This is in no way intended to offend anyone...however, I at times become nearly ill at all the noise regarding this anthropomorphic god...and again being a little tired, I'll let Mr. Bertrand Russell speak loudly: Many orthodox people speak as though it were the business of skeptics to disprove received dogmas rather than of dogmatists to prove them. This is, of course, a mistake. If I were to suggest that between the Earth and Mars there is a china teapot revolving about the sun in an elliptical orbit, nobody would be able to disprove my assertion provided I were careful to add that the teapot is too small to be revealed even by our most powerful telescopes. But if I were to go on to say that, since my assertion cannot be disproved, it is intolerable presumption on the part of human reason to doubt it, I should rightly be thought to be talking nonsense. If, however, the existence of such a teapot were affirmed in ancient books, taught as the sacred truth every Sunday, and instilled into the minds of children at school, hesitation to believe in its existence would become a mark of eccentricity and entitle the doubter to the attentions of the psychiatrist in an enlightened age of of the Inquisitor in an earlier time.
So damn well said!
Now that I am again propagating eclecticism...I will say in all sincerity that I would like for these words, at least some of them, to enlighten, to set free and bring to light how to truly live as an individual rather than just another member of the "flock".
Is it just me or are there a great many references to the "flock" in religious writings? Even sheep? One definition for sheep is a defenseless simpleton who is readily preyed upon...hmmm, Sheep? Flock?
Work with me here. I think all will agree that moral obligation is brought either by overt or covert pressures of society upon the individual...this society includes the plethora of religions that suffocate the beauty of individuality.
The individual character of conscience does not preclude the determination of most moral judgements by the opinions of a group. Sadly, most individuals lack the intellectual penetration to form independent judgements and therefore accept the moral opinions of their society.
Even when they do form their own judgements there is no certainty that their sense of obligation toward moral values, defined by their own mind, will be powerful enough to overcome the fear of social disapproval. The social character of most moral judgements and the pressure of society (and the church) upon an individual are both facts to be reckoned with; but neither explains the peculiar phenomenon of the moral life, usually called conscience.
I want to make my moral decisions based on the instincts that I (and everybody else) was born with. I don't need somebody and specifically, a religious institution, to tell me what is right and what is wrong...♠we do not need to be told! We know intrinsically!
