--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, David Parenteau <kitfoxen@...>
wrote:
> Religion can seriously muddle things unfortunately. Religion
these days is
> more often than not "Blind Faith" in something that may or may not
even
> make sense. Belief that comes from interpolation of what we can
see into
> something we don't directly sense is much better. Whether it be
something
> as simple as "That electric stove element is glowing red. I
believe it is
> hot without having to touch it." or something as complex as "When
I pray to
> this entity, I feel better. I don't know why, but I believe this
entity is
> helpful."
>
> The important factor in religion is to be malleable. Once a
belief is
> proven or disproved properly, work from the new information. And
by morals
> and ethics, any beliefs that cannot be proven or disproved should
not be
> used as a way to deprive others of their basic needs or extended
> wants. When religious beliefs begin to deprive others,, that is
where it
> becomes "morally wrong". And more importantly, when religious
beliefs
> begin to deprive THE BELIEVER of things, that is even worse.
>
If I dare butt in...
Truth be told, blind faith is hardly limited to religion. The late
science fiction writer Keith Laumer, hardly a religious man himself,
has pointed out that the beliefs of most people are founded on what
people in authority tell them. For example, we know that the speed
of light is 186,282 miles per second squared, not because we can
possibly know this ourselves but because it's what we're taught in
school, and if we deny this we get ridiculed as stupid. Not really
different from church officials telling people centuries ago that
the Earth is the center of the Universe and that the sun and planets
revolve around it.
The nonreligious often believe in discredited or irrational
political or economic beliefs such as Marxism, or follow faddish
causes such as global warming, despite the fact that contrary to
popular myth, it is not definitely proven to be happening, nor do
all or even most scientists agree that it is. Most of the people
who scream the loudest about global warming know zilch about
climatology, and take it on blind faith.
A better world through secularism? Forget it. Hitler, Stalin, Mao
Zedong, and Pol Pot were all atheists, and look at what they did.
No religious leader in history has even come close. 'Nuff said.
Long Tom.
Received on Tue Feb 20 2007 - 18:41:58 CST