To: C Kahn who wrote (63276 ) 12/9/1999 12:18:00 AM From: Neocon Read Replies (1) | Respond to
Colleen, I am not averse to discussing religion, but I do not like to have the argument get too heated. I am from a mixed ethnic background. I have spent parts of my life as a religious Jew (in the Conservative movement), and parts as a Roman Catholic. I have been unaffiliated for a long time, although I continue to believe in God, Providence, and the efficacy of prayer. I am otherwise fairly liberal, believing that the impositions of culture and history are so great that there is latitude for making the best of the beliefs one is taught, and that God will, as it were, be satisfied with our childish scribbling, and take into account our situation. In that sense, I agree with you, there is nothing to do but follow one's heart, and do one's best. However, the doctrine of "the priesthood of all believers" and "the Inner Light", coupled with the insistence upon correctness in doctrine and practice, has, in my opinion, been the greatest agent of schism in the Church. Everyone with a new conviction goes out to found a new sect, and there have been many in the history of the Church, especially since the Reformation. Either there are many people who have been in error about their "Inner Light", or the Holy Spirit is deliberately misleading various of them, and fomenting discord among believers. Since this is repugnant, it seems to me that there are only two choices left: a version of religious liberalism, which is content to factor in human disagreement, and not insist upon conformity of faith and practice, or a version of religious authoritarianism, such as the Roman Catholic faith, which sets up a mechanism for settling questions of faith and practice.....
