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From: barry@ames.UUCP (Kenn Barry)
Newsgroups: net.religion,talk.religion
Subject: Re: Banning books, religion etc...
Message-ID: <1637@ames.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 29-Aug-86 02:08:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.1637
Posted: Fri Aug 29 02:08:35 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 2-Sep-86 02:09:03 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: NASA-Ames Research Center, Mtn. View, CA
Lines: 47
Xref: linus net.religion:10623 talk.religion:26

[moved here from net.books]
From: stuart@BMS-AT.UUCP (Stuart D. Gathman):
>In article <406@cbuxc.UUCP>, dtm@cbuxc.UUCP (Dattaram Mirvke) writes:
>> coming for the movie '2010'. I was really amazed when he told me that he did
>> not "want" to see this movie, since it happened to contain something that
>> offended his religion. It seems that these guys had some kind of committee in
>> their church that screened various movies released and then 'informed' the
>> church members about the suitability of viewing the movies. Sort of an internal
>> censor board.. This thing occurred to me as very odd. It seems that these so
>
>I also did not want to see the movie.  I heard nothing from a church,
>committee, etc.  However, the commercials for the movie turned my
>stomach, hence my lack of desire to see the movie.  Having watched
>2001 did not help any.  Why do I find such movies disgusting?  Well,
>that is a discussion for net.religion.

	Now that the discussion's been moved here, I hope you
will see fit to expand on the points you make. I have a couple of
questions.

>I will just say that they belong
>to a genre which present Mankind as evolving to higher and higher states.
>(This is often called Humanism).  I find this concept arrogant and foolish
>whether viewed from a christian or existential standpoint.

	Why? Oh, I can see that it runs counter to creationist
dogma, but most Xians, and presumably all existentialists, are
not creationists. I fail to find anything anti-religious in the
notion that human evolution has not stopped with the current
model. Arrogant? How so? If anything, the admission that the
human race could stand some improvement shows an admirable humility.
	What I *do* find a bit arrogant and foolish is the desire
to avoid being presented with ideas with which one does not
agree. Arrogant, because it suggests that one's ideas are
incapable of further refinement, and foolish because it inhibits
such refinement.
	Whatever one thinks of the idea of the continuing
evolution of our species, one should certainly favor the
continuing evolution of our ideas. One need not accept the
notions expressed in 2001/2010 in order to benefit from the
stimulation provided by interesting ideas entertainingly presented.

-  From the Crow's Nest  -                      Kenn Barry
                                                NASA-Ames Research Center
                                                Moffett Field, CA
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