Celsus

For those stating "education is the key to wipe out this form of fanatacism" etc...

You are right of course. But there is a qualitative difference between "education" and "schooling". Schooling which is very common in the developing world is akin to treating pupils as buckets to be filled with knowledge that they may pass exams. Education on the other hand, requires the teaching of critical thinking skills and exercising rationality. IMO, the half-assed education efforts throughout the developing world have merely given people schooling, and this is directly correlated with the rise of fundamentalism.

The Muslim imams or the Catholic priests force students into the role of passive receptacles of their divine knowledge, and they aren't learning the required critical thinking skills. It is a pedagogy of oppression, as Freire pointed out in the 1960s. Education is the key, but sadly it is all too rare. The kids are being taught to read and write, to learn to accept their teacher (and later the leaders, etc.) as the authority, never to be questioned. The few who do develop critical thought are accidents, or the products of "radical" teachers. Schooling won't solve anything, in fact, it makes the situation worse.

As Thomas Edison once said, "I never let schooling get in the way of my education."
/end rant

Joel

Yellum Notnef

Rubbish! You`re either totally ignorant of everything outside the make-believe fantasy world of Catholicism or you`re simply a liar who is lying for your church (a seventeen hundred year old practice).

And WHAT does that pipe dream of a comment have to do with this discussion anyway?

Scottyman

I agree completely with you Puck. The human race will eventually evolve away from religious beliefs and we should help to guide that progression. I don't agree with some that it is only for the weak minded. Some close friends of mine go to an agnostic church. They are a very close family and both parents are university professors so I don't think weak minded applies in their case at all. They don't preach god there but it is a place for people to express their comittment to community and a way for them to comfort each other. You can honor something in a religious way without believing in the etheral. I personally am not against religion even though I am a non-believer in any form of spiritualism. What I am against is the propagandist hardcore fanatics that say any who don't follow in their footsteps will be doomed to eternal pain and suffering.

lunachick

Ahhh, yes. A fine example of schooling over education. A phrase Gemma has repeated ad nauseum around here. No doubt, a rote learned slogan. Brainwashed - Gemma merely repeats her Sisters catch phrases. Well done, Gemma. A fine example of what Celsus was talking about, indeed.

Scottyman

The Catholic church has also been directly responsible either by complicity or by indifference for the slaughter of millions of people around the world throughout it's glorious history.

schu

Are these the priests who have for the last 50 years been cornholing little boys with impunity? Or those who have been covering up for them?

GT, your church is a sad example of why we cannot ignore the madness of religion. No just god could stand by and watch while little children are abused. But then the god of the bible could only be considered just by the brain dead. A god who has children killed cannot be just. A god who stands by and watches while children are abused can only be a figment of the imagination of a madman.

Scottyman

The difference between Atheists and Theists is patently clear.

Theists teach their children and limit their choices.:banghead:

Atheists educate their children and open their minds.

lunachick

I would agree with that, Scottyman. But the danger is in critical mass. Who, at the end of the day, will have control over the collective consciousness? The theists, or the atheists? It's a numbers game.

Proxima Centauri

Here's an Example of the good which the Holy Roman Catholic Church supposedly has done. This is one of many web sites dealing with torture by the Spanish Inquisition.

Shake

Earlier someone saidActually, I've read here on the SecWeb, that exactly the opposite is happening in some countries. Mainly, this is the case in Muslim countries where fundamentalists are attempting to impose (or re-impose in some cases) Sharia, that set of strict laws enforced by religious extremists.

I would also make a case that this isn't even true in the US, where the Religious Right (which is neither), and even Dubya himself, are trying to make us more of theocracy than the democratic republic which we are. Which reminds me of the sticker on EvolveFish which says: "If you want a country ruled by religion ... move to IRAN!"

OK, I know it's not a strong case, what with people like Falwell and previously, Swaggart sticking their feet in their mouths, but it's not entirely without merit, which is why I mentioned it.