Insightful former radical islamist article

[Jp!]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/ar..._id=465570&in_page_id=1770

[Kiva]

thanks for posting...interesting article..

kiva

[RgrF]

My life experience has taught me that radicals are mostly the same. They need to belong and will ascribe allegiance accordingly. A rabid conservative Catholic of my acquaintance became a rabid anarchist agnostic. He once forcefully supported Conservative political candidates and now forcefully supports liberal or radical/liberal candidates.

I'm sure others have gone the other way but the drive is the thing. God forbid you should smoke and end up impaneled on a jury with a reformed smoker, or drinker or holy-roller or whatever.

The need to commit and believe runs deep and hard, it's two sides of the same coin and the object of the belief is secondary to the need to hold a belief.

At least that's how it seems to me a non-believer.

[Silencio]

'Nuff said, RgrF!

[kj]

>>'Nuff said, RgrF!

Except that I think it assumes there's no such thing as good or bad. If someone is rabidly good, they might be someone like Mother Theresa. The world is better with people like that. Rabidly bad, not better. People have tried to eliminate the concept of good and bad for years. Inappropriate behavior, maladaptive behavior, whatever. It is more accurate to call it bad behavior (and the converse). kj.

[RgrF]

It has NOTHING to do with "good" or "bad", it has to do with a deep seated personal need to belive and the drive to act on that belief.

Remember kj, at least a third of the world believes you are an infidel and evil (bad), thus you are worthy of any misforture they can find way to visit on you. Your belief in bad and good are no more valid for them than theirs are for you.

[kj]

So this:

>>>deep seated personal need to believe and the drive to act on that belief.

is the problem? It's wrong to have a belief, and act on it? Only if the belief is bad, I would think. kj.

[Lux Interior]

Good or bad can be a relative thing to some people.

Is it good to believe that certain people are going to hell because of their choice (or lack thereof) of worship?

How can one individual believe that it is right to commit murder to prevent murder?

Why did the Christians believe the Crusades were good?

Why did the Spanish inquisition occur?

Why do Islamic radicals believe it is good to kill innocents?

All of these stem from a belief in God, which seems like a good thing. On the surface.

[kj]

>>Good or bad can be a relative thing to some people.

Of course there is no consensus, but does that mean we can give up the concept completely? I don't understand why Rog's point makes sense to anyone.

>>All of these stem from a belief in God, which seems like a good thing.

All of those things have happened and will continue, with or without the belief in god. My question was whether it is best to believe in nothing, as Rog seems to be saying. kj.

[RgrF]

Believe what you want, but be aware that your belief has no more superiority than does that of a Haitiian Voodoo priest. Practice the belief, forget the institutions that profit from it and we'll all be better for it.

I have no faith that a magical person lives in the sky and watches over me, you or Dick Cheney. Thats just a silly superstition, if you want to be superstious be my guest - just don't walk under a ladder at my house. ;<).

My thoughts are a lot closer to the examples of Ghandi and the words others ascribed to Jesus than a majority of my so called "christian" neighbors and light years ahead of Mr. Cheney, Mr. Bush and the other pretentiously pious leaders who are destroying our country.

Just do unto others...














...and get rid of the tax exempt middlemen.