From: ednclark@kraken.itc.gu.edu.au (Jeffrey Clark)
Subject: Re: Should religion be eliminated?
Organization: ITC, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Date: 11 Nov 92 03:25:32 GMT

robert@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Rob Karmolinski) writes:

>news@illusn.enet.dec.com (Mark Sornson) writes:


>>        In an indirect way, this is a followup to a posting by
>>    jcopelan@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu on the subject of "Vatican Finds
>>    Galileo 'Not Guilty'," because his concluding remarks brought to mind a
>>    question I've often thought of asking on the net.

>>        Mr. Copelan's concluding remarks were:

>>>Scientific progress has come in spite of religion as the Galileo case
>>>shows.  Religion has been a ball and chain around the ankle of society and
>>>it is time to remove it once and for all.

>>            Q1: Are you truly in favor of seeing the practice of religion
>>                (i.e., of all religions) eliminated throughout the earth?

>Not *all* religions; only those belief-oriented ones, which require
>elevating conjecture, belief, faith, whatever, to the level of
>*knowledge*.  (This practice is also known as superstition, but people
>are reluctant to call it that, when it applies to their own religion).
>These particular religions have been proven to kill or otherwise damage
>countless billions of people needlessly, all based upon unfounded
>premises.  They have also served to impede any real social progress, by
>restricting acquisition of *real* knowledge, corrupting science and
>education of our children, depleting economic and human resources by
>combatting stupidity or willful, bullheaded ignorance, and otherwise
>create a lower standard of living for non-believers, (and believers as
>well, although they are completely unaware of that fact, and unwilling
>to admit, or even believe that they are directly responsible for the
>propogation of a great number of ills upon our society.)

>>            Q2: If you are in favor of seeing religion eliminated from
>>                the world, how do you think this should and could be
>>                accomplished?

>Education is the key.  Teach people *how* to think, not *what* to think.
>Teach them that dynamic thinking, based upon a dynamic and ever growing
>knowledge base is better than static (stagnant) beliefs, and show how
>this atrophy has hindered the evolution of thought.  Teach them the
>history behind such religions; how and why such religions were created,
>how and why God was created by man.  Show them how such religions which
>are supposedly inherently static, were forced to evolve and change, to
>keep pace with the collective, dynamic, and ever growing knowledge base.
>Show them how such religions have impeded scientific knowledge and real
>education.  Show them how such religions are propogated, and show them
>that these same techniques were, and still are, used by many cults and
>other fascist movements to control large numbers of people.  Teach
>people that superstition is not a prerequisite for a sound moral code.
>Show people how such religions have been used to justify otherwise
>unconscionable (immoral) acts such as hatred and bigotry, and how it is
>still being used today.  Show people that they do not need an emotional
>security blanket to create a false sense of security, and that a full
>and meaningful life has a value in and of itself, even if it's only
>finite, and not everlasting.

>Once people understand what such religions are all about, these
>religions should die on their own, and we can get on with the business
>of actually *doing* something constructive, rather than playing
>tug-of-war, and going nowhere fast.

>Any religion that can survive *these* rigorous constraints deserves to
>stick around, because they obviously have a *real* value, and should
>not rightly be called a religion in the first place.

>>                                                            regards,
>>                                                            -mark sornson.
>--
>Rob	(robert@cs.ucla.edu)
>My opinions.  No one elses, unfortunately.

Here, here (or is it hear, hear)! Just like to make sure more people read
this by reposting it!

Jeff.

Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc