Letter: Religious people need to think and question beliefs

I applaud the columns in Wednesday's edition of the The Chronicle: "Qur'anic Questions" by Bala Ambati and "The joys of thought" by Chandra Jacobs.

As an atheist in an overwhelmingly religious society, it makes me feel good when I hear someone suggest that people need to learn how to think, not what to think.

Ambati provided excellent fuel for thought with his slavery example from two popular religious texts.

Although some followers may not appreciate his mentioning that such passages even exist, they are part of the whole text that many call their handbook for living.

This is where the thinking part comes in, for I ask three questions: "How do you determine which handbook passages to follow and which to ignore?", "Do you not cheat on your partner because you love that person or because a book tells you not to?" and finally "What mental filter do you use to distinguish between ancient wisdom and ancient stupidity?"

If book-followers can start by asking themselves these questions and then follow them up with intellectually honest answers, this is the beginning of the coveted thought process spoken so highly of by these two writers, the process that has the power to free one's mind from the shackles of dogma.