[TML] Breeding (was: xBoat List Etiquette)

[Richard Aiken]

On Dec 28, 2007 12:57 AM, Jerry W Barrington <jursamaj at yahoo.com> wrote:
> When people want to discuss it reasonably (no yelling or telling me I'm
> going to Hell) with me, I'm usually willing.  I *never* proselytize.

I'm a little curious.  I've only met face-to-face (to my certain
knowledge, at least) a small handful of atheists.  Rather more
agnostics, but only <pause to count> six avowed atheists.  Of these,
three seemed really angry most of the time.  Angry at nothing in
particular - not that I could see, anyway - but angry nonetheless.  Do
you find the same?

> There are very few evangelical atheists or agnostics.  Contrariwise, there
> are few religions that *don't* have major evangelical components.

Well, I think this springs (ultimately) from tribalism or nationalism,
it's modern version.  Most gods were tribal deities, to start with
anyway.  If you joined the tribe, you honored their god.  And then
there was the whole medieval bit of the religion of the ruler being
that of the nation.  It was "patriotic" to promote the spread of your
particular religion.

Of course, it can be hard to join the tribe; Judiasm still actively
discourages conversion, I believe.  Historically, Islam mostly left
your beliefs alone, as long as you paid your taxes in full and on
time.  It's really only the various stamps of us Christians ("us"
meaning "my own group") who've been commanded to be "fishers of men."
These days, though, we usually just poach from each other's fish
ponds.  It seems to me that it's only when religions feel themselves
under particular pressure (such as modern Islam faced with a youth
increasingly attracted to "corrupting" Western values) that you get
extremism.  Or when you get a demogogue who wants a large group of
supporters to manipulate.

-- 
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein