From: M. E. Smith (mesmith@rocketmail.com)
Date: Tue Nov 02 1999 - 15:18:20 MST
--- "D.den Otter" <neosapient@geocities.com> wrote:
> He may be dead to us, but to many others he's alive
> and kickin'.
You'd be surprised how dead this "God" is; I've found
it hard to find anyone who believes in this "God",
even among ostensible Christians.
> No, "god" can't be compared to a relatively neutral
> meme like "infinity"; it is firmly (and IMHO duly)
> linked to things like ignorance, irrationality and
> oppression. It's a meme that carries a lot of (often
> unpleasant) historical baggage. That's why atheists
> get upset when you use it.
There are multiple memes for which the word "God" are
sometimes applied. Some of these memes CAN very well
be compared to the infinity meme, and *these* memes
cannot fairly be linked to things like oppression,
etc.
> The undefinable is the undefinable, the universe is
> the universe, infinity is infinity. Using the term
> "God" to describe any or all of these things is
> simply not very practical.
I agree, but a learned native English speaker should
be aware that in the English language the word "God"
is used this way.
=====
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