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This just makes me sad to be honest with you. The idea that “we believe in 519 out of 520 Gods” means anything shows a fundamental misunderstanding of religi

This just makes me sad to be honest with you. The idea that “we believe in 519 out of 520 Gods” means anything shows a fundamental misunderstanding of religion. You may not like the beliefs of some religious people but the point of religion is the beliefs. It’s not that a God created the world it’s that a benevolent God created the world and left teachings which lead to benevolence. On that note I’d point out that he’s wrong about learning something too. The web is a wonderful place and you can go out and learn things but the problem with the Web as opposed to a person is the web doesn’t challenge your beliefs. He took the most superficial point imaginable out of a serious conversation and pursued it. So while he learned something useless he missed the much deeper contradiction in the statement he was so enamored with.

hugh3 16y ago
It’s not that a God created the world it’s that a benevolent God created the world and left teachings which lead to benevolence. I'm confused. Are you saying that the second part can be true without the first part being true?
ErrantX 16y ago
I think the point is very simple and very elegant. It's not about God, it's about the fact that humanity (and our history) is a lot more subtle than most people really compute (I came to that realisation myself not very long ago). The beauty of it is that the religious conversation didn't matter too much - it was just that the clever rhetoric device (the Norse gods) was the avenue to a wealth of information. It is there for the taking but never actively taught. So, the point is that you can pick up any passing point of interest and satisfy your craving for it like never before. Then half an hour later move on to something else. And you will still have those Norse gods/weekdays lined up as a party trick...
- ErrantX 16y ago
  No? So Sivers' message was just about religion then? ;)
darthpanda 16y ago
Or maybe he did see that and avoided discussing it, instead deciding to keep a personal belief personal. Everyday doesn't have to be epiphany day after all.

hugh3 16y ago

It’s not that a God created the world it’s that a benevolent God created the world and left teachings which lead to benevolence. I'm confused. Are you saying that the second part can be true without the first part being true?

ErrantX 16y ago

I think the point is very simple and very elegant. It's not about God, it's about the fact that humanity (and our history) is a lot more subtle than most people really compute (I came to that realisation myself not very long ago). The beauty of it is that the religious conversation didn't matter too much - it was just that the clever rhetoric device (the Norse gods) was the avenue to a wealth of information. It is there for the taking but never actively taught. So, the point is that you can pick up any passing point of interest and satisfy your craving for it like never before. Then half an hour later move on to something else. And you will still have those Norse gods/weekdays lined up as a party trick...

ErrantX 16y ago
No? So Sivers' message was just about religion then? ;)

darthpanda 16y ago

Or maybe he did see that and avoided discussing it, instead deciding to keep a personal belief personal. Everyday doesn't have to be epiphany day after all.