No one, regardless of religion, has a monopoly on happiness
Harvey Wachtel
11 years ago
IMHO happiness is overrated. The habit of valuing happiness over truth is largely responsible for the existence of religion; many studies have shown that believers are happier than doubters. But George Bernard Shaw disposed of that a century ago when he wrote “the fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one”.
Insistence on truth can sometimes lead to unhappiness or even tragedy (this, incidentally, is the message in “Oedipus Rex” — the incest angle is only an intriguing plot device), but nothing less can be the basis of an worthwhile system of belief.
Vote 
Harvey Wachtel 11 years ago
IMHO happiness is overrated. The habit of valuing happiness over truth is largely responsible for the existence of religion; many studies have shown that believers are happier than doubters. But George Bernard Shaw disposed of that a century ago when he wrote “the fact that a believer is happier than a sceptic is no more to the point than the fact that a drunken man is happier than a sober one”.
Insistence on truth can sometimes lead to unhappiness or even tragedy (this, incidentally, is the message in “Oedipus Rex” — the incest angle is only an intriguing plot device), but nothing less can be the basis of an worthwhile system of belief.
Reply