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- Newsgroups: alt.angst
- Subject: Re: a cure for angst?
- Message-ID: <1992Nov19.151713.2420@gacvx2.gac.edu>
- From: emiddlec@mora.gac.edu (Eric Middlecamp)
- Date: 19 Nov 92 15:17:11 -0600
- References: <20212@acorn.co.uk>
- Nntp-Posting-Host: next-7.gac.edu
- Lines: 27
-
- In article <20212@acorn.co.uk> writes:
- >In article <1992Nov17.142509.2374@gacvx2.gac.edu> emiddlec@mora.gac.edu (Eric Middlecamp) writes:
- >
- >>Actually, 1) everyone has a religion (M. Scott Peck, _The Road Less Travelled_)
- >> 2) not all religions are "blind faith" or "certain."
- >> ex: _your_ religion.
- >
- >No, no, no, I'm not going to accept that. How many times have I heard that old
- >line 'Any belief system is a religion'. There are major differences between
- >a group of 'truths' that someone chooses as a guide for their behaviour
- >and a set of rules; obeyance of which is achieved through a mixture of
- >coercion and fear.
-
- There are differences, yes. The point, though, lies in the similarities. Someone
- using the latter (set of rules, obeyance) chooses those rules as "truths", if you
- will.
-
- >For the word 'religion' to have any useful purpose in the language we must
- >restrict its use to the more conventional belief systems, for example
- >those involving an omnipotent being or beings, and find another word for
- >other belief systems.
-
- Do with it as you want. That's fine.. Actual definition of the word is not my point.
-
- >Otherwise people start calling science a religion and I just cannot accept
- >that. Whether you believe in science or not it is fundamentally different
- >from what we generally accept as a religion.
-