Posted by GaDS on August 31, 1998 at 16:03:36:
In Reply to: split personality questions posted by Walker on August 31, 1998 at 12:09:30:
: : I fully agree that the real "beast" is religion, and in this country, primarily Christian religion.
: I hear tell that the U.S is the most religious, developed country in the world. If you agree that the U.S. is also the most powerful and has the highest standard of living, why would you say religion is the beast? It must be an impotent beast.
: I live among devote Mormons who profess great faith in God, yet it doesn't seem to stop them from taking full advantage of whatever the non-Mormon or non-religious world has to offer.
: They pray to God for help when they are sick. But they get help from the doctor too. They pay taxes and receive government help. They pay thithing and get church benefits.
: They go to a church schools if convenient but no school is prohibitted. Mormons become doctors, lawyers, astronauts, whatever any nonMormon can aspire to, a Mormon can too.
: Christians in the U.S. by and large seem supportive of secular government even though they talk a lot about setting up the kingdom of God.
: They talk about what God wants them to do but also discuss the ethical thing to do and the democratic thing to do.
: And then there are those folks who believe BOTH Genesis and evolution in spite of obvious mutual incompatibility!
: It looks to me like this country has a split personality. Maybe that's a good thing. Are Americans successful in spite of religion or because of it?
I think that the underlying idea is that everyone decides for themselves what are the bounds, or lack of bounds, imposed upon them by their religious or non-religious views. Some groups will want nothing to do with those not of their faith, while others will attempt to live what they consider to be the spirit of the law rather than the letter. Without going too deeply into it, the New Testament that Christians purport to embrace states that "true religion" is to comfort those in need, to provide for those bereft of means of their own, and love their neighbor as themselves. Others continually ask "Who is my neighbor" in an attempt to meet the minimum requirements imposed upon them. Hence we have the religious terrorists like the Muslim terrorists currently in the news on one hand and the Mother Theresas on the other. My personal belief is that "You have the right to do and believe whatever you want, as long as it doesn't interfere with my right to do the same." If there is a God, and we are all children of God, and religion is instituted of God, then I doubt seriously he would mean to have religion put people at each other's throats.
GaDS
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