Re: religion bashing?

Spudboy100@aol.com
Fri, 22 Oct 1999 11:44:55 EDT

In a message dated 10/22/1999 12:06:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time, zharadon@inconnect.com writes:

> This is a step above those who really apply
> the statement "it would be easier to fit a camel through the eye of a
needle
> then for a rich man to get into heaven" to their lives. If there were
> someone who applied religion to his life completely, he would be a complete
> idiot.
One of my criticisms aimed at this particular thread, is that atheistic bashing of religion, invariably, is Christianity-for better or worse. Why is this? Basically because most if the posts to this thread have, at least, been brought up in a nominal Christian environment. I would include the off-spring of people whose parents utterly rejected religious faith three decades ago as "organized deceit". Was there not a Christmas tree or Yule Log in your houses? Didn't Granny take you to Church in your sunday finest, maybe when you were four.

My critiques of atheistic criticisms is that its mono-cultural. How many of you have steeped yourselves in Hindu or Buddhism, before your reject it? I don't mean, merely read books about it, but spoken with people who know their faith? How many know what the belief systems of one billion Muslims are, beyond media snippets? Judeo-Christian is largely an academic word, since their are no Judeo's. The Jew's belief differ markedly form what is normally taught. How about Confucianism or Taoism (hat-tip to Fritjof Capra). Zoroastrianism, New Age, and so much more.

Maybe its all an adaptive, evolutionary neurosis, but at least know what you are rejecting-not just vanilla. And, the point of my dig, don't be so focused on "Euro-culture" (aha!) with its views on God and humanity, that you come to believe its everything, or everything significant-its not. As to the morons in Kansas, thats Fundamentalist Protestant Christianity, and there are many Mainline Christians, Muslims, Deists, Jews, and Hindu's, and non-conformists who love the theory of evolution.

Hapless, hypothesis: Even in the deep future, our happy ascendants (descendants) will have a 'belief system' that transcends the current cavalcade.

Sincerely, Spud Your's in Lord Roscoe, the hoogly hamster