In Reply to: Nietsche and 'enlightment' posted by porceleindoll on March 16, 2003 at 15:34:56:
i you like c.s. lewis, try his "space trilogy"...it deals very powerfully w/ these very issues yhru sci-fi parable. excellent read.
re: the inquisition and things done "in the name of religion", ..first off, i do not try to defend "religion". Jesus himself was a victim of that.
but the difference i see between the inq. and that which is done in atheistic world systems is this: if one who claims to follow Christ invokes his name in activity such as the inq. etc., he is completely inconsistent w/ the teachings of Jesus. this can not be laid at his feet. however, the violence practiced in the name of godless philosophies such as communism or nazism, are quite consistent w/ their teachings, and justified w/in that system.
it is clear that you think deeply about these issues.in fact, your surmising about the history of religion w/ the priests and kings certainly overlaps a lot of what i have read about various cultures as well. (Ancient egypt for example.)But,this is not an arguement that deals w/ the evidence of a created order and its implications, nor does it bear on whether a real God is in fact at large, and seeking to make contact w/ each of us.
i agree that society has not succeeded in either devising nor legislating morality. ultimately this must be related to the nature of reality itself. if it is just atoms at a rave, then it reaaly doesn't matter. if there is a "plan", then consulting the Planner clearly seems the way to go.