Committment

From: Debbie Mann (deborahjmann@insightbb.com)
Date: Thu Jul 17 2003 - 13:54:39 EDT

  • Next message: Debbie Mann: "RE: Sin?"

    Walter wrote:

    It seems to me that organizations like NAS, Scientific American, PBS, etc.
    generally attract people of an atheistic leaning. Many, as active Humanists
    see it as an opportunity to "spread their own word".

    That's a good point. Church provides a sense of community and belonging that
    is very important. We can be islands in society without it. I attended
    Unitarian meetings several times. It was a very nice community of
    non-believers. They had different speakers from different religions every
    week. Their message was love and community and seeking for the greater being
    whomever she might be. I told my children that if it met on another day,
    they would be welcome to attend - but it wasn't Church. Church TEACHES about
    JESUS. My sister-in-law was offended because my opinion got back to her and
    she was a member, but later she left and joined a 'church' because the place
    she'd been attending really wasn't one and she felt the need to BELIEVE in
    something.

    These organizations probably provide:
    1. A sense of community.
    2. A sense of belonging - a greater committment than just community.
    3. An ideology to believe in - which is a substitute for religion for many
    people.

    I'm finding it difficult to juggle The Society of Women Engineers with
    church. (We have male members - we encourage diversity in engineering.) I
    have found 3% women and virtually no blacks and narry a native American in
    my classes and my area of expertise - power electrical engineering. I feel
    strongly that that should change - but not as strongly as I do about Jesus.

    I have other affilitations to which I do not make a committment. The
    committment is the key.

    Having one strong affiliation is important - having two can be stressful.

    -----Original Message-----
    From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
    Behalf Of Walter Hicks
    Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 11:48 AM
    Cc: asa@calvin.edu
    Subject: Re: Clarification -- Re: Dawkins dissembles?

    To gage how intelligent people in general perceive religion and atheism I
    note that in Mensa the demographics are:
    "49% Christian, 3% Unitarian, 9% Jewish, 7% agnostic, 3.6% atheist, 9% no
    religion"
    see: http://www.mwm.org/faq/people.html
    Walt
    RFaussette@aol.com wrote:
    In a message dated 7/16/03 11:50:18 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
    Dawsonzhu@aol.com writes:

    Perhaps what Howard is saying here is that it would
    be useful to hear why 93% of the folk in NAS have
    little or no interest in religion and particularly
    Christianity. I have an unpleasent feeling that a
    large part of the reason might be because of
    Christians.

    Do you know who the leadership of the NAS is? If they are old covenanters,
    they are just being religious...
    Be careful not to make a covenant with the natives of the land against which
    you are going, or they will prove a snare in your midst.
                     No: you shall demolish their altars, smash their sacred
    pillars and cut down their sacred poles. Exodus 34 (10-14)
    Did it ever occur to you that there are postmodern initiatives to separate
    you from your religion? like Dawkins'?
    Did you ever hear Dershowitz talk about the evils of Christianity?
    What is the composition of the NAS?
    rich

    --
    ===================================
    Walt Hicks <wallyshoes@mindspring.com>
    In any consistent theory, there must
    exist true but not provable statements.
    (Godel's Theorem)
    You can only find the truth with logic
    If you have already found the truth
    without it. (G.K. Chesterton)
    ===================================
    


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