BLUE...sorry.. late thoughts..

Further to that last post mentioning you.

The point I'm trying to make re Singer is that using his ethics as a guide... seriously.. we are looking at

-Incest (you'd love his story about the young brother and sister in an audo lecture at Monash)

-Polyandry

-Bestiality

-Homosexuality

you name it... it's a goer.

The reason I hammer away over these things is this.. IN ENGLAND.. I could be hurled into the slammer for 7 yrs for my last 'point'. When law becomes soooo pernicious and oppressive that you can't even EXPRESS a contrary point of view.. we have arrived in 1984.

Poor Old Al.....getting desperate mate? Word of advice......The planet first and fairy sky gods second:).....and here's some reading for you.

Enjoy:)

http://tinyurl.com/4hm5gc4

http://tinyurl.com/kr5pwg

http://tinyurl.com/4og7xr2

http://tinyurl.com/4lcft7o

BLUE

Sorry....that last post was posted befour you posted yours. See I fully agree with your points and who wouldn't. All and even you sometimes say things one regrets later, and I can vouch for that myself:), however, to have a philosophical discussion does not constitute belief......If he's individuality is loosing the plot, which does happen at the time of old age, when one might have to question whether or not its time to step aside.

Many people in this world have very strange thoughts.....and some are in-deed in very high places.

Scary....isn't it.

BLUE

Posted by Pericles:>> Not me, sonofgloin. Wrong target entirely.<<

My apologies.

Posted by Pericles:>> commandments one through four, which have nothing whatsoever to do with ethical principals at all.<<

The Jews Christians and Muslims acknowledge the same God and an enlightened thinker should consider the God of other cultures to be the same god, all the rest is made up by the particular brand of faith, manmade rules and rituals.

Posted by Pericles:>> How did they prevent the centuries of bloodshed in Northern Ireland, for example, where two sets of Christians claimed the right to blow each other to smithereens, in the name of the same God?<<

Pericles all conflicts have at their base inequality or perceived inequality. The Catholics were the working class and the Protestants prospered because of their ties to the Church of England. It was about inequality but identified through the two religions.

Posted by Pericles:>> Incidentally, how many of them do you keep?
But do you really think that your tally is necessarily any greater than mine?<<

Pericles I do not think in those terms

Posted by Pericles:>> Otherwise, my ethical standards are at least the equal of yours.<<

Could be even better, I hope so for your sake as my track record has some grand selfish stuff up's.

When I joined OLO I told AL that my belief system was my own and I do not push it upon others but I do defend the right of believers to believe and not have the core of the religion judged by the acts of the miserable sods that practice it.

Just on Catholics and Protestants in England, Louise Renée de Penancoët de Kérouaille the Duchess of Portsmouth was a Catholic mistress of Charles II of England as was local girl Nell Gwynne, and when Nelly was mistaken for Louise by a group of pissed off Englishmen she emerged from her carriage and said, "Pray good people be civil, I am the Protestant whore not the Catholic whore. With this a cheer and laughter erupted and she was allowed to proceed on her way.

Posted by AJ Philips:>> We live in much more populated and complex societies than we did decades ago.<<

AJ the single factor contributed to the rise in the prison population is drugs. Without going into the reasons behind the uptake of illegal narcotics I will simply say that Christians are not usually going down to the local pub to score. They "attempt" to live to a standard.

>> Statics tend to show prison populations are overwhelmingly religious.<<

When you hit rock bottom and society has ostracized and imprisoned you there is always God, we are taught he will forgive no matter what, so that is where we look. Given the recidivist rate most drop it as soon as they are out.

>> these immoral people - who actually need the threat of eternal damnation just to behave - want to interpret their vague and contradictory holy books.<<

You are correct and I cannot defend the zealot, but the more religious believers the less crime. As for me the Ten Commandments are the alpha and omega, the rest I will sort out with God as an individual with the free will and consciousness that was endowed to us and no other life forms on this earth. So IMO following the last 5 commandments is practicing the religion.

>> Christianity is an immoral system
It has nothing to do with how good a person you are, just whether or not you’re willing to be a sycophant to an idea.<<

Forget about what "religion's" expectations and caveats to immortality are, only God's are important. He gave you free will and he gave you a consciousness and a logical expectation that we will be judged on our interactions with each other. Not whether you think he is there or not, none of us know, some hope, and some deny, but none of us know.

sonofgloin
>>Not whether you think he is there or not, none of us know, some hope, and some deny, but none of us know<<

Those of us who don’t believe have looked in the real world for evidence of anything supernatural and found nothing to support belief or faith.

>> You are correct and I cannot defend the zealot, but the more religious believers the less crime<<
Sorry but examination of the USA figures, state by state, shows that the more religious the state the higher the crime rate. The Scandinavian countries are regarded as much less religious that the USA and the crime rates are much lower in the European states.

I suggest you make yourself aware of the misery visited on young Americans by the restriction of sex education funding to abstinence only education.

I am very much in favour of teaching young student how to reason and think. Philosophical discussion of open ended questions for one hour per week will achieve an excellent outcome. Read the report on a trail in Scotland available at;
http://onlineopinion.com.au/documents/articles/Clackmannan.doc