From: Karsten Bänder (kbaender@bigfoot.com)
Date: Tue Nov 24 1998 - 03:48:33 MST
> This type of watering down of belief systems has pros and cons. While I
> rather like the idea of those who had had devote religious belief systems
> branching out toward humanism to incorporate a bit of skepticism in their
> thinking, I wonder if this particular group of humanists is using the word
> humanism inappropriately and in a way that is damaging to the historical
> significance of humanism.
To believe is not to think about it. Religion is a convenient way of avoiding a discussion about topics like "ethics", "morality" and others. In my oppinion man is only limited in his evolution by his own imagination. Things thought mere phantasy only one hundred years ago have become reality. Why should we limit ourselves by creating new taboos? Like, perhaps, cloning humans is not allowed by human ethics. Or Genetic Engineering. It is not allowed to modify human DNA. Everyone is only talking about the dangers and disadvantages. If Daimler and Benz had said, "Hey, if we make a car that runs faster than a man, we'll have accidents and people will die," we would still travel by horse. The danger is not technology, it is what we make of it. We must take the risk that any technology bears the danger of abuse, but isn't the use in most cases of greater value?
The Renaissance in Italy has emancipated science from religious doctrine. Why should we fall back into medieval times? This one and other groups who try to "bring back god into our lifes" are trying to go back into the past. They are one more weight we'll have to carry towards the next stage of human evolution. They alone would be no problem, but if you look at the legions of religious retro - freaks, new-age lunatics, love'n peace hippies, "save-our-planet" activists, the Political-Correctness-Movement and others who actively try to wind us back into te "good old times" on one side and the bored "amusing-ourselves-to-death" society on the other side, who constantly seek the ultimate thrill, drugs, extreme sports, sexual perversions and what-not, how are we supposed to evolve?
We are drifting into a society much like "Brave New World", where the mass of people, not interested in anything but their own puny lives, do not even realize how and by whom they are controlled.
> I also wonder if this media-attention-getting-religious-group is part and
> parcel of Hollywood's religious few's new found flirtation with bring
> religion into television and film.
Hollywood is like a whore. It will do anything for money. I have stopped thinking long ago about the films produced there. They are perfect illusions of a world that does not exist. The bad part is that some people cannot see this difference. Well, sometimes I think most of the people do not seem to understand. They don't even care. But: Hadn't it been this way all the times?
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kbaender@bigfoot.com
http://members.ivm.de/~Kasimodo/
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"Viele Leute glauben, daß sie denken, wenn sie lediglich ihre Vorurteile neu ordnen."
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