When in danger or in doubt
run in circles, scream and shout
Robert Heinlein The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
I spend a lot of time reading simply because I spend a lot of time commuting. My door to door travel time is an hour and ten minutes on a good day. Good days are somewhat rare and it's usually 80 - 90 minutes. Fortunately, I get a seat and reading on buses doesn't really bother me.
The second quote is from God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens. The main thing that one can say about this book is that he does not spare any major religion from his scorn. I find myself quite in sympathy with his arguments. He makes a convincing case that religion has much in common with totalitarian governments and in Chapter 15 lists several bullet points that tend to describe all religions. I'll list them here for your amusement:
- Presenting a false picture of the world to the innocent and credulous
- The doctrine of blood sacrifice
- The doctrine of atonement
- The doctrine of eternal reward and or punishment
- The imposition of imposible tasks and rules
This does't mean that I don't find some value in being Jewish. The community aspect and ceremonies to mark lifecycle events are valuable. The concept of a day of rest is absolutely brilliant. Much of the rest of it just leaves me cold and scratching my head as to where they came up with this crap.
I
1 comment:
I'm somewhat ashamed to say that even though I've known you and loved you for so many years, I didn't realize just how well you write! I'm going to like this blog and can already see that you'll help me add to the list I've got going of books to read. My preferred way of reading is via listening to audio books on the iPod, in the car during my commute or while I'm exercising (which should be more often). And now I see we absolutely should have a religion conversation because I'm scratching my head over that all the time!
Post a Comment