On Sep 21, 2009, at 3:20 PM, Michael Harney wrote:
I respectfully disagree. Not in appealing to people to be
respectful in disagreements, but in appealing to the religious "What
would Jesus do?" to do so. Rationality promotes calm debate.
Sadly, religion is not conducive to rationality. Rather religion
and religious belief promotes the irrational and rejection of the
rational (IE: Creationism/Intelligent Design vs Evolution). No,
appealing to ones irrational beliefs doesn't promote rational debate.
Oh, as for an example of Jesus not "respectfully disagreeing", call
to your recollection what Jesus did to the vendors in the temple. I
believe it had something to do with shouting, throwing over tables,
smashing merchandise and even wielding a whip. It's been a while
though, so I may be a little cloudy on the details.
On Sep 21, 2009, at 2:40 PM, Bruce Bostwick wrote:
Some think this is a Christian nation, others think it's a secular
nation whose majority religion happens to be Christianity, and there
is much to debate in terms of what exactly constitutes a Christian.
And some believe that Christianity implies morality and ethical
behavior, and that its absence is necessarily immoral and
unethical .. and some believe otherwise. Some even believe the
opposite.
That being said, there's a lot to be said for cultivating civility,
whether the motivation to be civil is religious or otherwise. And
as someone who is as far from "church going Christian" as it's
possible to be and still live on this planet, I have to say that
Jesus set a good example, and there's solid reasoning behind his
teachings that is far above the petty little sects fighting over
miniscule differences in apocryphal doctrine. ;)
Can't we all just get along?
A referral to "Religion" without being specific often sparks a
response on this list. My wife is not a follower so she did not write
this with this illustrious group in mind. Guys, I suggest taking her
to task on this is part of the problem. There are many out there with
religious beliefs be they Christian or otherwise. Being civil means
respecting their beliefs though not necessarily accepting them.
I agree with Bruce that in general lessons ascribed to Jesus are about
love and acceptance of the other. I ascribe to them. As for the
temple I believe that was more about the failings of organized
religion but of course that is my interpretation I also am a bit cloudy.
learner
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