8 ms·

If the position is anything like the chaplains I met in the military, being an atheist won't be an issue. They were pretty much counselors that were available f

by hn8788 5y ago

If the position is anything like the chaplains I met in the military, being an atheist won't be an issue. They were pretty much counselors that were available for anyone who needed somebody outside the chain of command to talk to, and they did things like organize couple's retreats. I think the only time I ever heard them mention anything that was directly religious was during traditional ceremonies where they would lead a prayer at the beginning.

guilhas 5y ago
Then why doesn't he just go work for the university counselling instead?
- krastanov 5y ago
  His job includes community building and informal discussions of morality and "our place in the universe", which is a bit beyond the scope of typical counseling. And people feel a need for that independently of whether they believe in god(s).
  - guilhas 5y ago
    I think that would be more clearer if he was agnostic. Since he explicitly denies God, it seems a bit counter productive
    - krastanov 5y ago
      I can not speak about him specifically, but most people that call themselves atheist in this setting mean "agnostic atheists", i.e. "of course I can not prove there is no god, but I do not see the point of god, so let's focus on morality from within". A gross simplification, of course, but hopefully it clarifies what I think is just a semantic misunderstanding.
      - noptd 5y ago
        For those interested, the spectrum of theistic probability explains this quite well - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of_theistic_probability#dawkins-formulation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of_theistic_probabi... Where 6 would be the scientific stance for most atheists imo. >6. De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."
      - andrei_says_ 5y ago
        Depending on the definition of “God”, I might me an atheist to agnostic to religious. Old white loving fatherly figure watching me 24/7 in order to punish me if I don’t obey the orders of some cult? Probably not. The sum of all laws of physics, known and unknown, along with all causation chains from the beginning off time, in all directions and interpretations of “time”, in all dimensions etc.? Count me in, I do see the sacredness of it all, in a completely impersonal way. Love this answer on religion by Carl Sagan: https://youtu.be/ML4kiFCKZGo https://youtu.be/ML4kiFCKZGo
    - woodruffw 5y ago
      Why would you need to be religious (much less believe in capital-g god) to answer questions about morality or our place? These are basic questions answered by a variety of secular philosophies.
      - badRNG 5y ago
        To be fair, there are religious atheists, though often not Christian. There are (neo)-pagans, Buddhists, and minority religious group members (various indigenous religions, The Satanic Temple, among others) that often describe themselves as "atheistic" or "non-theistic."
- horsawlarway 5y ago
  Why don't you just go reply on a different site instead? --- He's not doing that because he didn't want to. Full stop. And given he was elected by unanimous vote - it doesn't really seem like the chaplain community at Harvard wants him to "Just go work in university counselling" either.
  - Vaslo 5y ago
    I am not affiliated with a religion at all and I think that is a very good question that he asks. Just seems like more woke nonsense and Harvard turning its nose up at society.
    - horsawlarway 5y ago
      The role of a chaplain is very different than a typical clergyman. I think a better question might be why you, and the above poster, think you're making a better determination about where this person can serve his community then he himself can make? Full disclosure - I'm not religious either, but I do have family members serving as chaplains at universities.
  - wtactual 5y ago
    We're being blatantly rude ITT? Cool, your little hyphen divider thing is dumb as hell.
    - krastanov 5y ago
      I think you missed the point of the response above the divider. It was "what if we use the same logic in circumstances that makes it more obvious that this would be silly". It was definitely not meant literally. Maybe quotes would have helped.
      - ykevinator3 5y ago
        There's no logic in anything religious so say whatever you feel and dig in, it's worked for centuries. ------- There is no god, grow up.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
  Tradition? Multiple options?
- mathattack 5y ago
  Sounds like he’s been on the payroll as a chaplain for a while. They treat humanism as one more religion.
- atatatat 5y ago
  "Just" implies some curtness in your question, but let's look past that: did you even consider their perspective? Maybe all of the people they've ever known have been religious, those are their people. Maybe they want to make a difference from the inside-out. A sheep in another sheep's clothing.

by hn8788 5y ago

guilhas 5y ago

Then why doesn't he just go work for the university counselling instead?

krastanov 5y ago
His job includes community building and informal discussions of morality and "our place in the universe", which is a bit beyond the scope of typical counseling. And people feel a need for that independently of whether they believe in god(s).
- guilhas 5y ago
  I think that would be more clearer if he was agnostic. Since he explicitly denies God, it seems a bit counter productive
  - krastanov 5y ago
    I can not speak about him specifically, but most people that call themselves atheist in this setting mean "agnostic atheists", i.e. "of course I can not prove there is no god, but I do not see the point of god, so let's focus on morality from within". A gross simplification, of course, but hopefully it clarifies what I think is just a semantic misunderstanding.
    - noptd 5y ago
      For those interested, the spectrum of theistic probability explains this quite well - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of_theistic_probability#dawkins-formulation https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectrum_of_theistic_probabi... Where 6 would be the scientific stance for most atheists imo. >6. De facto atheist. Very low probability, but short of zero. "I don't know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there."
    - andrei_says_ 5y ago
      Depending on the definition of “God”, I might me an atheist to agnostic to religious. Old white loving fatherly figure watching me 24/7 in order to punish me if I don’t obey the orders of some cult? Probably not. The sum of all laws of physics, known and unknown, along with all causation chains from the beginning off time, in all directions and interpretations of “time”, in all dimensions etc.? Count me in, I do see the sacredness of it all, in a completely impersonal way. Love this answer on religion by Carl Sagan: https://youtu.be/ML4kiFCKZGo https://youtu.be/ML4kiFCKZGo
  - woodruffw 5y ago
    Why would you need to be religious (much less believe in capital-g god) to answer questions about morality or our place? These are basic questions answered by a variety of secular philosophies.
    - badRNG 5y ago
      To be fair, there are religious atheists, though often not Christian. There are (neo)-pagans, Buddhists, and minority religious group members (various indigenous religions, The Satanic Temple, among others) that often describe themselves as "atheistic" or "non-theistic."
horsawlarway 5y ago
Why don't you just go reply on a different site instead? --- He's not doing that because he didn't want to. Full stop. And given he was elected by unanimous vote - it doesn't really seem like the chaplain community at Harvard wants him to "Just go work in university counselling" either.
- Vaslo 5y ago
  I am not affiliated with a religion at all and I think that is a very good question that he asks. Just seems like more woke nonsense and Harvard turning its nose up at society.
  - horsawlarway 5y ago
    The role of a chaplain is very different than a typical clergyman. I think a better question might be why you, and the above poster, think you're making a better determination about where this person can serve his community then he himself can make? Full disclosure - I'm not religious either, but I do have family members serving as chaplains at universities.
- wtactual 5y ago
  We're being blatantly rude ITT? Cool, your little hyphen divider thing is dumb as hell.
  - krastanov 5y ago
    I think you missed the point of the response above the divider. It was "what if we use the same logic in circumstances that makes it more obvious that this would be silly". It was definitely not meant literally. Maybe quotes would have helped.
    - ykevinator3 5y ago
      There's no logic in anything religious so say whatever you feel and dig in, it's worked for centuries. ------- There is no god, grow up.
2OEH8eoCRo0 5y ago
Tradition? Multiple options?
mathattack 5y ago
Sounds like he’s been on the payroll as a chaplain for a while. They treat humanism as one more religion.
atatatat 5y ago
"Just" implies some curtness in your question, but let's look past that: did you even consider their perspective? Maybe all of the people they've ever known have been religious, those are their people. Maybe they want to make a difference from the inside-out. A sheep in another sheep's clothing.