William T Goodall wrote:
> > What of people who hold pacifist religous views? > > > > Using Osama bin Laden to make a statement about the general > characteristics > > of religion is beyond ludicrous. > > Is it? Quakers and other pacifist religions are a tiny minority. The > 'general characteristics' of religion could be described with > the pacifists > as a footnote.[1] Could you please elaborate on these 'general characterisitics of a religion'? In fact it might be a good idea to first decide on what we mean by the terms 'religion' and pacifist religion' too. This *is* a topic that I might have something to add to but unless the basic terms are clarified, confusion is bound to flourish. :) > [1] Just rebutting your 'beyond ludicrous' without claiming > that massacring > the heathen/infidel/non-believer is the normal pattern of theocracies. And another question: do we assume that all states without a written constitution stating the separation of religion from state were/are theocracies? Ritu _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
