Updateyness
Firstly, I really am trying to catch up with those posts of mine which have been commented on - sorry it's taken me ages to get round to replying to comments.
Secondly, I was just replying to one of robhu's posts, in which some religious issues were raised. Seems like a good time for raising religious issues ;) so I thought I'd paste my comment on his post here as well (especially since there isn't that much crossover between our f'lists). Feel free to join in if you feel like a religious debate, or ignore it if you don't, or indeed just to come and say something randomly sarcastic.
I'm not sure my thoughts were entirely represented by the poll, so have extra comments :)
Firstly, I think every individual has a) a sense of right and wrong conditioned by their society/culture (the cannibal argument), and b) some innate sense of something like right and wrong (the other side of the cannibal argument). So, I think almost everyone is aware of what is good to do and what isn't, and every individual just has to make choices about what they go along with. Considering my point b) above, I *do* think there's *some* universal good/bad stuff, but OTOH I also think a lot is conditioned by your culture. So it's a very complicated issue. But basically I don't think any person is good or bad, I think they make choices about their actions, and this has an effect on whether they are perceived as good or bad, and their record for good/badness. Might as well think of it as brownie points, really...
Anyway, another important point to make is that I don't believe good/badness is connected with religion, except that I think religion has always been a good way of enforcing ideas of good/badness (i.e. those conditioned by culture/society).
I believe evangelical Christianity is wrong because I believe it is wrong to try to convert people, especially by using force or an annoying level of insistance. I believe it's wrong and arrogant to think you have a mission to save anyone else's soul *and that you must carry on until you succeed*. I believe (almost) all religions are inherently *right* anyway, but that's beside the point. Forced conversion is wrong, IMO, though this doesn't mean I think each religion should be a closed sect - what's wrong with making sure your ideology is available on request so people can join if they want to? Advertise by all means, but don't shove it down anyone's throat.
Finally, I voted for evangelical Christianity being a cult, but I should probably say that I consider most religion cultic anyway... When is a religion not a cult?
Disclaimer: These are all my own views and do not represent the views of anyone else (AFAICT!). I do not apologise for offence caused by my having these views, but then I believe views are the property of their holder (etc. - this is a long argument I've had before). I do, however, apologise to anyone who thinks I'm misrepresenting evangelical Christians - I'm sure they're not all as bad as I've made out, but the ones I've known have been, and I dislike them for it. Mostly I apologise for coming over all serious :)
Edit: For the original discussion and poll, go here :)
Secondly, I was just replying to one of robhu's posts, in which some religious issues were raised. Seems like a good time for raising religious issues ;) so I thought I'd paste my comment on his post here as well (especially since there isn't that much crossover between our f'lists). Feel free to join in if you feel like a religious debate, or ignore it if you don't, or indeed just to come and say something randomly sarcastic.
I'm not sure my thoughts were entirely represented by the poll, so have extra comments :)
Firstly, I think every individual has a) a sense of right and wrong conditioned by their society/culture (the cannibal argument), and b) some innate sense of something like right and wrong (the other side of the cannibal argument). So, I think almost everyone is aware of what is good to do and what isn't, and every individual just has to make choices about what they go along with. Considering my point b) above, I *do* think there's *some* universal good/bad stuff, but OTOH I also think a lot is conditioned by your culture. So it's a very complicated issue. But basically I don't think any person is good or bad, I think they make choices about their actions, and this has an effect on whether they are perceived as good or bad, and their record for good/badness. Might as well think of it as brownie points, really...
Anyway, another important point to make is that I don't believe good/badness is connected with religion, except that I think religion has always been a good way of enforcing ideas of good/badness (i.e. those conditioned by culture/society).
I believe evangelical Christianity is wrong because I believe it is wrong to try to convert people, especially by using force or an annoying level of insistance. I believe it's wrong and arrogant to think you have a mission to save anyone else's soul *and that you must carry on until you succeed*. I believe (almost) all religions are inherently *right* anyway, but that's beside the point. Forced conversion is wrong, IMO, though this doesn't mean I think each religion should be a closed sect - what's wrong with making sure your ideology is available on request so people can join if they want to? Advertise by all means, but don't shove it down anyone's throat.
Finally, I voted for evangelical Christianity being a cult, but I should probably say that I consider most religion cultic anyway... When is a religion not a cult?
Disclaimer: These are all my own views and do not represent the views of anyone else (AFAICT!). I do not apologise for offence caused by my having these views, but then I believe views are the property of their holder (etc. - this is a long argument I've had before). I do, however, apologise to anyone who thinks I'm misrepresenting evangelical Christians - I'm sure they're not all as bad as I've made out, but the ones I've known have been, and I dislike them for it. Mostly I apologise for coming over all serious :)
Edit: For the original discussion and poll, go here :)