Re: [asa] Dawkins, religion, and children

On 4/30/07, David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com> wrote:
> In short, they created a theocracy that would be mediated not from the top
> down -- which is never a real theocracy, but manarchy -- through thousands
> and now millions of godlings, or "divine centers."
>
> Ah, but the extreme individualism of some libertarians is often just the
> other side of the same coin. The founders didn't create a "manarchy," they
> created the space for individuals, associations of individuals, and families
> to exercise appropriate sovereignty, with certain necessary powers and
> restraints granted to the sphere of government, in order to promote a
> community of virtue.
>

Excellent point. Let me also point out that "But a democracy mediated
by mere animal-men will sooner or later lead to the Reign of the
Beast. " is contradicted by science showing how such communities
arise and are maintained. Religion historically may have been a way of
mediating these communities, but would it not be fascinating if
religion evolved as a side effect of community's and individual's
survival? In fact, that many cultures have found different expressions
of their religious faith, seems to further show that the role of
religion may be one of mediation more than about 'absolute truths'.
After all, how do we recognize absolute truths? Not that we have not
tried, often with very limited success.

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Received on Mon Apr 30 13:05:44 2007