Does the Emperor Have Clothes On Or Not?
The Emperor's New Clothes is a short tale by Hans Christian Andersen about two weavers who promise an Emperor a new suit of clothes that are invisible to those unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his subjects in his new clothes, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" This in turn allows others to admit he has no clothes on.
This story has been used by skeptics with regard to religion--that the Religious Emperor has no clothes on--and so we must tell believers what we see in hopes they will see what we do.
So, does the Religious Emperor have clothes on or not?
There is something about the Emperor story that resonates with me. But there is a difference. In the story people all see that he is naked. So there is empirical evidence of that fact, at least in the story itself. But what if people do not see that the Emperor is naked because they are blind? Then what? How do you convince the people in the crowd he is naked, especially when an overwhelming majority of people in our world are blind? My suggestion is to meet them head on with arguments that they can understand and appreciate, not neglecting to tell them the Emperor has no clothes on. But I would not keep harping on that story. I would recommend the best critiques of a particular religion to the practitioners of it, and I do this as best as I can.
This story has been used by skeptics with regard to religion--that the Religious Emperor has no clothes on--and so we must tell believers what we see in hopes they will see what we do.
So, does the Religious Emperor have clothes on or not?
There is something about the Emperor story that resonates with me. But there is a difference. In the story people all see that he is naked. So there is empirical evidence of that fact, at least in the story itself. But what if people do not see that the Emperor is naked because they are blind? Then what? How do you convince the people in the crowd he is naked, especially when an overwhelming majority of people in our world are blind? My suggestion is to meet them head on with arguments that they can understand and appreciate, not neglecting to tell them the Emperor has no clothes on. But I would not keep harping on that story. I would recommend the best critiques of a particular religion to the practitioners of it, and I do this as best as I can.
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