RE: virus: Hardly ever....
Robin Faichney (r.j.faichney@stir.ac.uk)
Thu, 27 Nov 1997 10:33:23 -0000
> From: Wade T.Smith[SMTP:wade_smith@harvard.edu]
>
> In what way is a belief in a deity not a description of a reality? I
> am
> befuddled here, as I cannot see it being anything else.
>
We all tend to see in religion what we want to see in it.
For you it's a handy ball when you feel like kicking
something. And you're probably right, strictly
speaking, about belief in a deity. But for some of us,
that's not what matters about religion. Buddhism is
often described as atheistic. I think I prefer to see it
as agnostic, these days. But even for Xtianity, even
for those who do really believe in a God, in my view
that's just a means to an end -- and some of them will
say so too. Not that they'll admit God *doesn't* exist --
you may have to read between the lines of what they
say pretty carefully. But, as far as the function of
religion for its practicioners is concerned, the issue is
not whether God exists, but what does believing that he
does, buy them, and at what cost. Anyone who tells
you otherwise is kidding you, or themselves, or both.
Robin