[ExI] Tolerance

[JOSHUA JOB]

>> He aligns himself with “cultural Christians,” and even goes along  
>> with
>> singing those treacly, annoying $$$mas carols.  Gads, there’s just no
>> accounting for some people’s taste.
>
> Me too, I guess!
>
> I think it's important to separate religion into culture +
> metaphysical beliefs; they're not as tightly bound together as it
> might seem. The metaphysical beliefs are the crazy stuff, culture is
> the tradition+ritual+values which live separately from the crazy
> beliefs, and are what underpins community.... I'm happy to do  
> christmas & easter and all that stuff (although I'm not cool with  
> consumerism, a separate issue). Just don't expect me to *believe*  
> this stuff; it's myth, culture, stories...
> Emlyn
I don't really like Easter, because I see no real point in the  
tradition in and of itself (I don't want to celebrate fertility or  
spring or the harvest, I enjoy fall and winter far more, myself). But  
I do celebrate Christmas. Generally don't do most of the religious  
carols, but some, depending on what they say and so forth (I generally  
just equate God with goodness and that's basically the same).

I celebrate Christmas because it serves as a special time to be with  
those you care about and show you care through the exchange of gifts.  
I happen to think its wonderful that it is consumeristic, because,  
provided you don't pile up debt in order to pay for your gifts, it is  
a display of how productive you've been. Its one big celebration of  
productivity and the trading of values (caring, gifts, etc.)! Just  
about as close to perfect a holiday as you can get, in my opinion.


Joshua Job
nanite1018 at gmail.com