John Loftus coined a term for something that existed in different forms long before him: the outsider test for faith.
It's the idea that we should approach faith claims that are very familiar to us - or that we're heavily invested in - with the sort of mindset that a disinterested outsider would have, or that we use when considering religions we don't believe in.
A few quotes from Loftus (source) that expand on the idea:
I often see pushback when theists are encouraged to apply the outsider test for faith to their own belief.
In fairness, this often involves comparing their beliefs to parody religions (e.g. the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the Invisible Pink Unicorn) or religions now generally dismissed as unreasonable (e.g. the ancient Greek or Norse pantheons of gods), so I get the sense that the theists often assume that their beliefs are being made fun of, and their offense gets in the way of having a real discussion.
... so theists: what would work? How should non-theists approach this issue that would actually get you to apply the outsider test for faith to your own beliefs?
It's the idea that we should approach faith claims that are very familiar to us - or that we're heavily invested in - with the sort of mindset that a disinterested outsider would have, or that we use when considering religions we don't believe in.
A few quotes from Loftus (source) that expand on the idea:
"Test your beliefs as if you were an outsider to the faith you are evaluating."
"The best way to test one's adopted religious faith is from the perspective of an outsider with the same level of skepticism used to evaluate other religious faiths."
"Tell believers to examine their faith critically and most all of them will say they already do. But tell them to subject their own faith to the same level of skepticism they use when examining the other religious faiths they reject and that will get their attention."
I often see pushback when theists are encouraged to apply the outsider test for faith to their own belief.
In fairness, this often involves comparing their beliefs to parody religions (e.g. the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the Invisible Pink Unicorn) or religions now generally dismissed as unreasonable (e.g. the ancient Greek or Norse pantheons of gods), so I get the sense that the theists often assume that their beliefs are being made fun of, and their offense gets in the way of having a real discussion.
... so theists: what would work? How should non-theists approach this issue that would actually get you to apply the outsider test for faith to your own beliefs?