[ExI] Rick Warren on religion

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of William Flynn Wallace
Sent: Sunday, December 9, 2018 10:55 AM
To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
Subject: Re: [ExI] Rick Warren on religion

 

>>… If a parent complains, then the student has the option of not doing that unit.  There is enough material that the student can learn around that material and still make the tall pointy grade.  Now the administration can freely offer online material about Christianity, Protestantism or Catholicism, Islam, Hindu, anything they want (and they do.)

 

>… I find this very sad and very disturbing…

 

Indeed?  I find it happy and comforting, particularly after reviewing the material myself.  It doesn’t promote or denigrate any particular religion (it isn’t obvious to me if they do) but explains a lotta lotta about why and how come.

 

>… It was bad enough when nothing was taught and now it may be even worse…

 

Disagree.  It was bad enough, but now is much better.  I recall when biology was being taught in the public school without mentioning evolution, how little sense it all makes without that cornerstone concept.  Without some knowledge of religion, history in general makes damn little sense.  

 

For instance, we in the USA recently celebrated a festival of Thanksgiving, where we talk about pilgrims, European people seeking religious freedom.  OK.  Why did both Catholic and Protestant authorities have heartburn with them?  Seems like one or the other would have been OK with them.  Reason: civil authorities were hoping to use religion as a unifying force in their cultures.  Perhaps they hoped (in the ideal case) that everyone in their country would subscribe to the religion of the crown.  

 

OK, that makes sense.  Now, separatists, where do they fit?  No allegiance to the Pope or the state religion.  Now the crown can’t be sure of their loyalty.  They can’t be sure if they can trust the separatists to charge the enemy.  They don’t know whether to fight them or trust them.  So… they don’t want them.  No one wants them.  

 

The separatists want to follow their own way.  They got on board a ship and sailed to undeveloped territory where they damn well knew their chances of survival were a tossup.  They went anyway.

 

That’s powerful motivation.

 

 

>…Letting parents select what their children are taught is a road to ignorance and that leads to bigotry and that leads to street fights all the way up to war…

 

There is that, but it might be a road away from ignorance and away from bigotry, and solves street fights and war.

 

 

>…As for forms, I have no idea what is current, but most of the forms I see, census, hospital, have places for religions…

 

Hmmm, OK.  I haven’t seen that in decades.

 

>…  I would guess that no businesses do this anymore…

 

Not if they don’t want to get the pants sued offa them.

 

>…  Who else?  No idea…bill w

 

I have lived in California so long, I have forgotten how the rest of the world operates.

 

spike

 

 

 

 

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