Comments on: Politicizing God, & That Whole Evolution Thing http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/ Aggressively nudging you back into reality Sun, 08 Nov 2009 13:06:52 +0000 http://www.today.com/version-2.3.1 By: bluesistersredstate http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-339 bluesistersredstate Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:54:20 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-339 Rachel Scott was one of the victims from Columbine Highschool. My ultimate dream is that religion will exit the political/legislative stage. Rachel Scott was one of the victims from Columbine Highschool.

My ultimate dream is that religion will exit the political/legislative stage.

]]> By: bluesistersredstate http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-335 bluesistersredstate Tue, 14 Oct 2008 15:50:12 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-335 First let me just say before everyone gets confused that there are two of us bluesisters (as the title of our blog implies) and while my sister and I agree on most everything one sticking point is that one of us believes in God (the one writing now)and the other doesn't (the one that professed her love). I understand why after reading this very concise blog it is easy for you to equate the Bible to a bedtime story. That comment doesn't sit well with me because as you mentioned people kill and die for their religion. I have yet to hear of a single life being lost defending the principles of Goodnight Moon. Secondly let me say that I disagree with anyone killing in the name of Christianity. It is a contradiction that I have yet to understand. I do however understand the principle of dying for your faith (I don't mean sucicide bombing here because that again would be killing). Remembering Danny Pearl, or Rachel Scott both died for admitting their faith (although Danny was not practicing his). I think that it is important to add that I believe in God and not in the people cherry picking (to borrow a favorite term of yours) through his message to further their own agendas. I am unwilling to throw the baby (Christ's message) out with the bathwater (the state of Chrisitanity today). First let me just say before everyone gets confused that there are two of us bluesisters (as the title of our blog implies) and while my sister and I agree on most everything one sticking point is that one of us believes in God (the one writing now)and the other doesn’t (the one that professed her love).
I understand why after reading this very concise blog it is easy for you to equate the Bible to a bedtime story. That comment doesn’t sit well with me because as you mentioned people kill and die for their religion. I have yet to hear of a single life being lost defending the principles of Goodnight Moon. Secondly let me say that I disagree with anyone killing in the name of Christianity. It is a contradiction that I have yet to understand. I do however understand the principle of dying for your faith (I don’t mean sucicide bombing here because that again would be killing). Remembering Danny Pearl, or Rachel Scott both died for admitting their faith (although Danny was not practicing his). I think that it is important to add that I believe in God and not in the people cherry picking (to borrow a favorite term of yours) through his message to further their own agendas. I am unwilling to throw the baby (Christ’s message) out with the bathwater (the state of Chrisitanity today).

]]> By: bill_finger http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-333 bill_finger Tue, 14 Oct 2008 06:56:34 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-333 Rhino, I think I love you. Rhino, I think I love you.

]]> By: bluesistersredstate http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-324 bluesistersredstate Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:29:32 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-324 Ok, so I have some more to say.... I completely support everyone's right to believe whatever malarkey they should want to believe. The problem comes from religious people who think that they have the right to force their beliefs into public policies. Yet another problem is the lack of critical thinking (or in fact just lazy thinking) that religion often promotes. I work with a Mormon woman and the other day someone asked her why she can drink a Coke but not tea and she responded with "I don't really know." Yet she continues to refuse to drink tea without questioning this contradiction. This is obviously a simple example of how religion can create drones that merely nod their heads to their religious doctrines and unquestioningly commit their lives to them. However, it is still something that I see everyday (especially within the Mormon population, which I am surrounded by). Ok, so I have some more to say….
I completely support everyone’s right to believe whatever malarkey they should want to believe. The problem comes from religious people who think that they have the right to force their beliefs into public policies. Yet another problem is the lack of critical thinking (or in fact just lazy thinking) that religion often promotes. I work with a Mormon woman and the other day someone asked her why she can drink a Coke but not tea and she responded with “I don’t really know.” Yet she continues to refuse to drink tea without questioning this contradiction. This is obviously a simple example of how religion can create drones that merely nod their heads to their religious doctrines and unquestioningly commit their lives to them. However, it is still something that I see everyday (especially within the Mormon population, which I am surrounded by).

