Subject: Re: Can someone explain to me...
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 05:18:30 GMT
From:  (Nigel B. Mitchell)
Newsgroups: aus.religion.christian,aus.religion,nz.soc.religion

Andrew Bromage wrote:
>|> Does being anti-homosexual blind you to the goodness in homosexuality?
>|> Does being anti-religion blind you to the goodness in religion?
>|> Does being anti-euthanasia blind you to the goodness in euthanasia?
>|> Does being anti-brussels-sprouts blind you to the goodness in brussels
>|> sprouts?
>|> Does being anti-rap-music blind you to the goodness in rap?

Julian:
>It isn't as clear cut as that as I may be anti-religious but do
>realise that some people who can't find their own meaning to life
>use religion as that meaning, for some it acts as their conscience
>as some have no self discipline and need a "teacher/parent" icon
>which they term God to make sure they stay good.
>I wish they would get better and stop seeing the need for their
>security blanket, but that must come from within.

Julian has perfectly illustrated the problem to which Andrew was
drawing attention. Many of our debates recently, including this
thread, are _not_ debates between Christians and atheists, or between
pro-gay and anti-gay people. They are between people who are capable
of recognising the validity and right to existence of other world
views to their own, and people who are not. 

As has been said here many times before, as soon as we begin to
categorise our opponents worldview or lifestyle as 'disease',
'delusion', or lapse into the kind of patronising language that Julian
uses above (people who can't find their own meaning to life...',
'"teacher/parent" icon...', 'I wish they would get better',...
'security blanket...') we leave rational discussion behind and lapse
into bigotry. As a good guide - as soon as we start characterising
another person's views/attitudes/actions in language that they would
not use themselves, we are leaving reasoned discussion behind.

And I suppose that is OK, here on the newsgroup where polemic and
hyperbolae are the stuff of our everyday entertainment. But if Andy,
Able, Julian, Graeme, and the others who operate out of a "people who
believe different from me are wrong and bad" mentality ever want to
stop bickering and start to make the world a better place, a new and
radically different strategy will be needed.

cheers

N+

Nigel B. Mitchell

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