Descent into Ignorance

The gradual retreat from the use of reason in some Christian communities appears evident to me. In place of reason there is the practice of passion - true belief in an announced set of beliefs.

Willingness to debate points of belief in a public form has dwindled in face of the popularity of indoctrination using effective communication methods.

In a fearsome world there is a natural desire for safety and certainty. Such is the reason for the building of castles in England and Scotland. Today the castle is a community of like minded persons who affirm one another and set clear lines between "us" and "them". A certain natural urge toward tribalism prevails.

In 2015 the intrusion of other world religions into the assumptions of Christianity and Judaism in America is aiding the sense of being embattled by forces "out there".  

The ease of communication far and wide is primarily among people age 40 and younger. Less experience with traditional beliefs and practices leads to  personal innovations which then circulate without permission of historic limits. On the other hand it leads to younger persons favoring historic forms of order and control. In the midst of it all, the time needed for reflection and conversation is diminished further isolating and preventing spread of historical learning and earlier developed answers to issues.

Isolation from historical information leads to a form of ignorance that can make a society vulnerable to manipulation by forces that depend on docile and unquestioning persons. 

This sounds so judgmental and it is.  I make no excuse for personal opinion and offer my thoughts to the ongoing debate.
Delton

The Fog of Religion

The Fog of War is the description of the confusion that inevitability follows the onset of hostile efforts of combatants to conquer one another. The use of incorrect information adds to the effort to confuse the enemy. It amounts to the heaping up of confusion upon confusion. Whoever who can provide the most confusion wins.

I propose the term and concept of "The Fog of Religion". Religions depend on indoctrination and information for the furthering of their various causes. When there is a sense of danger from another religion a mirage of Fog rises like a mist over a meadow. 

The Fog of Religions bathes the society in misinformation based on attempts to manipulate through messages written to please the faithful and confuse the enemy. The more religions present the more complex and confusing the scene becomes. 

Certain religions set their agenda as doing away with all other religions and taking the entire society into their system of thought. 
Such religions apparently think themselves capable of convincing citizens of the might of their cause and/or the mortal dangers of promoting alternative religions. Such domineering religions wish to have the "Sun of their certainty" remove the Fog and have the matter settled in their favor.

The importance of maintaining a Fog of Religions begins to appear  a rather helpful state of affairs.  A stand off is, in my mind, better than brutal oppression or religious warfare. 

The Fog of Religions is also an atmosphere in which efforts to erase religion from the landscape of life will be frustrated by the difficulties of locating the religions that are to be obliterated. 

This is a new thought for me and I try it out here on the workbench of theological invention. I welcome assistance in pursing this alternative.
Delton

So all religion is simply tribalism

The big deal here in 2015 is to brand all religion as basically tribalism that needs to be discarded. I find this to be a fascinating way of dealing with mystery. 

Apparently with enough secular education and media advances coupled with hard data of measurable entities this process can be accomplished in the not too distant future. 

I am becoming ever more aware that tribes are hardening their borders and the weapons of conflict are being sharpened. However, this tendency is not limited to religions. In the secular world of agnostic and atheistic faith groups the internal struggles are alive and well. Why is it that religions are being singled out for attention? Likely because there are so many of them and they do not make the most devious use of technology in self defense. No doubt a number of religious tribes are attempting to stay above it all in their castles of certainty and destiny.

Once upon a time secular scientific folk were willing to admit that they might not fully grasp all things, at least in private conversations. The result has been a self confident secular scientific well monied tribe that claims to measure all things and have ultimate destiny in their reach. What needs to be remembered is that the passionate religious tribes can be amazingly violent in defense of their expansive territories. 

This stand off is in no one's best interest, from my viewpoint. Turn down the rhetoric. Recognize the best wisdom of all tribes. Listen to one another.

Delton