Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: philv who wrote (18278)	5/15/2003 9:53:11 PM
From: sea_urchin	Respond to of 81411

Phil > Religion is a matter of faith, and as such cannot be argued. I didn't want to reply to your post which, in fact, was directed to Gary but this sentence deserves an immediate response. Hence my two cents' worth. What concerns me is not the belief of the adherent but the demands of the religion particularly in a society involving those who do not "believe" in that religion. Let me start with an example. In the Middle East we notice various forms of religious fundamentalism which, in a nutshell, means the adherent obeys the word of his God (Bible, Koran) before he is prepared to abide by any secular law. Thus we find religious Muslims are prepared to die in a suicide attack or Jihad against those whom they believe are evil according to their religion. Simultaneously, Jewish extremists, many of whom have settled in what was intended as Palestinian land, are also not prepared to listen to "reason" and consider that, according to their view of their bible, Judea and Samaria are theirs and they will kill anyone who tries to take the land. Thus, religion is not merely a faith but is the basis of the secular life of the adherent.Clearly, religion is also the basis of conflict and contempt for others and it thus becomes very much other people's business. This conflict is not confined just to the interaction between religious extremists themselves but, indeed, between religious extremists and normal Western or any other secular society. To expand on this, secular law which governs various societies is based on reason whereas religious law is based on dogma and this, in fact, may be quite unreasonable. Hence, it becomes clear that someone attempting to conduct his life according to religious dogma can find it impossible to live in a society regulated by another, indeed a man-made, code of laws. Thus, what will happen is what we often see which is that there is a fundamental incompatibility between the values of many seriously religious people and the mores of society. Indeed, when carried to the extreme, as it frequently is, one can even regard various aspects of "religious" behaviour as sociopathic or psychopathic. In this regard, the religious adherent also "believes" that society and those in it, other than him and his group, are abominations and are "damned".

To: philv who wrote (18278)	5/15/2003 10:48:41 PM
From: Gary H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81411

The word "Ignorant" in that quote is used in it's true meaning of "lacking in knowledge" and we are all that. Blind faith is still blind. This is denial that other things exist. What I see mostly in religion is people who believe that they believe. But what do they really believe? Have they just taken on a moniker? A name without the game? Like Bush saying he is a "Born again Christian". The man made fun of a woman he put to death who said she was a Born again Christian. Who is who in the zoo? Was that a Christian-like deed on Bush's part? To me, it's all one big mystery with no final answer, and as someone once said, "There is no answer, there never has been an answer, there never will be an answer, and that is the answer".