Cornel / Marlon, This is a belated response.
My position was against the dismissive stance Marlon took, of The Holy Book, due to the sensitivies of fellow Goanetters. It's one thing to have a constructive discussion on religion and another to be openly hostile to any religion, its customs and practices. Marlon's position was the other end of the spectrum as compared to Nasci who has positioned himself like a Chistian supremacist and has consistently maintained a position of looking down on other religions - the one who claims to have achieved nirvana - in the shade of the Uluru. While I would be open to a discussion on religion and its historical origins, I am disappointed when some of us take a stand that's demeaning to our fellow citizens. Its immaterial whether we worship Jesus, Krishna, Allah, Mithras, Dionysus, etc. - we still seek that Christos within us. Yes, you're right with your allusions to violence within Christianity. The Catholic church has withstood all that and several campaigns to malign it from within and outside. Basilio had a good write-up on this subject recently. Most religions, with some exceptions, have had a violent history. There will be several justifications for the same just like the justifications we see for the violence in the world today. But where does all this violence and hatred lead us. What do we gain by being exoteric, literal followers of any faith? I'll end here with today's Papal quote while visiting Birkenau, the death camp section of the Auschwitz complex: "In a place like this, words fail. In the end, there can only be a dread silence, a silence which is a heartfelt cry to God—Why, Lord, did you remain silent? How could you tolerate all this?" "Where was God in those days? Why was he silent? How could he permit this endless slaughter, this triumph of evil?" (ENDS) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12964054/ Best - Bosco T-dot, CA On Wed May 17 11:57:09 PDT 2006 cornel wrote: Bosco, I have to side with Marlon re the Bible. Apart from much of it being pretty blood-thirsty, especially the Old Testament, I find its use, by many, to legitimise the state that is modern day Israel pretty nauseating. Even the terms "The Chosen People", the "Holy Land", and the "Promised Land" etc are simply pathetic and ridiculous in themselves and for the edifice of a State built on utter bloodshed and stolen property underpinned by usage of the Bible--a text that is definitely of highly dubious provenance. I have been to Israel and to what exists of Palestine and seen how theft of land and property, expulsion of millions, and murder in the name of a Biblical fairy tale is legitimised. I am sorry but I just can't counternance this kind of nonsense, like many enlightened Jews themselves. Respectfully, I have to reject something 'sacred' to you but from my perspective, those who have become "People of the Book" whether via the Bible or Koran etc, have inevitably limited or circumscribed their thinking for themselves. I have no doubt that this post will upset many but I do not dismiss for a moment, their right to sincerely believe in things like the Bible. All I ask is for some honest re-think on their part and an understanding of alternative views with the same sincere personal respect I accord to them. Cornel _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)