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Date Posted: 11:21:59 01/16/02 Wed
Author: QUITTNER
Author Host/IP: w101.public.ic.utoronto.ca / 128.100.46.201
Subject: Re: Getting things started... (contd.)
In reply to: Cats 's message, "Re: Getting things started... (contd.)" on 21:55:31 01/15/02 Tue

QUITTNER:>>"1) You are a student - what are you studying and >>at which grade/year/degree/level are you? What kind of
>>school?"
Cats:>I'm undeclared currently, as I'm poor. I'm jsut going
>to community college right now (poor) so I don't have
>the option of declaring the major I want to. when I
>do it'll be in the vein of religion/philosophy,
>etc...I've lost track of how many hours I've
>taken...but I'm probably still first or second year.
Q: You are to be commended to try to advance yourself. Poverty makes things a lot more difficult, but not impossible. I wish you much success and luck too!

Q:>>"2) What are your views about the philosophy of
>>religion so far (subject to revision as you learn more
>>about it)?"
C: >My personal beliefs are based in christianity. I'm
>extrememly openminded, but when it all boils down to
>it, the one thing that I hold to be an absolute truth
>is salvation through christ. Other than that...I have
>opinions and ideas, but I know that there's always the
>possibility that I'm wrong. In fact, I don't dismiss
>that I could be wrong about salvation...what leads me
>to believe it is faith, personal experience, and
>emotion. I don't mind discussing why I believ in
>christ, but as my opinion is that you can't *PROVE*
>anything, I'm never going to be able to prove it. I'd
>much prefer to discuss philosophies rooted in history
>and rational, but I really enjoy any sort of
>discussion.
Q: As I see it, the many different "solutions" to all sorts of questions in history about basics found in nature were answered by those in authority by many speculations and guesses, just to satisfy those pesky questioners. Different places, and different authorities came up with very many different answers that resulted in the current huge numbers of religions/philosophies/belief systems. As you learn more you will find out much more about the more or less common basics and about the differences. I hope you have access to a good library, and can find enough time to read beyond what you are required to read by your teachers. But earning enough money, if possible, while studying, and reaching at the very least passing grades should have priority over leisure activities.

C contd.:>other things i hold to be true;
>1)God created the world, (no big bang, in my opinion)
>but who knows what happened after that. I don't
>discount the idea of evolution.
Q: It isn't, in my view, important how it all started. There are too many other things that are far more important.

C cont'd:>2)My concept of god is that it's a rational and
>logical being...therefore science and religion go hand
>in hand. christians who dismiss science are doing the
>powers that be a discredit. scientists who discredit
>religion are severely limiting their view of the
>universe.
Q: I agree.

C cont'd: >3)the bible was not written by god. it was >written by men. it can therefore be interpreted poorly. >our current version of the bible has been heavily
>influenced by politics and history...and even just
>mistranslations. it's still a damn interesting book,
>and we can learn from it...but I've also had moments
>of divine inspiration from nature...and hell...even
>from star trek...so...
Q: In my view divine inspirations, provided they are PROVEN to be from God, supersede anything that may be available in the form of "holy" scriptures.

C cont'd: >4)I could be wrong. about everything.
>there's a heck of a lot more to me...but that's as far
>as I can go until specific discussions crop up.
>
Q: >>"3) In view of the fact that there are VERY MANY
>>religions/belief systems, my guess is that the various
>>founders/starters/initiators of each of them had a
>>specific reason, and that this reason depended on
>>geography and date as only two of the (many other?)
>>conditions at the time. Whether a particular religion
>>"catches on" would, probably, depend on many factors.
>>Which?"
>
>Your question is a bit vague...I could probably
>answer intelligently if you could specify a certain
>religion or time period...for now I have to be vague
>as well...Contributing factors (in my opinion) are
>politics of the time, natural environmental
>occurences, the nature of the ideas being expressed,
>and the influence of other philosophies around the
>group in question.
Q: Yes, this has to be vague because so many different philosophies, called "truths" by many, exist. Obviously not all of them can be correct, maybe none of them are. Compare the starting of a new religion/belief system with the starting of a business. Many conditions have to be right for it to succeed. I doubt that God imposes a particular religion on people, although clergy and theologians have a vested interest in their particular version to succeed and proliferate with as many members as possible. All sorts of marketing devices have to be expected.

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