--- Erik Reuter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 03, 2002, Deborah Harrell wrote:
>
> > Of course any delusional person can think that
> "God told me to do"
> > something; one of my points (perhaps I wasn't
> clear enough) was that
> > IF one claims to be of a particular faith, one
> _should_ follow the
> > precepts of that faith, not do whatever the heck
> one pleases.
>
> You mean the precepts which some "delusional person"
> came up with?
<sigh> At its best, any spiritual endeavor (including
religion) is attempting to answer basic questions of
meaning, such as "Why am I here?" "What is my
relationship to others? the Universe? this world?"
"How are People (as opposed to animals)supposed to
live?" "Am I truly that different from Others (people
or animals), or is there something that binds us
together?" "What is Good or Evil, and who decides?"
These questions can be answered in a destructive way
(eg "I am better than all others, and this world is
mine to do with as I please!") or a constructive way
(eg "I am a member of a civilization...). Of course,
my phrasing in and of itself presumes a
Good-and-Right, and an Evil-and-Wrong, and we could
debate that until the Sun novas...
Nevertheless, starting from a basic "I won't kill you,
if you won't kill me" mentality, one can derive the
'Golden Rule' sort of morality. Even among the
'savage animals' those who slaughter rampantly are
usually aberrent, and if they are members of a pack or
herd, they are usually shunned if not utterly outcast.
{I am NOT going to attempt to go through an entire
philosophy semester here!}
>
> > do not have to 'prove' the existence of one. [I
> _do_ expect people to
> > behave in a civilized manner, but that isn't
> dependent on belief in a
> > god.]
>
> What if their religious "precepts" tell them to
> behave in a way that you
> don't consider civilized?
>
If they leave me alone, I do nothing (except perhaps
attempt gently to reason with them). If they hurt me
or mine (and my definition of 'mine' might be 'anybody
in my vicinity'), then I stomp the crap out of them.
<evil grin>
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