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Old 03-04-2009, 01:57 AM   #7 (permalink)
garbanzo
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you've got some nice ideas there, but i'm afraid your perspective is a bit lopsided. first of all, let me say that i'm non-religious as well. i don't like to call myself atheist, i think it's silly to define my beliefs in terms of what i don't believe, but in the end, i'm quite certain there is no god in heaven up above.

but what you need to remember is that christianity is very, very new. in fact, the whole idea of dogmatic religion is a recent invention. for the vast majority of human history, religion was a very healthy force. in many 'native' societies, it still is today.

moreover, on the topic of drugs, it should be remembered that altered states of consciousness, induced both by narcotic substances and by non-chemical means, traditionally played a very significant role in world religions. most people think things like the peyote cult in the american southwest are exceptions, but in fact it is christianity that is the deviant here.

i know that shamanism and other native spiritual systems are not of much use to most people today, and that for most westerners religion is synonymous with christianity, but i think you should be clear on whether you're bashing institutionalized, dogmatic religions, or all religio-spiritual systems.
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