A repository of partially-processed mental notes that lie beyond the economic interests of the dwindling number of media outlets.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein were those of the author at one point and do not necessarily reflect the current opinions of the author, i.e., past thoughts are not an indication of future (or even present) thoughts.
Esteemed friend wrote: Why, yes, only it was marriage then, gay rights now.
At its core, this is why I believe organized religion can never truly succeed: If the religion retains a centralized authoritarian power structure, it risks becoming archaic and unbending and alienating OR it ends up retaining support through ceremony but without any real devotion from the flock, whose members go about doing their own thing; but if the religion allows dissenting opinions within the overal theological construct, it risks having its authority weakened OR losing control completely, resulting in countless sects, each going about professing their own thing. It's all so . . . . silly.
like market pressures in capitalism, the stronger the position of one, the more competition it will have to face. the only problem is that unlike corporate takeovers, religions (or, more accurately, the people at risk of losing the power their religion confers upon them) fight wars "in the name of god". how unfortunate we humans have not yet developed a more durable/ fashionable check-and-balance system against such abuses than dispassionate science and education.
2 comments:
Esteemed friend wrote:
Why, yes, only it was marriage then, gay rights now.
At its core, this is why I believe organized religion can never truly succeed: If the religion retains a centralized authoritarian power structure, it risks becoming archaic and unbending and alienating OR it ends up retaining support through ceremony but without any real devotion from the flock, whose members go about doing their own thing; but if the religion allows dissenting opinions within the overal theological construct, it risks having its authority weakened OR losing control completely, resulting in countless sects, each going about professing their own thing. It's all so . . . . silly.
like market pressures in capitalism, the stronger the position of one, the more competition it will have to face. the only problem is that unlike corporate takeovers, religions (or, more accurately, the people at risk of losing the power their religion confers upon them) fight wars "in the name of god". how unfortunate we humans have not yet developed a more durable/ fashionable check-and-balance system against such abuses than dispassionate science and education.
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