> Forget money, or even the love of money. The idea that one mustn't > criticise another person's beliefs is the root of all evil.
This was a technical discussion, and calling the bible a joke was not necessary at all. It creates a hostile atmosphere. Can't you pick somewhere else to attack Christianity? Devin On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 9:14 PM, Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.pyt...@pearwood.info> wrote: > DevPlayer wrote: > >> On Sep 27, 10:25 pm, alex23 <wuwe...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> And like the Bible, the Zen was created by humans as a joke. If you're >>> taking it too seriously, that's your problem. > [...] >> Calling the Bible a joke is used to hurt people, not enlighten them. >> Those words show bitter arrogance, not constructive critism as it >> ignores how others feel about that book. What benefit to others is >> gained by calling someones belief a joke? > > It is the same benefit as the little boy who pointed out that the Emperor > was not wearing any clothes. (In real life, the story was called "The > Little Boy Who Said The Emperor Wasn't Wearing Any Clothes, and Got > Arrested and Thrown in Prison Together With His Parents for Insulting The > Emperor".) > > >> To put the "believers" minds >> straight? I think not. I think the unsensitive person who attackes >> others beliefs, even if illogical or unrealistic, is after some kind >> of self grandizement or to illude themself into thinking "they know >> the truth of the universe" and should attack others to prove they do. > > There is a difference between attacking ideas and attacking people. > > "The Bible is a joke" attacks the idea. > > "Insensitive people after self-aggrandisement deluding themselves" attacks > the person. > > We live in a world where religion is privileged, where governments pander to > the most sick and twisted, hateful, bigoted beliefs because of religion, > where organised conspiracies to support and protect child molesters and > sexual predators are nevertheless looked up to as sources of morality. > > There are some ideas that are simply incompatible with civilization, and the > idea that religious beliefs should be beyond criticism is one of them. > Forget money, or even the love of money. The idea that one mustn't > criticise another person's beliefs is the root of all evil. > > > > -- > Steven > > -- > http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list > -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
