One of the biggest areas of contention in America today is religion. Just today (12-5-08) it was reported that the University of North Carolina has banned Christmas trees in their two main libraries. This past year one could find one book after another on the shelves of Barnes and Noble that ranted against the concept of and belief in God. 'Religious disputes lead to wars and murders around the world,' these authors say, and that is evidence enough that "no religion" would mean less wars, but does anyone really have no religious belief? There is the monotheism of Christianity, Islam and Judaism....Hinduism proclaims thousands of gods....and Buddhism is pantheistic. We have a revival of paganism even in America and numerous smaller religions, but is being religious limited to these visible religions?
I highly recommend that you try to find a copy of a book that addresses this question. It is THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY An Essay of the Hidden Role of Religious Belief in Theories by Roy A. Clouser, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Trenton State College, New Jersey. He explores in depth what similarities and discrepancies various religions have. He points out that a religion does not necessarily have to have a deity, nor rules and ethical codes, nor rites and rituals. He points out that the gods of the ancient Epicureans did not care at all how humans might live. The divine Brahman-Atman of Hinduism was "being-ness" and not a "being."
The essence of his book is that "religious beliefs all have in common that they believe in something as the non-dependant divinity on which all else depends." In other words, something (theories also) where everything else depends on it but it itself depends on nothing. Professor Clouser writes that "the ancient Pythagoreans regarded 1+1=2 as a religious belief." The book is fascinating from beginning to end and is helpful, even necessary, in understanding how Americans think. These authors that write books against belief in God are religious themselves as science can be their god and the laws of physics the only thing that everything depends but it itself depends on nothing.
Professor Clouser is a biblical theist and concludes his book describing how man's presuppositions relate to God. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has no concept of their own theories as to what everything ultimately depends yet depends on nothing. Their perfect society is based on fallen man whom they consider to be essentially good but mislead. They can't see that the great minds of science past that brought us to where we are in knowledge, were predominantly religious. They can't fathom the thought that they are merely the "latest" philosophers, not necessarily closest to truth nor capable of great error. How many times have we read about a marvelous new scientific discovery that will make necessary "rewriting the textbooks?" Yet they are certain that their presuppositions on God will never have to be rewritten.
Is there honesty in saying that religion leads to wars when the twentieth century has produced much more death at the hands of atheists. One honest philosopher is Antony Flew who lead the charge for atheism for decades before coming to the conclusion and openly admitting that "some sort of intelligence must have created the universe."
I highly recommend that you try to find a copy of a book that addresses this question. It is THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS NEUTRALITY An Essay of the Hidden Role of Religious Belief in Theories by Roy A. Clouser, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Trenton State College, New Jersey. He explores in depth what similarities and discrepancies various religions have. He points out that a religion does not necessarily have to have a deity, nor rules and ethical codes, nor rites and rituals. He points out that the gods of the ancient Epicureans did not care at all how humans might live. The divine Brahman-Atman of Hinduism was "being-ness" and not a "being."
The essence of his book is that "religious beliefs all have in common that they believe in something as the non-dependant divinity on which all else depends." In other words, something (theories also) where everything else depends on it but it itself depends on nothing. Professor Clouser writes that "the ancient Pythagoreans regarded 1+1=2 as a religious belief." The book is fascinating from beginning to end and is helpful, even necessary, in understanding how Americans think. These authors that write books against belief in God are religious themselves as science can be their god and the laws of physics the only thing that everything depends but it itself depends on nothing.
Professor Clouser is a biblical theist and concludes his book describing how man's presuppositions relate to God. Unfortunately, the mainstream media has no concept of their own theories as to what everything ultimately depends yet depends on nothing. Their perfect society is based on fallen man whom they consider to be essentially good but mislead. They can't see that the great minds of science past that brought us to where we are in knowledge, were predominantly religious. They can't fathom the thought that they are merely the "latest" philosophers, not necessarily closest to truth nor capable of great error. How many times have we read about a marvelous new scientific discovery that will make necessary "rewriting the textbooks?" Yet they are certain that their presuppositions on God will never have to be rewritten.
Is there honesty in saying that religion leads to wars when the twentieth century has produced much more death at the hands of atheists. One honest philosopher is Antony Flew who lead the charge for atheism for decades before coming to the conclusion and openly admitting that "some sort of intelligence must have created the universe."
