thread: 2005-06-06 : Happenings
On 2005-06-06, John Harper wrote:
Here's my contentious religious statement, which I have believed in the past and may believe again:
All religions, no matter how benign, are exclusive and divisive. They all rest upon a basic notion that those in the religion "get it" and those outside don't. It's "us" and "them"—mixed up with varying degrees of pity, judgment, or outright hatred depending on the sect you choose.
And when I say religion I mean religion. Not "spiritual practice" or "philosophy of living" or anything like that.
And the "us" and "them" divide is the last thing the human race needs. If religions want to do some good in the world, they need to get on the "love everyone" tenet that they each have. Once you have that working for a good 100 years or so, then you can move on to the other stuff. Until then, you can take your doctrinal thall-shalt-nots and shove em.
