Christian Seberino wrote:
On Tue, March 27, 2007 3:52 pm, DJA wrote:
No, but religious people are more inclined to consider those with
dissimilar religious views as being corrupt, at which point they feel
compelled to "correct" at least the resulting behaviour, if not the
beliefs, of those non-believers through the law of the state. This is
the point at which religion becomes the most dangerous.
A lot of Christians (and non-Christians) are impatient, unkind and rude
when they have a cause they believe in. That is unfortunate. I'm
concerned that I sense from your text above a fear about standing for
*anything*....that somehow having a disagreement and thinking someone else
might be wrong about something is evil in itself. Did you mean that?
Chris
Again, you tend to the specious with your arguments. Your sense was
quite wrong. I was expressing my opinion about religion (as opposed to
spiritual beliefs if you haven't figured that out yet - quite different
things), not my opinion about "anything".
The problem with religion is that it just can't leave the world alone.
It is compelled to make the world in its own image. One can coerce
without being rude, unkind or impatient. In fact the most effective
coercion is quite patient and charming.
One of the primary functions of religion is to promote itself. To
proselytize. To convert others to its way of thinking. Religion has a
really hard time agreeing to disagree. It believes its view of the
universe is the Right view. Any doubt is suffered in guilt and feelings
of inadequacy.
I find it interesting that you are "concerned" about me. How many times
have I heard a person of opposing religious beliefs use that word to
describe my own beliefs. I'm content with my beliefs and I'm interested
in those of others. I'm not concerned when we disagree. I always leave
enough room for healthy doubt about my own beliefs. I don't need saving,
I am open to new ideas. But I don't like monocultures. I don't "belong",
I don't promote. I listen, evaluate, and hopefully learn. And I reserve
the right to change my mind based on what I've learned. Multiple times
if necessary.
And then there's that word "evil": I don't believe in the concept.
--
Best Regards,
~DJA.
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