:argue: > Organized Religion always represents the permanent possibility of repression! > "The powers that be are ordained of God," says St. Paul. Not Quite. "God" is ordained by the powers that be! > For the Religious Right - "God" the ultimate patriarch and absolute authority strives to consolidate His dictatorship "on Earth as it is in Heaven." > Face It; the aggressive Elan of the Religious Right is running rings around the limited legalism of it's enemies! Unlike most who model the adjective, the "godly" really are Radical. They're happy to re-write or rip-up their own revered Constitution. They have a ( tunnel ) vision of a theocratic New World Order! > They Mean Business! :smash: > the New Right has mounted a massive high-tech propaganda campaign ( anticipated, to be sure, by Goebbels ) successively promoting the most absurd and vicious misogynist, sadistic and irrational notions. And yet, only the grossest grandiose abuses of the radio reactionaries and direct mail chauvinist pigs come in for even polite criticism! > the "scientific socialists" and other left flotsam, in contrast to the Religious Right and it's militant social conservatism, are dithering, defensive conservatives, unwilling to do unto others what is being done unto them! That's too bad, cause if you turn the other cheek, you'll probably catch a slap on that side too! The left has never jettisoned the humanist moralism it took from Christianity, it preaches guilt, renunciation, martyrdom, self-effacement, obedience, - in a word, Religion! > Moralism means the sacrifice of real tangible individuals and their face-to-face passional groups to abstract extrinsic "causes" and pseudo-communities ( the Church, the State, the Party, the Proletariat, la Raza, etc. ad nauseum ) > Not just Religious cranks meddling in politics, but Organized Religion & Politics pose the permanent problem of what Gibbon called the eternal alliance of Throne & Alter, the Holy Alliance of all authorities and authoritarians... Separation of Church & State has proved to be a liberal mirage! The only real alternative to theocracy is the abolition of organized religion and the state alike - because they are alike! eace:
So if I understand you correctly, we must use State power to abolish organized religion and the state itself--to combat "repression". Apparently, it al depends on who's doing the repressing. And you put a peace sign after that? How do you think that is going to happen without lots of violence and bloodshed, leaving in its wake a wasteland run by fanatical nuts like you.
> I Never Said Anything about using State power to abolish Religion, or using Violence! > To Quote Ken Kesey " the only thing to do is..." Just Walk Away & Say... FUCK IT!" > Anarchy!!! arty: :dupe: > All forms of Authority, especially those based on violence and mass manipulation thru a mis-use of words ( ie. the use of words, not to communicate, but to control the will of others ) Create group-entities made up of living components who are no longer allowed to behave as separate Individuals and cease to function as anything other than parts of a group! the quality of human life is reduced to that of a cell in a multicelled organism. > As for being a "fanatical nut" Well... the world may already be screwed past hope, but, by God "I Won't Go Down Without A ( non-violent ) Fight." It's the old "thorn in the side" battle plan, the "Operation Mindfuck" Anti-Conspiracy - the Love of disorganization that is the Only motive for halting the relentless march towards compulsive over-organization. The old-fashioned, reliable termites-at-the-foundations-of-society routine. Bugs Bunny. The Obnoxious Visionary Who Won't Shut Up About How Dumb You Are, fueled by that spirit that, in some prehistoric age, was born the first time two kids cut-up in church!!! eace:
Anarchism comes in lots of flavors, some quite tasty, others pure vanilla. Ontological anarchism, immediatism, and situationism could help us carve out space for freedom in a drearily bureaucratic world. Bad as the world might seem at times, though, it could be far worse. We could lose what little in the way of rights and security we have to "termites", who can only destroy. Far be it from me to defend the religious right, which I consider to be a plague on humanity. Combating it effectively requires disciplined, constructive action that may be beyond the capabilities of what Bookchin called "lifestyle" anarchism.
This is what I don't like about the religious right; they block people who love each other from getting married; if you don't like gay marriage, don't get gay married. They block me from doing what I want with my body; if you don't like abortions, don't get them. They block stem cell research; oh, we could cure AIDs, Alzheimer's, and Cancer, but let's not play god...
:iagree: I've always felt the Religion is open to Manipulation - Faith is Not I is a Pagan - as such perception, ridicule and critical assault is something I regularly deal with -> Ah well ho-hum. Belief is one thing (of comfort, support and enjoyment) though preaching to others that it is the only true doctrine to follow is not for me - In the end, it's down to individuals values and acceptance that freedom of choice should be a right for all
I agree with this but I feel like pointing out everything can be manipulated, even an individual's faith. After all it's all to some extend under the influence of associations.
