Warren Ockrassa wrote:
> Thanks. In my cynical youth I would have been more inclined, I think, to
> agree with the "Good news from the Vatican" sentiments. But in the
> intervening years my rebellion against (specifically) Christianity and
> (generally) religion has moderated some.
[KZK]
So you are saying that age enfeebles the mind.
I finally twigged to what troubles me with this statement; it's an inaccurate formulation of what I meant.
As I noted elsewhere, we live in a predominantly religious world, and to me the sentiments expressed in a thread title such as "Good news from the Vatican" are not functionally different from those that might have been expressed in a headline such as "Good news from New York" on September 12, 2001. From one perspective either expression is witty and will bring a smile; from another perspective either expression is reprehensible and callous.
Whether or not one subscribes to Catholicism, John Paul II's death caused a lot of sorrow in the Catholic world. Overlooking the (possibly-undeserved) post-mortem homilies, JPII was a figure looked upon with affection by millions, and their hearts were wounded by his inevitable end.
Capitalizing on that death to drive home a point struck me as being insensitive at the very best. The cause of atheism (such as it might be) is not furthered by increasing suffering or being insensitive to the sensibilities of others.
So no; age doesn't necessarily enfeeble the mind, but experience can lend insight into the minds of others.
> But there is wisdom to be found in doctrines which have endured for
> centuries or millennia, and it might even be argued that an organic,
> flexible interpretation of scriptures is more in keeping with the idea
> of a living gospel or living god than a rigid, hardline insistence on
> literalism. As an atheist, then, I might be more religious than many who
> claim to hold faith. At the very least I might understand Christianity
> better than some who claim to preach its "truths".
To 'know' Evil is to fight against Evil, or on Evil's behalf.
Ah. So he who is not with us is against us? I can think of others who have used that simplistic formulation, and to great detriment too.
-- Warren Ockrassa, Publisher/Editor, nightwares Books http://books.nightwares.com/ Current work in progress "The Seven-Year Mirror" http://www.nightwares.com/books/ockrassa/Flat_Out.pdf
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