Charlie Hebdo

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Is it now well past time for all religious moderates to insist upon the removal from their religious books of all texts encouraging, inciting or advocating violence?

By inaction and not directly and enthusiastically insisting upon the removal of such texts are the silent majority tacitly aligning themselves with extremism?

Not that it would really change anything. Boys will be boys!

Bill

 

Can't agree. Burning books either literally or in metaphor has been the action of various tyrannies throughout the ages. I prefer Voltaire and the quotation is apposite in the current situation:

" I may disagree completely with what you are saying [and in a free society I can argue with you] but I will fight to the death for your right to say it."

Bill Liggins

 

I agree that Voltaire's quotation is spot on and if I was advocating 'burning books' or anything that could be considered suppression of the truth, then you would be quite right to fight me to the death but I am not.

I am asking if it is not time that those who consider that their religious texts do not reflect the true nature of the God they worship, altered them so that they more accurately reflect the true nature of that 'all loving' God and more clearly and less ambiguously inform his followers how they should act, ie if the instructions are too complicated or are open to misinterpretation change them to reduce the probability of misinterpretation.

Why wouldn't you?

Bill

 

It did not take long for the conspiracy nutters to spew out their crap. There was an "analyst" interviewed on Russian TV claiming the CIA were behind it!
and there was this nutter:
http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/to-question-or-not-to-question-always-to-question/ (he taken a pasting on Facebook)

 

I understand, Bill. I find it fascinating that rather than unify, religion serves to separate and fragment humanity from each other.

I believe that if God exists and if God created us, then God dwells in each of us and we in turn dwell in God. Is religion more about man's understanding of God or about God. In my view, mankind has anthropmorphised God though their agendas and biases, but would not the consciousness of God be infinitely beyond the mind of man to fully grasp?

I believe those higher states of consciousness resides within each of us ready to be tapped into and when they are we are on the path of spirituality. To become truly spiritual is to come closer to the spirit within where the consciousness of the Ineffable exists. In this state, you experience a connection and unconditional love to All. You become transformed from being like coal that absorbs light (selfish nature) to a diamond that reflects light to the world (sharing nature).

When religious leaders of all faiths release their programming that they came in with and come to know that behind the essence and truth of God is simply unconditional love and not power or control. It is only then that constructive change will come.

Only my thoughts.

Steven

 

I can only half agree with you re: Voltaire. In the modern context I would prefer to see something like: "I defend your right to peddle nonsense, however I do not defend your right to peddle nonsense as if it were the truth". I read this elsewhere a while back; in my life it is valid in the context of creationist lies, half truths, misquotes and other nonsense, but also in the anti vaccination camps. Actually the parallels are scary; intelligent but uneducated (in that direction of science) people believing [perhaps what they wish to be true], as a result of a persuasive peddling of nonsense as if it were the truth. Happy Sunday, Rob

 

Charlie Hebdo Terror Attack: Top Conspiracy Theories

 

Hi Rob

We agree. I think that Voltaire was saying that Extremists, religious or political, stifle the truth by applying censorship, hence my comment about ancient Christians and latterly Nazis and Communists burning books and thus attempting to alter history. By allowing all to say what they wish (obviously within certain limits) then full debate can take place and the nonsense which you cite can be put out with the rubbish where it belongs. It's a great pity that with universal education, at least in the first world, people still believe nonsense. However, that is the fault of the education (or lack of it) not of the philosophy of Voltaire.

All the best

Bill

 

The Charlie Hebdo Conspiracy Too Crazy Even for Alex Jones

 

I don't think that education is the total explanation, even if 'education' includes 'culture'. I think that the anatomy, physiology and evolution of the human brain contains at least as much of the explanation of this phenomenon as education?

Earlier in this thread I suggested that 'boys will be boys'. Possibly I should have written 'brains will be brains'.

Bill

 

A point-by-point rebuttal of 'Charlie Hebdo' conspiracy theories

 

Rob, your revision doesn't make any sense. So anyone that thinks that they have the truth that they want to peddle has to have a disclaimer on their materials, "This is really not the truth." Who says that you have any more truth in you -- It is only your opinion that you have ownership on the truth. You seem to be one another of many who consider themselves educated, but who fail to realize that they are just as dogmatic in their belief and faith in science as those they accuse of being dogmatic in their belief. I have examined carefully the amount of faith exhibited by both the creationists and the non-creationists, and find that each exhibits equal amounts of faith in the basic tenets they hold so dear. Both the creationist and noncreastionist belief systems require a miracle at the beginning. So lighten up on those who don't subscribe to your religion that you call "science."

Of course anyone who understands what science is will tell you that it is a methodology to give evidence for belief. It is not truth, it is one methodology to arrive at truth. Anyone who has studied the concept of "consciousness" will tell you that this is really the hard question which has totally eluded scientific testing and explanation. We find that every explanation that scientists give for things happening opens up a new set of questions -- not that it is bad because I'm a firm believer in searching for the reason that anything happens. Just think now, we have to contend with 70% of the universe being some type of energy that no one can explain (seems like the creationists have a similar circumstance, an energy source that no one can explain). I believe that we have to keep an open mind in these matters, be humble by recognizing the weaknesses in our own world views and give someone else a little bit of rope to believe something else.

Take care,
Daryl

 

I wonder if you meant to say "... anyone who DOESN'T or possibly CAN'T understand what science is will tell you that it is a methodology to give evidence for belief?"

What's are the other methodologies to arrive at truth?

Bill