Monday, October 02, 2006

Imagine there's no Heaven: an Atheist's manifesto

I am beginning to realize that religions are dangerous. Check out this video interview of Richard Dawkins author of The God Delusion:



In the An Atheist Manifesto, Sam Harris argues persuasively why religions are dangerous and thus religious tolerance is dangerous.

Adam and I had a very interesting conversation. Adam is initially opposed to organized religions, the ones that are organized enough to impose their morals on election results. I've had this link on this blog before but I've continued to go back and reread this article and realize new ideas and concepts.

Another interesting phenomenon is the documentary film Jesus Camp.

I was reading the lyrics of Imagine by John Lennon. I was reminded of my general opposition to nation-states or the idea of a nation. I would be interested in reading a comparison of religious beliefs and patriotism. My lack of a belief in a nation-state is even more apparent after living in two other countries besides the United States. It doesn't matter where you live as long as you treat people with respect and dignity. I believe that nation-state boundaries prevents us from treating people with respect and dignity at a macro level by imposing trade barriers, employment barriers, etc...

Well, I have a few more thoughts floating around in my head about this subject, but just have a look at some of these links. It would be interesting to hear about somebody else's reaction.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi King Nerd, thanks for your post on our site after I linked to you guys . . . always nice to see other Americans out of their comfort zone and TRAVELLING or even living abroad :) Let us know if you're in the Nelson area . . .
Angela
dna-nz.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I agree about the nation states idea. Truth is, however, it is an idea ahead of its time. So, folks who believe this are way out on the edge of the norm curve away from the central zone that defines relevance and sanity according to the majority.
Regarding religion, here's a parable I saw the other day and liked: http://samadhisoft.com/2006/10/28/a-parable-by-emo-phillips/

Cheers!

Roberta Robles said...

Hi Anon,
New Zealand is out of our comfort zone, but not by much it's still western and everybody speaks english. Though there are little things that catch you off guard occasionally.

I'll have to check out your blog more.

Roberta Robles said...

Hi Dennis
I've always been a little bit out there in terms of political thinking, but I always like to think I'm a realist. A world without nation states is about 100-150 years away, I hope!

Your blog looks interesting, I'll have to dig in sometime soon.

Chaio