From: Wade T.Smith (wade_smith@harvard.edu)
Date: Sat 09 Nov 2002 - 16:59:18 GMT
On Saturday, November 9, 2002, at 10:48 , Grant Callaghan wrote:
> They are using God as an excuse
That is your main point, and I'd recommend you stick to it.
They are _not_ using the words of Christ as an excuse. That is a point
you make in great error, since it is easily falsified.
Invoking a god, on the other hand, especially one who so often claimed
vengeance, is just another handy way to keep the cycle of violence going.
The Bible is a long and varied collection of many cultures' thoughts and
myths, and it is quite easy to pick out a phrase from it to bolster
support for just about any position, on any subject, but only a section
of it concerns the teachings of Christ, and these teachings are first
and foremost about obtaining peace.
> 1. How do the leaders of our country get people to follow their lead?
They don't need all of the people all of the time.
>
> 2. Do they use religion to demonstrate their goodness and the right to
> lead?
Of course. That, and their elected position. And, maybe, their own
business acumen. Or their skill at horseriding. Or their ability to
cheat on their wives and be called 'just human'. Or their speech-making.
>
> 3. Is the stance of the U.S. on abortion, for example, the result of
> reason or religious fanaticism?
Maybe it's a deeply held belief about the purpose of fecundity. A wiccan
can be just as 'fanatic' over the sanctity of a human life as anyone
else. Some of the first known artifacts- social?, religious?, magical?
(we do not know the cultural, therefore the memetic, context)- are the
so-called 'venus' maquettes, always of a pregnant female. Get into your
head and discover where _they_ came from, and your answer will be close.
- Wade
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