's the video from the Jezebel post:
