Red,
I also counter the above with the incredible harm that organised religion does.
The Catholic Church's ridiculous ban on using birth control, whilst not exactly an evil, is incredibly harmful and entirely irresponsible. I am glad to see that this may be shortly about to change with the new Pope, but the harm has already been done. Massively increased HIV being one of them.
The Church's unacceptable opposition to evolution (and at the core, an opposition to rational thought on this subject and denial of the evidence) is again not an evil in terms of proactively causing harm, but is a complete embarrassment.
Opposition to stem cell research is again harmful to society and certainly stands in the way of progress and the common good.
Of course, Christianity?s ability to generate people like George Bush is also responsible for a worsening of World security and much more.
I agree with Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Dawkins in their criticism of the extremist form of Christianity - I just think they go in too hard on the moderates.
I am almost entirely critical of most organised religion. Quakers and others like them seem to be able to buck the trend here.
I am also embarrassed at my own hypocrisy. I spend far too much time in self serving activities while there is a planet falling apart right outside my door. In my late teens and early twenties I was sexually promiscuous despite being a Christian and believing it was the wrong thing to do. I have no room to pronounce judgement upon other?s personal behaviour, and I do come from a religious tradition that takes seriously the verse, ?Don?t judge or you to will be judged?. So even if I was not at times an abject failure in terms of being a morally upstanding person, I still would not judge others.
One of my members of staff is gay, and overtly so. I certainly have the closest relationship with him than anyone in my team. We have so much in common and he is exceptionally hard working, considerate and just ?plain nice?. He does so much to keep up morale in the team with his sensitivity towards others. I am uninterested in his sexual orientation - it is between him and his maker. He is simply another human being trying to get by as best as he can in this difficult life - and a fine example of what it means to be truly human.
The Church is at its worst when it has a problem with such people. I will not defend that disgraceful behaviour.
Sorry for spilling my guts a bit, but I?m not a catholic so I don?t have ?Confession? - so I?ll do it at SAGG
Blacknad.
