Tom: Your mother isn't my mother, but you would be appalled and hacked off if I treated her disrespectfully. Why? Because you love her, she is deeply important to you. If I care for or respect you, I would try to respect the things important to you--even if they aren't important or meaningful to me.
It's common courtesy and respect; something quickly fading from our society thanks to remarks akin to those of Mr. Dawkins, whose misguided logic is a recipe for disaster in any society (where people actually have to live together and get along).
Heck, religious people everywhere would be amazed if Mr. Dawkins showed *any* respect for them and their beliefs, let alone "great deep respect." A mere modicum of respect for people and their deeply held religious beliefs would a be phenomenal first step for him and his colleagues. Alas, I fear even that is too great a request. Amazingly, the world turns without it, too.
It's so easy to misunderstand people like Dawkins if you are religious. Some even quote him out of context to make their religious arguments. The analogy you make is invalid. It is also the exact same analogy I heard from a Catholic brother to try to rationalize the movie theater arsons some years ago when The Last Temptation of Christ re-opened in Brazil. I respect your mom because she exists, and I had a mom, and she also existed. I can respect any of your loved ones, but I wouldn't expect you to respect my imaginary friend, no matter how much I believed he is real.
Jesus and pals are the imaginary friends of millions, and while it would be mean to outright insult him, imaginary friends don't deserve the same respect as actual, real, nice people who have gained our respect by means of being loving in this real world. There is much prejudice, and deaths still being brought forth by religion. Gay bashing and stem cell research criticism are more than 90% purely religious prejudice. Religion does some good too, but there's no reason good can't be done without it, and if you can't, then there's no merit to you doing good only for fear of hell or dream of heaven.
"I'm a college student looking for a new laptop, but almost all of my media I receive digitally. I'm looking for a laptop, not a netbook, without an optical drive, and budget sensitive. The optical drive will just be a waste of space, when I can have thinner laptop. What's out there?"
The most commented posts on Engadget over the past 24 hours.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
Tom:
Your mother isn't my mother, but you would be appalled and hacked off if I treated her disrespectfully. Why? Because you love her, she is deeply important to you. If I care for or respect you, I would try to respect the things important to you--even if they aren't important or meaningful to me.
It's common courtesy and respect; something quickly fading from our society thanks to remarks akin to those of Mr. Dawkins, whose misguided logic is a recipe for disaster in any society (where people actually have to live together and get along).
Heck, religious people everywhere would be amazed if Mr. Dawkins showed *any* respect for them and their beliefs, let alone "great deep respect." A mere modicum of respect for people and their deeply held religious beliefs would a be phenomenal first step for him and his colleagues. Alas, I fear even that is too great a request. Amazingly, the world turns without it, too.
Now back to hanging my Christmas bling...
my mum makes a great christmas pudding.
It's so easy to misunderstand people like Dawkins if you are religious. Some even quote him out of context to make their religious arguments. The analogy you make is invalid. It is also the exact same analogy I heard from a Catholic brother to try to rationalize the movie theater arsons some years ago when The Last Temptation of Christ re-opened in Brazil. I respect your mom because she exists, and I had a mom, and she also existed. I can respect any of your loved ones, but I wouldn't expect you to respect my imaginary friend, no matter how much I believed he is real.
Jesus and pals are the imaginary friends of millions, and while it would be mean to outright insult him, imaginary friends don't deserve the same respect as actual, real, nice people who have gained our respect by means of being loving in this real world. There is much prejudice, and deaths still being brought forth by religion. Gay bashing and stem cell research criticism are more than 90% purely religious prejudice. Religion does some good too, but there's no reason good can't be done without it, and if you can't, then there's no merit to you doing good only for fear of hell or dream of heaven.
Peace indeed.