[ExI] The Catholic Impact (was Re: Origin of ethics and morals)

[Kelly Anderson]

On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 10:41 PM, PJ Manney <pjmanney at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2011/12/12 John Grigg <possiblepaths2050 at gmail.com>:
> As a resident Ashkenazi (which simply means "German" in Medieval
> Hebrew), please allow me to weigh in.  Jews will tell you the
> following might have exerted pressures on their culture and gene pool
> for increased intelligence:
<super big snip>
> There's still enormous debate whether there is or isn't a genetic
> component to all of the above and the arguments both pro and con are
> sadly rife with political correctness, bigotry, bias, etc.  Pity...

Thanks for sharing this PJ. It was very interesting to hear what you
had to say. I have to wonder if some of the things that were happening
that made the Jews more intelligent were also happening to the
Catholics, but that the process might have been retarded in the
Catholic populations by the celibate nature of the intellectual...
Just a thought... Stated another way, all of Europe was getting
smarter, but the Jews faster than the Catholics... MAYBE...

I have no problem with people of another group being ON AVERAGE
smarter or less smart than the AVERAGE of my group (whatever group I
want to associate myself with today) because I'm quite secure in the
fact that I'm above average in my own group... :-)  Unless of course
that group is a mailing list such as this one, where I rank in about
the 5th percentile...

I have often wondered if the Mormon experience is in some ways similar
to the experience of the Jews... and if some of the things that have
made the Jews successful also contribute to the enormous success that
Mormons often achieve. From American Idol to Washington, Mormons are
becoming a force to be reckoned with. I also think of all the
religions out there, that Mormons are among the best prepared to
embrace the future as we Extropians see it.

Religions that are not centrally powerful will splinter like a hand
grenade in the face of the brave new world. Those that don't require
huge sacrifices of their memberships will likewise suffer, IMHO. The
Mormons have a particular advantage in that they are used to the
prophet changing the rules as necessary to meet the world's new
challenges without much question. The future of religion is as
interesting to me as the future of everything else. I am particularly
looking forward to how religions will address issues of NBEs becoming
the dominant intelligence on earth, and whether the blessings of the
gospel of this or that church will be extended to them... What happens
to robots after they are turned off??? :-) It's going to be a fun
ride, and I'm personally glad to be watching it from a comfortable
distance.

-Kelly