You still seem to think that I was accusing, pointing fingers, describing what all other religions do, or doing anything at all with respect to any other religions. I wasn't, and I still am not.
Please go back and read the original entry again. "I believe this". "I believe that". "I think this." Every single line regards what I, personally, believe. Again, I very specifically did not mention anything at all about what other religions believe, or what their choices are.
the fact that you *framed* your argument with regard to monotheism is significant in itself
Some of this may be due to my upbringing, as I was raised Methodist, a Christian monotheistic religion. But we'll let that pass for a moment.
Let's look at this from another direction. If I don't believe in the existence of A, why would I believe in the existence of multiple copies or versions of A? Again, since I don't believe in a single god, I don't believe in multiple gods. Thus, pantheism and polytheism are not relevant to my personal worldview either. I "framed it", to use your words, within a monotheistic viewpoint because that's what I've got the most experience with.
imply that theists of any stripe are hiding their heads in the sand like ostriches
Where did I do this? The phrase was that I, personally, tend to hide my head in the sand like an ostrich when something goes wrong in my life. As it happens, I wasn't even talking about purely religious beliefs there. I was saying that I tend to play ostrich when confronted with a hugely unpleasant situation. I then stated that I realize this is a bad attitude to have and that I prefer for truths to be brought home to me, regardless.
For example: the fact that the original post really offended you, for reasons I still don't fully understand. That's a hard truth to accept because I thought I was being fairly clear, but I can accept that it may have been offensive to some. For which, my apologies. But it wasn't aimed at anyone. It was me standing on my soapbox saying "this is what I believe". There was no denigration. There was no finger-pointing. There was no scorn. Just what I believe.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 07:43 pm (UTC)Please go back and read the original entry again. "I believe this". "I believe that". "I think this." Every single line regards what I, personally, believe. Again, I very specifically did not mention anything at all about what other religions believe, or what their choices are.
the fact that you *framed* your argument with regard to monotheism is significant in itself
Some of this may be due to my upbringing, as I was raised Methodist, a Christian monotheistic religion. But we'll let that pass for a moment.
Let's look at this from another direction. If I don't believe in the existence of A, why would I believe in the existence of multiple copies or versions of A? Again, since I don't believe in a single god, I don't believe in multiple gods. Thus, pantheism and polytheism are not relevant to my personal worldview either. I "framed it", to use your words, within a monotheistic viewpoint because that's what I've got the most experience with.
imply that theists of any stripe are hiding their heads in the sand like ostriches
Where did I do this? The phrase was that I, personally, tend to hide my head in the sand like an ostrich when something goes wrong in my life. As it happens, I wasn't even talking about purely religious beliefs there. I was saying that I tend to play ostrich when confronted with a hugely unpleasant situation. I then stated that I realize this is a bad attitude to have and that I prefer for truths to be brought home to me, regardless.
For example: the fact that the original post really offended you, for reasons I still don't fully understand. That's a hard truth to accept because I thought I was being fairly clear, but I can accept that it may have been offensive to some. For which, my apologies. But it wasn't aimed at anyone. It was me standing on my soapbox saying "this is what I believe". There was no denigration. There was no finger-pointing. There was no scorn. Just what I believe.
And that's all.
cheers,
Phil