Posted by Sigismund on January 9, 2010, at 13:35:21
In reply to Lou's reply-wychgdwhtmed » Sigismund, posted by Lou Pilder on January 9, 2010, at 8:44:08
I read a couple of books recently, Lou, that crystallised the way I felt. They were "Black Mass" and "The Politics of Hysteria". The first is about the effect of Christian ideas and doctrine and the way our habits of thought are framed by this inheritance. The second is about the encounter of the non-Western world with modernity. I can't get it out of my head that I live in a country, as do you, that has suffered genocide at the hands of my, (though not necessarily your) ancestors, plus the fact that the Europeans annexed more than 80% of the world, saying they were doing it a favour. Then Germany wants into the club, big fight, Russian Empire adopts communism, Germany wants to refight the war to establish a ghastly parody of colonialism with a demonology derived at least partly from Christianity (genocide again), and then some peace until the mid 60s. There are plenty of good things as well, I know.
poster:Sigismund
thread:926490
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20080809/msgs/933031.html