[Vision2020] Re: Religion and morality

[lfalen]

-----Original message-----
From: Ralph Nielsen nielsen at uidaho.edu
Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2005 15:31:34 -0700
To: lfalen lfalen at turbonet.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Re: Religion and morality

> I'm not sure what you're trying to imply, but there is absolutely no  
> necessary connection between morality and religion.
> Ralph
> The above statement is correct and is what I was implying.  Your post seems to me to say religion is the cause of low morality.
Roger
> 
> On Sep 28, 2005, at 2:24 PM, lfalen wrote:
> 
> > I don't dispute the data that you sited nor do I wish to defend  
> > religion, however, I don't think there is necessarily a correlation  
> > between religion and a decline in morality. This reminds me of a  
> > story that That Dr Christian used to tell about graduate student  
> > thinking. " Dr Finglebind is a patent in a mental institution. He  
> > decides to do a study on the response of fleas to voice command. He  
> > tears of a leg and commands the flea to jump. After all the legs  
> > are gone, the fleas no longer jumps. His conclusion is that fleas  
> > with no legs cannot hear. All the facts are correct, but the  
> > conclusion is wrong"
> 
> > -----Original message-----
> > From: Ralph Nielsen nielsen at uidaho.edu
> > Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 13:04:19 -0700
> > To: Vision2020 at moscow.com
> > Subject: [Vision2020] Re: Religion and morality
> >
> >
> >> If we had less religion and more morality we would have fewer
> >> derelicts, winos, wife beaters and thieves among us, which is just
> >> what the study demonstrates. Our prisons are filled to overflowing
> >> with Christians but have very few atheist inmates. The highest
> >> proportion of divorce, murder, etc., is found in the southeastern
> >> states, where Christianity is at its strongest.
> >>
> >> As for individuals, I just finished reading that George Dubya is now
> >> hitting the bottle again, even though he was "saved" by none other
> >> than Billy Graham, in person.
> >>
> >> And the other day I received this from a friend over in Great Falls,
> >> Montana: "And yes, I am still a faithful follower, and have still the
> >> skepticism which I have from meeting you. A gift most graciously
> >> acknowledged. I believe, Lord; help mine unbelief. As I embrace both
> >> and thank you and anyone else present or otherwise for my deliverance
> >> from fundamentalism."
> >>
> >> We met 10 years ago at a regional meeting of The Society of Biblical
> >> Literature (real Bible scholars) in Great Falls. At that time he was
> >> was under the influence of both mental and physical drugs. For some
> >> years now he has been free of both.
> >>
> >> Ralph
>