]]> By: bluesistersredstate http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-323 bluesistersredstate Mon, 13 Oct 2008 03:27:19 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-323 I was watching an interview with Jon Stewart and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Stewart asked him why religion is not as big of an issue there as it is in the U.S. Blair said that religion is something that is a private matter for the citizens of the U.K. Wow, what an amazing concept! Another issue that I thought of while reading eclecticbird’s comments was that I continually get comments from religious people about my lack of religion. I get the “Oh, that’s just too bad” looks from people when I say that I am not religious or comments like “I hope that you find that kind of peace someday.” This pisses me off beyond words because if you are not religious in our society, you are seen as someone who is deficient in some way or not at peace. I am positive that I would be much more at peace without religion being such an ever-present force in my life (and government). The reason that I thought of this was because of eclecticbird’s offense at rhino calling religion ‘bed time’ stories. I am not saying that eclecticbird is someone who thinks or says things like this to non-religious people, but there is definitely a double standard that exists there. Disrespecting the right and relevance to having a lack of belief is just as offensive as saying that religion is a bunch of malarkey. By the way I just saw Religulous the other day and it was awesome! I was watching an interview with Jon Stewart and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair and Stewart asked him why religion is not as big of an issue there as it is in the U.S. Blair said that religion is something that is a private matter for the citizens of the U.K. Wow, what an amazing concept!
Another issue that I thought of while reading eclecticbird’s comments was that I continually get comments from religious people about my lack of religion. I get the “Oh, that’s just too bad” looks from people when I say that I am not religious or comments like “I hope that you find that kind of peace someday.” This pisses me off beyond words because if you are not religious in our society, you are seen as someone who is deficient in some way or not at peace. I am positive that I would be much more at peace without religion being such an ever-present force in my life (and government). The reason that I thought of this was because of eclecticbird’s offense at rhino calling religion ‘bed time’ stories. I am not saying that eclecticbird is someone who thinks or says things like this to non-religious people, but there is definitely a double standard that exists there. Disrespecting the right and relevance to having a lack of belief is just as offensive as saying that religion is a bunch of malarkey.
By the way I just saw Religulous the other day and it was awesome!

]]> By: hawkedup http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-316 hawkedup Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:38:58 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-316 If you finish this book, it would be a great read. I quoted your comment (to one of my posts) on my blog today, trying to get a few answers for myself. If this is a problem, let me know. I wouldn't mind a few answers myself. If you finish this book, it would be a great read.

I quoted your comment (to one of my posts) on my blog today, trying to get a few answers for myself. If this is a problem, let me know. I wouldn’t mind a few answers myself.

