Re: atheism and astrology?


Milan wrote:
> <cantueso@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:1137255200.738419.201470@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >
>
> If I understand you correctly what you are saying is essentially that "He
> who does not believe in God will believe in anything."

no. I hate to summarize such a delicate thing, and maybe it simply
cannot be done.

let's say the problem is not one of belief, but of resources.

> (a quotation wrongly
> attributed to Chesterton most of the time).


I hav not read any Chesterton and cannot remember what he stands for.

> And, secondly, you add that
> there is a tendency in Europe, as opposed to the US, for example, for
> atheists to believe in new age rubbish, such as chakras, reiki, astrology,
> etc etc.

(I read your message yesterday evening and saw that I am wrong on that,
as I should have known, stupid me, since the very names of those things
are American)
>
> In my experience, I have found that the quotation attributed to Chesterton
> tends to be untrue. What we observe is that gullible people believe
> anything. This may seem a tautology, but what it means is that when you find
> somebody who believes in astrology, for example, they believe also in other
> irrational things as well, such as reiki, the power of pyramids,
> channelization, power of crystals, etc etc.

yes, it goes together. it is sold in the same places, by the same
people, and thus draws the same lonely crowds.

to call those crowds "gullible" is probably a mistake. most people do
not want to be bothered and cannot handle long abstractions. they will
take what is being given. and while buying it and paying for it, they
will also giggle and say: I know it is just trash, but so what.



> And if they dont do now, they
> will do in the near future. Gullible people dont discriminate: they will
> swallow any rubbish thrown at them. And I've found that most of the time the
> believers in such rubbish are also believers in gods.

no. it is a different set.

people who accept and maintain what they were told by their parents and
teachers are probably more reliable than those who think that nothing
is true, all is trash.



> They may be more or
> less traditional christians, or they may believe in Isis or whatever.
> Gullibility is a package and doesnt discriminate. Gods and new age
> disciplines all fall within the realm of the irrational and therefore are
> things that the gullible will tend to buy.

you blur, flatten or destroy the meaning of a word by using it in such
a broad sense.



>
> Secondly, I dont think that the new age rubbish is hitting Europe more than
> the US. The US is full of new age crap as much as Europe. I have friends in
> South America who have bought into new age crap as well. It is a worldwide
> phenomenon.

yes. I realize I was wrong. the new age thing is American in its
origin. awful. and it seems that those centrifugal, frivolous
pseudo-religious fads are now getting focused on The Flag.

>
> And finally, I think that a bona fide atheist would tend to be rather immune
> to such new age crap. Much more so than a believer in gods.

your concepts of "belief" and "gullibility" are taking you in the wrong
direction.

I read recently that in the US the State had to be protected from the
churches, whereas in Europe it was the opposite, and the churches had
to be protected from the State. do you think that is so? (I have never
been to the US)


>
> regards
> Milan<

.

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