tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post322636844896386645..comments2023-10-26T20:05:14.669+07:00Comments on intrepid flame: Book Review: The God DelusionJabizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15060918134697370964noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-21593585211833279142007-06-27T12:18:00.000+07:002007-06-27T12:18:00.000+07:00You don’t know how happy this makes me: it opens m...You don’t know how happy this makes me: <BR/><BR/>it opens me up to a world I otherwise might not see. <BR/><BR/>Your blog puts a skip in my step and makes me THINK. I like that.<BR/><BR/>That is really the main reason why I write. So thank you for understanding. Now on to the biggie as you called. The Book Of Mormon huh? I tell you that I can’t even get through the Book of Genesis and you want me to read the Book of Mormon. Actually, I was at a Mormon Church this last Christmas, believe it or not! I can’t make any promises on when this will happen, but it will. I will read it sure no problem, although I must warn you I have read a lot about Mormonism and there is a lot I disagree with…Of all the sects I think it is one of the most dangerous to free-thinkers everywhere. But who am I to ask you to read a book and not do the same myself. <BR/><BR/>In the meantime, I would love to have a non-hostile back and forth about question we each have about the other person’s views. I know these things get heated, but we understand that neither side is trying to convert or change the other person, we may like you said, see things differently. <BR/><BR/>So my first question is: How do we know what to take literally in the Bibl and what to interpret. I think that this is the line where people divide themselves between moderates and fundamentalists, but I think it is this grey area that makes religion so dangerous. Who is to say what is “true” and what is metaphorical. <BR/><BR/>So the Bible calls for the death penalty for homosexuality or adultery? Is someone who believes this an extremist or a good Christian, and who decides this? Wouldn’t it make more sense that true believers simply followed the book verbatim, like the Taliban? I will leave my question there. Feel free to answer when you have time and send me a link when you do. And feel free to ask me any questions you have about my beliefs or non-beliefs about God. I will get to the Book of Mormon after the summer, I will let you know so you know when top start the God Delusion.Intrepidflamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16185093331334990403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-89506170303329608522007-06-25T07:25:00.000+07:002007-06-25T07:25:00.000+07:00The reason this post drives me nuts is the same re...The reason this post drives me nuts is the same reason why I love your blog. Your views are at times so different from mine, that it opens me up to a world I otherwise might not see. I have lived in various places and met many people. I had a roommate once in Jackson Hole who was an athiest. I love her dearly but boy did we get into some heated debates over our evening herb tea! <BR/><BR/>Your blog puts a skip in my step and makes me THINK. I like that.<BR/><BR/>I truly am an open-minded person. It's that character trait that led me to where I am and you to where you are. We took different paths. <BR/><BR/>So here's the deal if you're up for it (it's a biggie I'll admit): I'll read your book and you read mine. You read the Book of Mormon and I'll read the God Delusion (but we don't have to like it - do we?).<BR/><BR/>LCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-19937124671805594882007-06-24T10:43:00.000+07:002007-06-24T10:43:00.000+07:00If you think this post was an attack, you must hav...If you think this post was an attack, you must have not read my earlier work, or known me before the kindler gentler Intrepidflame you see now. You see, I have been trying very hard lately to be loving and understanding like you said, but sometimes certain issues are just hard not to get passionate about. <BR/><BR/>I find it curious that if you are, and I suspect that you are, an open-minded person than why did you take this post so personally? The book will not fill your head with hate, but will give you alternate ways to look at some things that you may have been seeing simply through your lens of faith alone.<BR/><BR/>If there are some books that would make me see religion through another lens, I would be very interested in reading them. I have attempted to read the Bible on four different occasions, and I find it as a story, unreadable and as a morality guide totally at odds with everything I believe in. I am never sure what to take metaphorically and what should be strictly adhered to. For example, holding dominion over all life on earth from Genesis, is my first sticking point. I also get tripped up on the misogyny and patriarchal nature of the book. Dawkins has a great chapter on this idea of picking and choosing what to believe and what to leave to the fundamentalist in his book. <BR/><BR/>I could go on and on. I am trying to understand and remain open and not prejudiced like you said, but this is what always happens when you discuss religion with people who are faithful, they become extremely defensive!<BR/><BR/>I guess at the end of the day I find religions, all of them, dangerous and conflicting with human evolution. I feel the road to peace must surpass religion. The first step begins with mindfulness and awareness of all life. Religion, I firmly believe is the exact opposite of that: It is pure delusion!<BR/><BR/>I hope this post does not scare you away, because believe it or not one can still be loving and understanding without God.Intrepidflamehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16185093331334990403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-85386981772916320082007-06-24T09:20:00.000+07:002007-06-24T09:20:00.000+07:00Your prejudiced attitude and negative generalizati...Your prejudiced attitude and negative generalizations of people who choose to believe in God or a higher power (the many millions and millions of us) certainly feels like an attack to me. Where is the love, acceptance and open-mindedness of earlier posts? <BR/><BR/>I can't speak for anyone else, but I was not religious until I was 22 years old. At that point I began to study religion in general. I read and studied and prayed. I wondered what was true. I questioned. I tested values. I gained a testimony through personal experience. I do not consider myself unreasonable or close-minded. I am a compassionate, loving person who can see a lot of anger in your post. If this book will just fill me with hate, then I really have no use for it.<BR/><BR/>LCAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-48258020393694851972007-06-23T21:05:00.000+07:002007-06-23T21:05:00.000+07:00bz- i have gotten beyond worrying about insulting ...bz- i have gotten beyond worrying about insulting people who attempt to foist their outrageous beliefs on others. it is my thought that so many folks want to force others to live as they do- because they know it is full of crap. it is work maintaining 'faith' in something that is not real- and if your whole world is a bubble- it makes it easier. good luck moving. i know what you mean about painting. :)billiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16206096509976316141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21001963.post-55826471304994165882007-06-21T21:13:00.000+07:002007-06-21T21:13:00.000+07:00I really enjoyed the book. Dawkins is, as you mig...I really enjoyed the book. Dawkins is, as you might imagine, the object of much ire among fundies. I find his straightforwardness refreshing, and he makes a good common-sense case for atheism and I appreciated his answers to traditional arguments for the existence of god.<BR/><BR/>Now, I listened to the book on audiobook. He reads it with his wife, Lala Ward, who is a former Dr. Who companion, so an actress. They have a great back and forth which is engaging.<BR/><BR/>I followed up on one of the authors that he mentions quite a bit, Daniel Dennett, who is the source of the belief in belief concept. His _Breaking the Spell_ is pretty funny for a work of philosophy. I would recommend it for you. I also intend to read his Darwin's Dangerous Idea, which was on the National Book Award shortlist. For further readings of Dawkins, I recommend his The Blind Watchmaker and The Selfish Gene. Probably in that order. <BR/><BR/>HJBinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09911928552839958713noreply@blogger.com