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On irrational religious beliefs
Da Friendly Puter Tech · 11/30/02 at 1:09 PM ET
Hey Todd, I noticed your reference above to how we slowly get moved towards having really irrational beliefs, and the reference you had to witch craft and the "moving of clouds". First let me say I have done quite a bit of research on how destructive cults work, and the principle you mentioned above surely is at work in cults. A bright idealistic person gets involved with a cult of some kind, and the cult seems so wonderful in the beginning, as it seems to embody all the most wonderful ideals this person can think of. Then slowly those ideals will be bend, twisted, and ultimately the ideals will be completely unrecognizeable and used against the member. This is how suicide cults for instance work. Lets take Heavens Gate, a bunch of wonderful idealists believing that there is more and better in the world than the persuit of money, ending up committing suicide as a way of "renouncing" the flesh. One ideal or belief slowly being twisted over time with a fatal outcome. So sad. However, what struck me about your above reference is that you portrayed a belief within witchcraft as being irrational in that same manner. I will have to say if the belief that a coven can move clouds with their minds is irrational, then so is ALL religion. The belief that there even is a God is irrational if you use your definition. Making wine into blood is highly irrational as well. As I said, I have studied cults and their inner workings in detail. I have also learned how to distinguish legit religion from abusive religion. If I see an abusive religious group then, what they believe is completely irrelevant, it is how they treat their members that matters. (Ie do they use brainwashing techniques) If a religion is legit then I just back down and respect their beliefs. There is nothing then to analyze, only respect that this is how the person in front of me believes. In a sense religion in and off itself is irrational, so singling one religion out as more or less irrational does not make sense. Portraying a whole religious path as "irrational" is quite prejudicial as far as I am concerned. Doing "scientific studies" from the point of view that a faiths religious tenants have to be understood from a psychological standpoint is highly discriminatory. Just my point of view of course. Kind regards,
Da Friendly Puter Tech
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