The dark side of the moon
[Update: Bumped for the sake of the comment thread. 04/02/05]
LA has just left in O Uno e o Múltiplo the link for (what should I call it?) a “profession of faith” of someone who apparently (as far as I can get it) tries to prove how devil has invaded our lives, specifically the lives of “Terri's badly misguided husband” and of “the judge who has indicated all but complete spiritual blindness”.
I do confess myself: I’m a proud and declared atheist. What concerns religion I share the well known opinion of Baruch Spinosa, subjacent in a famous letter he wrote to Willen Blijenbergh. This last one had reacted with some violence against Spinosa ( the one professing that “deus sive natura”). Blijenbergh declares himself as a person who always discuss subjects according two principals - reason and faith –, adding that whenever he reaches a rational conclusion that contradicts his principles of faith he rejects the rational conclusion. Spinosa answers him, briefly: in that case we should stop writing each other.
For Blijenbergh faith was an inviolable prejudice and reality had to suit itself in his moral principles – whatever it costs, even if that would mean its misunderstanding.
That’s the problem of all believers in earth. And it doesn’t matter if they are Catholics, Islamics or Buddhists. Therefore they can see supernatural signs in everything – a simple light can reveal and prove the presence of god - by the simple reason that for them the existence of god is a fact and as a result he must manifest himself. Even if that light is a simple moon ray. The natural effect becomes the natural cause and against reason (and the natural movement of things, as Spinosa would say) they just turn the world upside down.
People are free to adopt a belief or a religion, of course. However, when they do they generally tend to impose to others their perception of reality ; their truth becomes THE truth, the holly truth, the only one, the sacred one that we all must defend, accept and perform. That’s why they try to not allow abortion or euthanasia even to unbelievers.
Terri Schievo deserves, in my atheist opinion, a dignified end. And I’m not referring to her death because she is already dead. Human life is measured by the conscience of oneself, not for a simple – and artificially supported - hart beating.
There’s no battle between good and evil here. There’s just a conflict between a mislead perception of reality based on prejudices and principles of faith and a rational conception of life. The options stand right in front of us: we can choose between delusions or cruel facts.
[Update: Bumped for the sake of the comment thread. 04/02/05]
LA has just left in O Uno e o Múltiplo the link for (what should I call it?) a “profession of faith” of someone who apparently (as far as I can get it) tries to prove how devil has invaded our lives, specifically the lives of “Terri's badly misguided husband” and of “the judge who has indicated all but complete spiritual blindness”.
I do confess myself: I’m a proud and declared atheist. What concerns religion I share the well known opinion of Baruch Spinosa, subjacent in a famous letter he wrote to Willen Blijenbergh. This last one had reacted with some violence against Spinosa ( the one professing that “deus sive natura”). Blijenbergh declares himself as a person who always discuss subjects according two principals - reason and faith –, adding that whenever he reaches a rational conclusion that contradicts his principles of faith he rejects the rational conclusion. Spinosa answers him, briefly: in that case we should stop writing each other.
For Blijenbergh faith was an inviolable prejudice and reality had to suit itself in his moral principles – whatever it costs, even if that would mean its misunderstanding.
That’s the problem of all believers in earth. And it doesn’t matter if they are Catholics, Islamics or Buddhists. Therefore they can see supernatural signs in everything – a simple light can reveal and prove the presence of god - by the simple reason that for them the existence of god is a fact and as a result he must manifest himself. Even if that light is a simple moon ray. The natural effect becomes the natural cause and against reason (and the natural movement of things, as Spinosa would say) they just turn the world upside down.
People are free to adopt a belief or a religion, of course. However, when they do they generally tend to impose to others their perception of reality ; their truth becomes THE truth, the holly truth, the only one, the sacred one that we all must defend, accept and perform. That’s why they try to not allow abortion or euthanasia even to unbelievers.
Terri Schievo deserves, in my atheist opinion, a dignified end. And I’m not referring to her death because she is already dead. Human life is measured by the conscience of oneself, not for a simple – and artificially supported - hart beating.
There’s no battle between good and evil here. There’s just a conflict between a mislead perception of reality based on prejudices and principles of faith and a rational conception of life. The options stand right in front of us: we can choose between delusions or cruel facts.
[Update: Bumped for the sake of the comment thread. 04/02/05]
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