EVOLUTION: was Re: Salt

[Guest guest]

> > > Deanna²

Strange formatting Gene. And scary thought too - Deanna squared.

> In the sense of the truth of its claims, one set of religious

> beliefs *is* superior. There is either one God, no God or many

> Gods, etc., independent of what any individual believes.

Yes, there are only these logical choices, . However, I would

remove the word " religious " from the description, as there is not a

philosphical system that groups all atheists together. So atheism is

a just a disbelief in God, which may constitute a belief (as has been

argued by some here) but certainly is not a religion. In fact,

religions in general are pretty specific sets of beliefs; so much so

that I would venture to say that Chris's Orthodox Church has little in

common with an Assembly of God Church, though both are in fact

considered 2 of the 12,000 or so denominations of Christianity.

>That said,

> the Bible states unequivocally that it is not the place of men to

> judge the condition of another man's soul. There is, of course, the

> Great Commission that commands Christians to spread the good news of

> Jesus and a perfectly holy, gracious, just and loving God. But

> proclaiming what you believe and why, and even why you don't believe

> an alternative, is not intolerance. It's like telling someone why

> you don't think a low-fat diet is healthy, but respecting their

> right to keep eating Snackwells if they so choose.

Right. Did Jesus say to preach the gospel, or was it ? I think

the main concern here for those of us who wish to choose our beliefs

(or lack thereof) for ourselves is with groups like the Discovery

Institute, which are Christian groups pushing a doctrine on the public

at large in the guise of science. And getting their philosophy in

government funded schools is much akin to force-feeding Snackwell's to

the public (or fluoridating water as a more realistic example). Also,

in terms of missions, how would you feel being proselytized to about

Islam or Buddhism? Spreading the faith how? By force, coercion, or

mere annoyance?

The best way I can think of spreading any faith is by loving your

fellow wo/man. You see, what YOU believe for whatever reason - family

values, spiritual seeking, whathaveyou - is unique to you. Others

have a totally different experience from you. But all of us respond

favorably to love. You may never convince me to go back to the

Christian faith. But if you demonstrate real compassion, then I am

more apt to listen to you, whatever you have to say. And so what if I

don't listen? Religion is and always has been wo/man's way of dealing

with uncertainty. If I choose to believe in reincarnation without

theism, what is that to you? Does God give you brownie points for

converts? If I see religion as a crutch, then your saving grace talk

is only going to be annoying to me. It is a matter of maturity, I

think, in seeing that people are going to think and believe how they

choose. It is a matter of personal choice. If I choose to be damned

or God's favorite child, what is it to you? If I give you love, then

regardless of your beliefs and my beliefs, we both would have benefitted.

Who am I? I am a deist who likes the middle path of Buddhism just

now, thank you very much. And thus, may I leave you with this

outstanding article, " Belief is Bondage, " by Bullen.

http://www.buddhistnetwork.org/articles/article_31.html

Truly,

Deanna