[ExI] CALL: H+ call for papers

[Stefano Vaj]

On Fri, Feb 20, 2009 at 8:32 AM, Eschatoon Magic <eschatoon at gmail.com> wrote:
> I think those who jump at the first mention of religion are persons
> who had to make a big effort to free themselves from religious
> superstition, and are afraid of falling back into it anytime. Like
> those ex-alcoholics who avoid all parties because they know they would
> not be able to resist the temptation.

"Religion" used to mean simply "the worldview that tie together a
given community, and the related mythes and rites", as such being a
rather neutral and unavoidable feature of human societies.

*Then*, with the unfortunate success of monotheism in Europe, it
became tainted with metaphysics, to the point that very different
phenomena of the first kind across history and geography were
understood in such light, or even influenced in that direction
whenever they were not simply replaced by Biblical beliefs.

This is deplorable, but what exactly would, say, Zen involve that
would be incompatible with h+ or with a promethean worldview? Or
European paganism? A lot of purely secular philosophies betray a much
stronger eschatological and universalist flavour and judeochristian
influence than many "religions" who do not demand any kind of
anti-scientific "faith".

--
Stefano Vaj