Is this for real ..... ?

[Rhisiart]

Originally Posted by Trip

Not funny.

No it's not funny. It is tasteless, crap satire.

[Mikuro]

bbloke, I agree with most of what you said.

I certainly don't believe that the New Testament condones hate or ignorance. It's always hard to explain my thoughts on religion without playing word games. Is there a difference between "discouraging rational thought" and "promoting irrational thought"? Yes, there is, and I suppose I meant the latter more than the former. And is there a difference between "promoting irrational thought" and "creating irrational thought"? Same answer. I could go on like this all day.

I do believe the basic concept of monotheism contributes to irrationality. The intent of the religion is really of no consequence, because anything that can be interpreted can and will be misinterpreted. So while I think the intent of Jesus and the New Testament is good, it's completely beside the point I was trying to make, which was not to judge any particular religions.

The problem I have with monotheism, and the reason I feel that its instances (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc.) are so often perverted, is that it is based on absolutes. God is right, bu definition. God is good, by definition. If you switched the characteristics of God and the Devil, you would switch the definitions of Good and Evil, just like that. Rational thought is not a factor. As soon as you deal with absolute rulings, you take the responsibility of thought and decision-making away from the individual. Once you do that, there's nothing they won't do. If they're told to kill — even by their own misinterpretation — then they will. Why? Because the absolutist structure of monotheism does not require rational thought or consideration. It doesn't require the believer to understand anything — it just requires them to believe and obey. Good is Good only because the religion says so, and that's really all there is to it.

To me, this is really not about any religions in particular. It's just about structures of logic. And the structure of logic monotheism works with is, IMHO, outdated at best and just plain evil at worst. That doesn't necessarily mean that any particular instance of monotheism are outdated, evil, or anything in between — in most fields, instances can overcome the inherent weaknesses of their species/class. That's why I didn't mention any religions specifically.

I do NOT believe that rationality and whichever specific form of monotheism can't or don't go hand in hand. I just believe it's easy for IRrationality and monotheism to go hand in hand. And I believe it's a lot more common, too. Keep in mind that just because a monotheist acts decently doesn't mean they do it for rational reasons. I don't draw a clear logical distinction between a murderous zealot and friendly zealot. It's the same disease, just different symptoms.

That's why I think many people actually judge terrorists too harshly. From where I'm standing, it looks like Americans have all the same flaws, but the circumstances make those flaws manifest themselves in less damaging ways. Actually, I think Christianity agrees with me. "We're all sinners" and all that.