CGB,
Penni, sorry, but I don't really remember all the paeans of praise to paganism I have
written.
I may have gotten carried away with my alliterative efforts, one reason I don't usually get involved in these discussions...I like the sounds of words better than their meanings. (And I'm already sorry I got involved with this one.)
However I think your post is an example of what I meant by "paean of praise to paganism". I was using the least pejorative definition of Paganism-- as the absence of religion. You are most certainly a pagan by that definition and you have written as if that were an excellent way to be (which it may be-I certainly didn't argue with you---you don't have to defend that!) Neither of your definitions -"worship of nature" nor "satanism"- is mentioned in the definition in my AHD. But just as paganism can turn into satanism, Christianity can turn into bigotry. MAN JUST DOES THIS CRAP.
So all I meant to say in this case was that evil is done by man--with religion, without religion, with education, without education. It's the nature of man to form groups, to ally himself against others and set himself apart, often to try to place himself in a superior position. Religions do this, but if it weren't religion, it would be race, or education, or hair color, or clothes or accents...While education is certainly helpful and desirable in understanding, I don't believe that it will change the nature of man.
I was not defending Christianity, any more than I was attacking paganism. It seems we differ in that I believe that almost any belief structure, and also the absence of them, results in the same abuses, because of man's nature.
So it is to no purpose to draw me into a discussion of the Bible or homosexuality or whether Jesus were a feminist. I have little interest in it and I'm not a scholar.
Re: all religions are based on similar "decent behaviors"--did I say otherwise? I use Christianity as an example because it is the dominant religious belief system in our country. And I said that for many people having it neatly laid out in a system makes it easier for them to apply and comprehend, be it Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, whatever. And if these basic commonalities exist, then do you think it so bad that religion exists to help people develop a cohesive moral framework? I'm not sure that without it, people could arrive in this place. I think religions have sprung up since man became a creature capable of abstract thought in an attempt to explain, understand and control his world.
Because most of us were raised in the Christian (or some other)tradition with that particular morality--it's hard to know whether we would have arrived at these same conclusions without it. Religion is too pervasive for me to judge. Yes-I think we all have some sense of an absolute morality-I just don't think we're capable of always following it---with or without religion.
Re your question---Is it rude to talk about facts like these?
Of course not---although I think that to bring up articles like this-at a place like Ask God is an exercise in futility. And to bring up topics that people find truly offensive in their "home" thread is non-productive and antagonistic. And to act surprised when they foam at the mouth (and you KNOW you're dealing with some people who aren't totally in control or reasonable) is disingenuous. But if you enjoy it then and know that---great. If you think you'll change anything there, you're kidding yourself.
Sometimes we get so carried away trying to prove our points, defend our lives and beliefs that we fail to just listen.
Great quote from Henry Miller--
We do not talk-we bludgeon one another with facts and theories gleaned from cursory readings of newspapers, magazines and digests.
So I think I'll just stop and try to listen for a while.
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