Originally posted by robbie carrobie
Lol, i knew i would, pardon the pun, solicit such a response! why you insist on any references to God as being neolithic i do not understand, for many of the most beautiful and enduring aspects of western civilization are the direct result of theism, infact, much of western literature, art and music found its direct influence from the sacred pronoun ...[text shortened]... u do not like it get black out curtains, or tainted windows or we can talk about chess instead!
I find organized religion the source of more harm than good. I do not find irrationality used for political and social control and the perpetuation of ignorance productive of beauty. I do not accept the premises on which organized religions are based, so I find within the contexts where those premises are used a tissue of lies meant to obscure the search each of us must undertake to achieve self awareness.
Organized religion is in the business of making slaves of the minds of its followers.
The greatest threat today to the security of the world and the continued existence of the human race and the ecosystem in which we live is not climate change -- unless by that you mean nuclear winter. The greatest threat is true belief, which may result soon in the use of nuclear weapons of mass destruction in the service of one group of true believers against another.
I am disgusted by the perversion of language perpetrated in the service of religion,for it is in and of itself an attempt to short circuit the mind's search for self awareness.
That you do not question, do not recognize, and blindly accept what you believe is evidence, as far as I'm concerned, of a serious mental disorder. It is all too common. It is brought about by fear; it is the response to existential angst, and it is the wrong response to succeed in the most signal achievement of one's life, knowing one's self. The true believer merely parrots what he is told to believe -- insists it is the truth, and is afraid to stray onto paths that require one to think for one's self.
The alternative is not mere materialism. That is a fallacious argument -- presents a false choice, a red herring, a strawman, and a slippery slope.
The true believer simply wants to be warm, comfortable, and secure without doing any work of his own. In my view, true believers are no higher on the intellectual scale than my 10-yr old dog. They know what they know, and are content to eat, crap and sleep in comfort. Do not challenge them, for they get fractious and start throwing bombs or burning books, or people at the stake.
With respect to western civilization, to which you refer, I would only cite what Gandhi said of it: he said it would be a good idea.