Dear Constance
I would suggest its you who possibly needs to have a little think...atheists/anti-religionists/secular humanists/skeptics are all desperately hoping we will eventually live in a sane world free of the madness of the supernatural. These days’ non-believers all over the world are working towards this by studying all aspects of all religions. Funnily enough, most non believers have actually read more of the bible than the average modern religious person. Just plug Atheist into Google and have a little read to get up to speed on what non believers the world over are really analysing.

Oh and those lovely voices you spoke about, the African American Gospel singers, you seem to forget that their beautiful music full of sorrow was born in the cotton fields when they were slaves, torn from their own countries, worked to death and considered to be no better than farm animals....absolutely no credit there to the church for their musical influences.

JBowyer,
On the contrary, my faith has given me freedom, just like Germaine Greer’s convent education has given her. My only ruler is my conscience.

trikkerdee,

Augustine took the view that the Biblical text should not be interpreted literally if it contradicts what we know from science and our God-given reason. In "The Literal Interpretation of Genesis" (early 5th century, AD), St. Augustine wrote:
It not infrequently happens that something about the earth, about the sky, about other elements of this world, about the motion and rotation or even the magnitude and distances of the stars, about definite eclipses of the sun and moon, about the passage of years and seasons, about the nature of animals, of fruits, of stones, and of other such things, may be known with the greatest certainty by reasoning or by experience, even by one who is not a Christian. It is too disgraceful and ruinous, though, and greatly to be avoided, that he [the non-Christian] should hear a Christian speaking so idiotically on these matters, and as if in accord with Christian writings, that he might say that he could scarcely keep from laughing when he saw how totally in error they are. In view of this and in keeping it in mind constantly while dealing with the book of Genesis, I have, insofar as I was able, explained in detail and set forth for consideration the meanings of obscure passages, taking care not to affirm rashly some one meaning to the prejudice of another and perhaps better explanation.

Also, re the gospel singers, you seem to have missed the whole point of what actually was their spiritual salvation which brought them comfort, beauty and artistry in their despair.

Well Constance I too am free and ruled by my conscience so I am certainly happy for you.
I have to take issue with you on slaves singing though. Religion was happy for people to be slaves and you are complimenting it for relieving their despair in slavery? No sorry you cannot have it both ways. Of course the people who were instrumental in starting to abolish slavery were religionist. Although thinking about it what could they be, as anti-religionist were persecuted at that time.

Ah, good old Augustine, who was but a human with human failings. Haven’t we learned an awful lot since Augustine’s time and surely reasoning and experience is what educated us, not religion? Forced compartmentalising of the brain so it can integrate the supernatural is, in my opinion, a sadly disillusioned and treacherous road. Why don’t we treat religion as we do all the other myths from the ancient times and get on with our living? The empty promise of a reward in death seems to me to be the ultimate insult to ourselves and our wonderful intelligence.

With the advent of the internet, access to so much information has begun an investigation and conversation about religion that has never happened before. Time will tell what this will bring. We desperately need to learn to live together in peace above all else. Seems to me that the veiling of reality in a mist of the supernatural of which none can agree which is the true one will soon bring about our destruction.

Without too much trouble anyone can reveal for themselves that all is not as it was always thought to be. Seek and ye shall find takes on a whole new depth of meaning, lets hope we, as a human collective find some sane answers.

Shame on you Constance for smugly dismissing the pain and suffering of the original African Americans just to glorify the role of religion in their misery. Your so called ‘point’ of comfort and spiritual salvation was certainly a cruel and empty reward for what they were forced to endure.

Trikkerdee,

You need to cool down brother. Maybe it just comes down to that some of us have artistic genes, some with genes for a talent for mathematics, and just some of us with genes for spirituality – I don’t know, just a theory. How dare you accuse me of being indifferent to the suffering of African slaves. The pure (hardcore) rational thought without any magic or a sense of the other, is pretty dull and cold to me. Do you not think music may have brought a lot of us together ultimately, and is likely to be the most effective? You’re speaking if so I was insinuating, Oh yeh, great music, thanks for the suffering. Humanity is full of tragedy and pain (which any decent human being must find disturbing and have compassion for, and of which we, our privileged selves feel helpless and useless), and it is the other forces in play which no rationalism will ever be able to define or fathom. You need some more imagination. It seems most (or all) of the suffering in the world have some sort of religious or pagan faith because it gives them hope and solace, and as a spiritual consequence, are sometimes inspired to creativity in music and art (and by not just the downtrodden) – that is all I meant. Again, like religion, art and music is not easily definable – but something that speaks to the soul.