Dennis Prager argues you understand religion better by studying it with people who actually believe it. He learned Buddhism from a devout teacher at the University of Leeds and studied Christianity in a small group of committed believers, finding that lived faith adds what academic study alone cannot.
I've, I've long— I have long believed this, and it has been reconfirmed. It is by far best to study a religion with people who believe in that religion. There are people who are scholars of religions that they are not a part of, but they do not believe in. And their scholarship is worth reading. I have benefited from that. But religion is more than scholarship. As committed as I am to using reason to study religion, which is why my Bible commentary is titled The Rational Bible, But you really need to study it with people who believe in it. And that's, as I said, I've long believed that. I studied under a man who believed in Buddhism in England my junior year in college, which was in England, the University of Leeds in England. And it was tremendously beneficial to my understanding of Buddhism. See, here is the way it works. You can study about a religion from someone who doesn't believe in it, and it's often worth it, but it's not the same as studying the religion. It's probably true for just about anything. I would rather study America from those who believe in the American founding ideals than those who simply know about them. By and large— not by and large, overwhelmingly— the people who teach American history, teach about it, but don't believe in it. I never thought of that till now. This is a spontaneous thought. It's funny because whenever I have a spontaneous thought, Sean begins to shiver a bit, and I have never quite understood. It's a fascinating correlation. And then he begins to scratch his ear and a whole host of effects. But then I know it's a new thought. It is Pavlovian, I guess. That's right. I didn't say you can help it. In fact, I'm glad you can't because it confirms that it's new. Think about that, folks. If it's true for religion, why isn't it true for America? Well, it's a big deal, and people should be aware of that. That's so— being with people, there were 8 of us, and it's funny, and it's really fascinating, nobody stepped on anybody's toes. It was you know, sort of like an all-star team, if I may say that. And no, nobody needed his ego to be stroked, but most of them were believing Christians, and it was tremendously beneficial for me. For the full episode of The Dennis Prager Show, go to pragertopia.com, sign up, and become a full member.
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