Charlie, I don't think it is very useful nor is it very informative to vote on such matters. This seems like a bunch of ex-Christians who haven't given it up yet and are attempting to redefine it. I read the link - can you really overhaul Christianity to make it Pagan? Really doesn't seem the way to discover truth. Too much like voting on physics but not having the ability to conduct experiments.
I'm more intrigued (maybe even bothered) by the recent suggestion that this thread is a cult (specifically me to Solon, to be fair.) I don't see it, but I would like present to the group as a question for debate:
Are we in a cult situation? Can a motley group of debating Christians, agnostics, New Agers, Buddhists, atheists, animists, Hermetics and free-thinkers, lacking a leader actually even form a cult? Can a rejection of mainstream religion based upon such widely based ontological and epistemological foundations be construed as a cult?
My knee-jerk was "No!" but then I looked it up.
dictionary.com
Whoops. Definitions 2, 3 and 6 seem to apply.
Here is a treatise on cults and cult-practice ( csj.org ). One should note that "cult" (according to this reference) is a non-scientific, popular, but impractical term. So, I'm changing it to "Destructive Cult" as per this link (http://www.csj.org/studyindex/studycult/study_whatisdescult.htm). We sure don't seem to have the requisite elements, but occasionally there is one that seems to strike a chord. Are we all deceived? Are some of us in a cult and others not? This would be an interesting discussion to me.
Okay, NOW I'm going to bed! Good night (again). |
