gnome@olivee.UUCP (GNOME) (10/08/85)
> > > > Thank you, Frank, for getting to the heart of the matter. The > > main point IS (emphasis mine) the distinction between fantasy and reality. > > The Bible makes many injunctions against the use of witchcraft, sorcery, > > and such like. Christians who are following the teachings of the Bible > > MUST NOT engage in such activities. > > This is an unusual definition of reality. Does a Christian have to > find out what everybody else's rituals are so that he can avoid them? >... > No offense meant to anybody by the above, just curious about people's > criteria for judging what to believe. > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Alan Filipski, UNIX group, Motorola Microsystems, Tempe, AZ U.S.A > {seismo|ihnp4}!ut-sally!oakhill!mot!al | ucbvax!arizona!asuvax!mot!al > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I've always thought that the more paranoid a religion is, the weaker it's inner foundation is. By paranoid, I mean artificially wary of other's beliefs. Knowledge of another's religion (no matter how obscure) can be benificial. For that matter, knowledge of any kind falls into that unknown area between triviality and "all-important". A good example of a paranoid religion is Jehovah's Witlesses. They pride themselves on their "studies". They generally look upon other religions with scorn and ridicule. (another One TRUE religion) But at the same time they can't go to any get-together or party that falls close to a holiday that they don't sanction (which is MOST holidays). Their reason? They can trace every holiday (Halloween, Thanksgiving, New Years, and of course Christmas) back to some religious event that might some-how corrupt them. But wait! Birthdays are also out! But wait! There's more.... ****** The JWs are probably the best example of a religion that takes pride in building a base of taboos in order to avoid true understanding. ****** Anyway, I just find religions that KEEP people from getting together (in peace) to be an abomination. Not only that, but when you do get more than two together (at a party, or whatever) their conversation immediately degenerates into JW shop talk. Shop talk being "what happened while in Service" and humorous jabs at other religions. It almost seems that the religion itself creates a myopic view of life that cannot be broken (lest their faith be shaken)! Maybe I should have put this in net.flames... Gary