http://www.documentary-log.com/d151-religulous/ is a link to a Bill Maher documentary. I think it shows many of the concerns I have about "religion" in a fairly light-hearted manner.
My basic stance is this. I think science does a lot to establish the reality we live in. It leaves many questions that we can't find satisfactory answers for and room to think about the spiritual and purpose. I think there are good examples of reasonable thinking in some religious material. I am averse to respecting dafter, highly emotive 'in-group' religious manipulation and believe this is very dangerous stuff. Science involves demonstration and working practices and results I have been able to confirm once involved with the knowledge and practice, whereas religion totally fails me whenever I try and I come to resent goading by adherents in terms like 'it would let you down because you have no faith' - such stuff usually coming from people who clearly don't have the kind of faith I have in the hard work of rigorous thinking, scientific methods and imagination and don't do this kind of work at all well. I object to religious excuses concerning hatred of others, vile sexism and political uses whether from Bush, Blair or fundamentalists of all kinds, much of which seems to exploit 'tribalism'. At the same time, I believe spiritual exploration can turn us on or tune us into worthwhile views of what we are and could be - not least in exposing how irrational our actions can be. I am not an unbeliever, but rather want to be critical in my beliefs, open to experience and to others. I generally believe authority, including legitimate authority is almost routinely abused and that we need a better understanding of how faith is abused in this process. I think the debate needed is always averted or drowned out in clashes of futile ideology between groups who have no intention of mutual understanding. I see no sign that we understand that we could live together in peace, or sensible and preferably minimal rules through which we could achieve this, including population control and sustainable communities. I doubt we even understand what the main current religions are in practice and the extent to which this is bound up in foreign policy and the interests of the 'rich'. I am also sure that 'tolerance' is part of the answer and the problem. I do not want to tolerate people voting along religious or fascist lines, or the current situation in which I have no one to vote for and have no vote in anything that matters to me. Or people who say I have no morality because I'm atheist and use the inertial violence of a system clearly failing ... I'm bored by 'arguments' that given religions are really about peace, love and joy, if only we get to the truth of revelation and ignore centuries of rotten history, genocides and corruption. In the meantime, we are not doing much of a job creating a fair, critically reasoned, secular society across the globe. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en.
