Books 49-56

[darthparadox]

49. Belle de Jour: The Intimate Adventures of a London Call Girl
50-52. The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks
53. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
54-55. Turn Coat and Changes (Dresden Files 11 and 12) by Jim Butcher
56. The Selfish Gene

And now, some discussion and a little bit of soapboxing!

Comments

[harlenna]

If I didn't believe my religion was true, then I'd fall into a pluralist or Unitarian Universalist camp, not the Christian camp. So yes, there's a certain amount of, "this is true" that goes on.

But I believe in questions because I believe in honesty, specifically in the fact that if something is true, it will hold up to questioning, and hold up to scrutiny. Does that mean all questions about the divine can be answered? I think that would make religious pursuit boring probably if that were true. I think there's room for a healthy sense of mystery. Maybe some may think that is a cop out, I think it's an acknowledgment of how little I can concretely know about the universe.

Lastly, I cannot stress enough that if many (including Christians) were to look at the tenets of the Christian faith in the new testament, Christians are admonished repeatedly to a.) be known as Christians by the love they show people b.)speak what they believe to be true with gentleness and respect c.) understand that the only relationship with God that is your responsibility is your own, not someone else's. The requirement is to share what you believe and the benefits thereof; the possible additional discourse that may result is between God and that person.

Respect is a huge part of this equation, and largely a lot of it is achieved by being most comfortable with ones own beliefs and discussion thereof. Something I think we both agree on.

[darthparadox]

Respect is a huge part of the equation, and that's a big reason why I worry so much about people treating children as empty vessels into which to pour their own beliefs, rather than as persons that deserve the chance to develop their ability to reason about the world without the interference of dogma and indoctrination.

Again, not all religious education is indoctrination. But I think most of it tends to be, because most people see it as a matter of "passing on what I believe to my children" rather than "giving my children the opportunity to determine beliefs that work for them".