Ellis: Here is what Dictionary.com says:
eth·nic·i·ty (th-ns-t)
n.
1. Ethnic character, background, or affiliation.
2. An ethnic group.
Noun 1. ethnicity - an ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties; "ethnicity has a strong influence on community status relations"
quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare
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e·thos (ths)
n.
The disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, culture, or movement: "They cultivated a subversive alternative ethos" Anthony Burgess.
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I guess our character is formed by our ethos.
Ellis, how come you are NOT an atheist? I presume you NOT are active in any religion. Were you ever? And if not now, what caused you to quit?
Keep in mind that I respect humane atheists? If they live lives which are of service to humanity, I call that religion, just not the formalized kind.
BTW, keep in mind that the early Christians were persecuted as atheists. Jesus was accused of not accepting, without question, the concept of the Old Testament God--Jehovah, or YHWH. Check John 10, where he accused of thinking of himself as 'god'.
If there is no "God", are not atheists assuming the character of a god?
Me? I think of the whole collectivity, all that is, as GOD, in the process of becoming.
CENTER FOR PROCESS STUDIES
http://www.ctr4process.org/relationality/viewtopic.php?t=119==================
One poster writes about panentheism--what I call unitheism:
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I thought I'd alert this group to a great new collection of essays edited by Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke. The collection is titled, In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being: Panentheistic Reflections on God's Presence in a Scientific World (Eerdmans 2004). Process essayists include David Griffin, Joseph Bracken, and, of course, Philip Clayton.
One of my favorite essays is written by Michael Brierly titled, "Naming a Quiet Revolution: The Panentheistic Turn in Modern Theology." This essay basically lays out the issues of panentheism, and it draws upon a wealth of historical sources when doing so. Clayton's summary essay and Griffin's Panenetheism as Postmodern Revelation are also quite strong.
