----- Original Message ----- From: "William T Goodall" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "BRIN-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 10:34 PM Subject: Re: how religious fanatics attack free speech
> on 25/9/02 3:43 am, Dan Minette at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > >> I thought we had already established on this list that > >> > >> 1) religious does not equal non-atheist > >> 2) atheist does not equal non-religious > >> 3) religious does not equal theist (or deist or pantheist even) > > > > Established means general agreement; I saw two people buy into this > > definition. That is not equal to establish. I think that it is definition > > of convenience for you, allowing you to put movements you don't like into > > the other camp. > > ROTFLMAO! That is a hoot Dan. You are a real comedian! You are the one > trying to redefine words to suit yourself. I am just referring to standard > encyclopaedias and dictionaries to clear up the confusion you are trying to > spread. Well, I looked it up, and I did see a definition that sorta agreed with you at http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=religion 1) Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. 2) A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. 3) The life or condition of a person in a religious order. 4) A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. 5) A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. I guess that you are partially right, you can call Marxism a religion by the 5th definition I gave. But it can equally be applied to mountain climbing, biking, etc. I admit that I was only considering the first few definitions, and not all of them. I'll be happy to admit that Marxism is just as much a religion as mountaineering climbing. :-) Webster also included this definition, and did not include activities Function: noun Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back -- more at RELY Date: 13th century 1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance 2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices 3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS 4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith It is the 4th definition. Mine is the 1st. Also, since religious is included in the definition, I looked that up: : relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity <a religious person> <religious attitudes> 2 : of, relating to, or devoted to religious beliefs or observances 3 a : scrupulously and conscientiously faithful So, I'll grant you that my original statement is wrong. You didn't invent a definition, you decided to use that last, least used definition of the word instead of the primary one. Also, for grins and giggles, I looked up a list of the major religions. It is: Also, if you look under major world religions, you will get Christianity: 2 billion Islam: 1.3 billion Hinduism: 900 million Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 850 million Buddhism: 360 million Chinese traditional religion: 225 million primal-indigenous: 150 million African Traditional & Diasporic: 95 million Sikhism: 23 million Juche: 19 million Spiritism: 14 million Judaism: 14 million Baha'i: 6 million Jainism: 4 million Shinto: 4 million Cao Dai: 3 million Tenrikyo: 2.4 million Neo-Paganism: 1 million Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand Rastafarianism: 700 thousand Scientology: 600 thousand Zoroastrianism: 150 thousand Marxism is just under non-religious in this list. If you want, I can provide more. I can also do a survey under religion and see how many hits I get for Marxism. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