]]> By: khlindsey http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-314 khlindsey Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:39:52 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-314 I have come to believe The Enlightenment never made it to the shores of the United States of America. Oh, some of us found it through school and scholarship, but the movement itself was already well underway before we became a nation. The founding fathers were blessed by education in the European tradition. That tradition is vilified today as “elite” and we see “founding fathers” conflated with Puritans and the Mayflower Compact. Historic fact has little meaning. “Supernatural belief systems” are the socio-political constructs of man; and their inherent function within society can be directly traced to political and economic systems-at-work. Questions of power and control lie at the heart of all fundamentalist theologies. That was true thousands of years ago, as it is true today. The concurrent rise of Evangelicalism within the U.S. along with the Neoconservative movement has not gone un-noticed. It is being examined and deconstructed to illuminate who has most benefited from this new political force. Who gains control of whom, and how does that play out in the life of “the-citizen”. Any reason-abled person can see that evolution does not have to be counter-intuitive with God. The case becomes problematic when one projects their own human-ness, onto their ‘God image’; therefore delimiting the infinite possibilities for what God might actually be. Some of us view this to be blasphemy; e.g. how dare we mere mortals presume to know the mind and heart of God. Furthermore, how dare mere mortals presume the place of God to take action against fellow-man? To answer fundamentalism with fundamentalism is nothing more than barbaric. I need to apologize for this being so long; but today, I had to "print Rhino" and sit with it a while. Re your book: see the 2002 Baehr-Wells Trans. of Max Weber's "The Protestant Ethic and the "Spirit" of Capitalism"...you might find some seriously good stuff.~k I have come to believe The Enlightenment never made it to the shores of the United States of America. Oh, some of us found it through school and scholarship, but the movement itself was already well underway before we became a nation. The founding fathers were blessed by education in the European tradition. That tradition is vilified today as “elite” and we see “founding fathers” conflated with Puritans and the Mayflower Compact. Historic fact has little meaning. “Supernatural belief systems” are the socio-political constructs of man; and their inherent function within society can be directly traced to political and economic systems-at-work. Questions of power and control lie at the heart of all fundamentalist theologies. That was true thousands of years ago, as it is true today. The concurrent rise of Evangelicalism within the U.S. along with the Neoconservative movement has not gone un-noticed. It is being examined and deconstructed to illuminate who has most benefited from this new political force. Who gains control of whom, and how does that play out in the life of “the-citizen”.

Any reason-abled person can see that evolution does not have to be counter-intuitive with God. The case becomes problematic when one projects their own human-ness, onto their ‘God image’; therefore delimiting the infinite possibilities for what God might actually be. Some of us view this to be blasphemy; e.g. how dare we mere mortals presume to know the mind and heart of God. Furthermore, how dare mere mortals presume the place of God to take action against fellow-man? To answer fundamentalism with fundamentalism is nothing more than barbaric.
I need to apologize for this being so long; but today, I had to “print Rhino” and sit with it a while. Re your book: see the 2002 Baehr-Wells Trans. of Max Weber’s “The Protestant Ethic and the “Spirit” of Capitalism”…you might find some seriously good stuff.~k

]]> By: skwguitar http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-312 skwguitar Sun, 12 Oct 2008 21:37:14 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-312 Lemme know when you finish the book, I'd love to read it. Religion and me is an ongoing thing. I pretty much have accepted the fact that I do not know, and don't have the capabilities to understand, so therefore I'm open to a lot of theories/facts. Don't necessarily believe them, but don't condone people for having faith in something either. Sometimes faith, even if misplaced, is the best support system for someone in an irrational world. Even if it is false, it's not my place to take that away from them. Kind of like telling your 3 year old that santa doesn't exist... it may be true, but is it really worth it? Oh the bliss of ignorance lol. Lemme know when you finish the book, I’d love to read it.

Religion and me is an ongoing thing. I pretty much have accepted the fact that I do not know, and don’t have the capabilities to understand, so therefore I’m open to a lot of theories/facts. Don’t necessarily believe them, but don’t condone people for having faith in something either. Sometimes faith, even if misplaced, is the best support system for someone in an irrational world. Even if it is false, it’s not my place to take that away from them. Kind of like telling your 3 year old that santa doesn’t exist… it may be true, but is it really worth it? Oh the bliss of ignorance lol.

]]> By: jodapoet http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-308 jodapoet Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:40:49 +0000 http://therelevantrhino.today.com/2008/10/12/politicizing-god-that-whole-evolution-thing/#comment-308 My personal view is that the Bible is basically a story book. And I agree it should not be taken literally. I also believe that when you are in office, your religious beliefs should not come into play. What ever happened to separation of church and state? Great post. http://apoetsview.today.com http://insanfrancisco.today.com My personal view is that the Bible is basically a story book. And I agree it should not be taken literally. I also believe that when you are in office, your religious beliefs should not come into play. What ever happened to separation of church and state?

Great post.

http://apoetsview.today.com

http://insanfrancisco.today.com

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