In These Times

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• • 22 May 08
  • 11:59 am

  Thoughtless arrogance is a bad thing no matter the source. Islamists , Domionists, and many others are simply very displeased to see folk enjoying themselves, and think that an elite group should control such things and enjoy the benefits alone. The Religious fundamentalist would put their particular flavor in charge be that flavor Islamist, Dominionist, or Soviet Atheism. Thus even when it is Religious, it is Political. That said there are many folk of reason who are none the less also religious. There are also many Religions that do not include a god in their understanding. It is only this dance …

  Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity

• • 03 Jun 08
  • 12:43 am

  Amazing how people argue about the obvious and ignore the main point of the article. While some people (notably Fundamentalists) think that their Religion is an encyclopedia, many religious folk do not, and there are many religions where the very idea that religion should be such a thing is nonsense. To shorten the argument, the Atheists Mr Dapier is talking about are saying that the Bible contains many factual errors and the heroes of the Bible do some truly awful things, and the Judaic God seems highly improbable. So far, so good, most folk, religious and otherwise can agree with much …

  Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity

• • 03 Jun 08
  • 10:03 am

  mlwmohawk You continue to react to the ignorant "bible as encyclopedia", and reject the rational "many subtleties explain deeper understanding" . Yes people use the ignorant to con with simple platitudes and give themselves power, and do great damage, but it is the con that is the problem and not the legitimate understanding of what they are perverting. It is the perversion that fights inquiry, actual religion has a long history in which nearly everything is given up in pursuit of free inquiry. It is the normal distractions of civil life that leads the monk and hermit to give these up …

  Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity

• • 03 Jun 08
  • 11:24 am

  The “great spirit,” was not so much an entity but a metaphor for life. Just as the spirit of animals was not a metaphysical spirit, but behavioral wisdom of various animals. Not only that, there were over 500 different nations of indians each with differing belief systems.

  Exactly! By using the subtleties that could be understood in issues seen as animal behavior (either real or traditional thought) many deeper understandings of one's own life and issues could be explained by those "Spirits". People do not spend a lifetime trying to understand concepts that could be explained in a comment post, so …

  Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity

• • 03 Jun 08
  • 1:44 pm

  mlwmohawk To take from some Indian myths where Raven did some deed or Coyote did another. Children may think that you are talking about an actual Raven or Coyote, or a god in the form of a raven or coyote (and some adults may continue to think so as well) but such thinking misses the whole point of the story that the thinking person uses for insight to what it means to be a human in the world. Like the Great Spirit most religions do not envision a Judaic style God, and such gods as they do envision are both metaphor …

  Posted to Atheism’s Unholy Trinity