12-11-2022, 09:53 AM
“Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that.”
Richard Dawkins
“He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.”
Zen Proverb
"Its like any orthodoxy, let it run for a few centuries & what started as something that came from deep inside the human spirit turns into a set of holy texts that stultify thinking. Then people who yearn after the real experience as you do get palmed off with a set of rigid theological propositions - & all that's left to do is read it."
Marion Molteno
"Religion in general and Islam in particular can only be considered liberal and reformed (at face value at least if even that is possible) when it has been pushed in a corner and out of the public space – when it has been forced to run soup kitchens rather than courts and Islamic Assemblies.
If you look at Christianity for example, it’s not that the tenets, dogma, and principles have changed; it has not become more humane since the days of the inquisition and witch burnings. What has changed is its social and political influence in today’s society, in people’s lives, in its relation with the state, the law and educational system. To the degree that it has become undermined and weakened, that is the degree that people have managed to free themselves from the clutches of religion, and in having happier lives and a better society. Progressive human values have been achieved at the expense of Christianity and religion."
The Islamic Inquisition” Maryam Namazie
Richard Dawkins
“He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind.”
Zen Proverb
"Its like any orthodoxy, let it run for a few centuries & what started as something that came from deep inside the human spirit turns into a set of holy texts that stultify thinking. Then people who yearn after the real experience as you do get palmed off with a set of rigid theological propositions - & all that's left to do is read it."
Marion Molteno
"Religion in general and Islam in particular can only be considered liberal and reformed (at face value at least if even that is possible) when it has been pushed in a corner and out of the public space – when it has been forced to run soup kitchens rather than courts and Islamic Assemblies.
If you look at Christianity for example, it’s not that the tenets, dogma, and principles have changed; it has not become more humane since the days of the inquisition and witch burnings. What has changed is its social and political influence in today’s society, in people’s lives, in its relation with the state, the law and educational system. To the degree that it has become undermined and weakened, that is the degree that people have managed to free themselves from the clutches of religion, and in having happier lives and a better society. Progressive human values have been achieved at the expense of Christianity and religion."
The Islamic Inquisition” Maryam Namazie
in order to be old & wise, you must first be young & stupid. (I'm still working on that.)