Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site pyuxd.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!pyuxww!pyuxd!rlr From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) Newsgroups: net.news.group,net.religion Subject: Re: Proposal for net.religion subgroups Message-ID: <228@pyuxd.UUCP> Date: Wed, 31-Oct-84 09:39:25 EST Article-I.D.: pyuxd.228 Posted: Wed Oct 31 09:39:25 1984 Date-Received: Thu, 1-Nov-84 05:10:07 EST References: <187@hocsj.UUCP> <428@uwmacc.UUCP> <342@klipper.UUCP> Organization: Bell Communications Research, Piscataway N.J. Lines: 32 > But the real reason for subgrouping net.religion is, that it is fatuiging(sp?) > to have to defend the basics of your creed which you just want to assume to > be able to talk about the `details'. I guess some people would rather assume than "waste time" defending the basics of their creeds. After all, despite the fact that SOME may consider thinking a good exercise, wasting time delineating precisely what the roots of one's faith (or non-faith) really are might actually lead you to see things you haven't seen before, and that's not what faith is all about, is it? Better to congregate with one's own kind and not ask questions than to hear what other people have to say, including their "offensive" sacrilegious questions, right? Petty divisive isolationism only leads to 1) stagnation and reinforcement of beliefs without allowing for further analysis and (more importantly) 2) breeding grounds for intolerance that lead to terror, assassination, war, and death. No, I don't believe that people will be killed because of religious subgroups, but it reinforces the mentality of divisiveness and "master-racism" rather than encouraging discussion among ALL people. One might say "but what about the person who doesn't want to talk with other people, only those of his/her own kind?" I'd prefer to accommodate those who wish to have a community to talk to everyone rather than those who wish to isolate themselves. Having people define groups for followers to belong to has been the single most devastating destructive element in civilization. It leads to race hatred, holy wars, "nationality"/"religious movement" (both arbitrary classifications created by those who wanted power over large groups of followers) slaughtering other nationalities and religious movements. If we can't even create one community of people on a computer network, I have very dim hopes for the "real world" doing the same. -- "Come with me now to that secret place where the eyes of man have never set foot." Rich Rosen pyuxd!rlr