| Ken S. Tucker 2005-12-28, 4:21 pm |
|
marcenmoni@cpu-net.net wrote:
> Ken S. Tucker wrote:
>
> It's easy to target religion as an inculcator of atrocities. But the
> real bottom line is that people of all persuasions commit atrocities,
> for any number of reasons. And some of these atrocities may not seem
> like much until you had up numbers (like, for instance the number of
> deaths caused by drunk drivers in the US). Lack of empathy is just as
> much a result of experience, upbringing and/or genes as it may be
> religious (or political) persuasion learned/absorbed later in life.
>
> Nevertheless, religion as a source of POSITIVE beliefs has also been
> strong inspiration for a number of architectural, artistic and musical
> masterpieces. So, if we toss out religion, and therefore toss out the
> positive aspects that an overwhelming majority of the people on this
> planet derive from it, do we also toss out its artifacts?
>
> It does not matter if Jesus actually existed or not. The real point is
> believe people what they choose to believe and whether those beliefs
> have any rational foundation doesn't much matter- give that it's a
> matter of 'spiritual taste'. Nevertheless one still ought to ask, does
> the phrase 'do unto others as you would have them do to you' seem like
> a decent paradigm to go by? I believe so, even though I myself am a
> panantheist of sorts (no religious affiliation). And in that sense, the
> words attributed to Christ have real personal / moral value.
>
> Some researchers cited in Mapping the Mind by Rita Carter, have found a
> particular area of the left temporal lobe that when stimulated produces
> of feeling of being in a divine presence, in some people. I don't know
> if this has been found to be common, but it is interesting that, at
> least in some people, the experience of divinity has an actual
> neurological basis.
>
> PS: Some may reasonably argue that the moment the Roman Republic became
> an empire was in fact the moment that it lost its own social
> conscience. Kind of like what's happening in the US today.
> Marcello
Interesting essay.
I read over it again but substituted "Santa Claus" for "Jesus"
or "Christ", and it sounded just as good or better.
If JC existed he'd be a famous socialist too.
Marco wrote,
"the experience of divinity has an actual neurological basis."
Yes, I've read chanting and group singing can form a
similiar natural high. How do Woodpeckers sing?
Anyway, I'm the same religion as everybody else and I've
always encouraged faith and optimism.
Ken
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