From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Tue May 18 2004 - 21:08:37 BST
Dear Wim,
> May I remind you that 59% American believers in literal truth of Revelations
> was not MY claim, but one I would prefer NOT to believe?
I've tried to show why you should not only PREFER not to believe, but that
you should not believe at all. :-)
> Also that my concern
> is not about taking literally information that has no practical consequences
> now but only symbolic ones (like the resurrection of a dead human some 1972
> years ago).
I take it then that you, as a Christian, do NOT take the reports of Jesus'
resurrection as the literal truth?
> I am concerned about people applauding and pushing for a foreign
> policy that destabilizing effects elsewhere for irrational reasons (i.e. not
> global public interest of even national self-interest).
Why do you think it irrational to save Kuwait from invaders? Why do you think it
irrational to enforce U.N. resolutions? Why do you think it irrational
(especially as a Quaker) to free millions of fellow human beings from
totalitarian horrors? Why do you think it irrational to attempt to establish
a democracy in the heart of Middle Eastern countries to combat terrorism?
(Libya has already given up its WMDs as a result.) Why do you think it
irrational for 35 countries to send troops to Iraq to support the the U.S.
effort there? Or do you think none of these things are irrational, but only
the notion that hard line religious nuts play a central role in U.S. foreign
policy decisions?
> 'Only' 50% of
> Americans calling themselves religious does cast doubt on the 59% claim, but
> doesn't silence my concern. Do you agree that the strength of the 'manifest
> destiny' idea in your culture and the popularity of 'end time' thinking even
> among non-fundamentalists (as suggested by David B. 12 May 2004 21:44:35 -0600
> and 15 May 2004 20:10:37 -0600) makes my concern more serious?
The strength of manifest destiny and end time thinking occurs primarily in
DMB's fevered imagination. The Netherlands and the rest of the civilized
world has much more to worry from Muslim fundamentalists than Christian ones,
especially when the Muslim fundamentalists get their hands on atom bombs.
>You continued
> According to the last American census, the breakdown of religious
> affiliation by percentage is: Protestant 53, Catholic 28, Jewish 2, Other 8
> and None 9. What are the comparable percentages in Europe?'
>
> This census at least shows that 'being religious' can mean different things.
> This would mean that 91% of the Americans is religious.
Yes, being religious can mean different things. That's why I view all
statistics related to religion dubious, just as you viewed the 59% figure in
your paper. In fact, I view polls in general with skepticism. They're often
wrong, like the recent "surprise" vote in India.
Thanks for the information about religion in Europe. As you say, not many
conclusions can be drawn from the data other than it varies from country to
country.
Best regards,
Platt
MOQ.ORG - http://www.moq.org
Mail Archives:
Aug '98 - Oct '02 - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
Nov '02 Onward - http://www.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/summary.html
MD Queries - horse@darkstar.uk.net
To unsubscribe from moq_discuss follow the instructions at:
http://www.moq.org/md/subscribe.html
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Tue May 18 2004 - 21:06:58 BST