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To: AntiGuv
Some atheists emphasize religious faith gone wrong, and some do not. I happen to think religious faith is salubrious to society, more often than not. I happen to think it as least as often animates the synapses, as it does to deaden them. I find Dawkins paradigm that religious instruction of the young is akin to brain washing cult training, at once silly and offensive. I myself have just not been blessed with the gift of faith; thus I am a near atheist.

I hope that helps.

606 posted on 05/25/2005 9:23:20 PM PDT by Torie (Constrain rogue state courts; repeal your state constitution)
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To: Torie

Oh, I see what you mean. Hmm.. I would say that I don't clearly fall into either category. If anything, my general attitude toward religion is that it's of no great consequence. In other words, that by and large society actuates via religion what it would by other means in the absence of religion. Since the details of a creed are arbitrary, there are distinctive permutations contingent on such doctrines, but the overall function of religion is uniform.

I'd say the governing factor of human affairs is economics, itself a proxy for security and control. Religion can and is adapted to suit whatever one wishes for it to represent, and ultimately subordinated to economics. By example, the Christianity of today is utterly alien to the Christianity of 500 years ago, and both are equally alien to the Christianity of 1500 years ago. The objectively irrelevant framework is the same, but its respective functions bear little resemblance to one another, and therefore neither does the experience of it or the perception of it.

More importantly, in the grand scheme of things it certainly appears as if religion is on its way out as a viable force in human affairs. I wonder what will replace it because that's not at all clear to me. It's even less clear to me that its replacement will be preferable. My suspicion is that tighter political regulation will be the solution, and that's not at all an improvement in my view. At its extreme, it ultimately eliminates the apertures of ambiguity that all religions provide within which personal freedom could thrive.


617 posted on 05/25/2005 9:50:39 PM PDT by AntiGuv (™)
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