Is 'Golden Compass' 'selling atheism to kids'? — OZONE Asylum, home of the Mad Scientists

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Is 'Golden Compass' 'selling atheism to kids'?

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Your Text: Insert Slimies » Insert UBB Code » Close Last Tag \| All Tags UBB Help	Some of the most f*ed-up people I have ever met were brought up by devoutly (and I mean [i]devoutly[/i]) religious parents. Emotionally stunted and socially retarded, they were obviously the result of an attempt by their parents to protect them from the 'dark side'. So, no, you can't wrap your children up in a protective bubble - you just f* them up. Of course, it doesn't help that they lived in a country where the molestation of children by the clergy was persistently covered up by a religious authority that would rather pay the parents to shut up than strike off a child-raping priest. This is probably just what happens when you allow your faith to be dictated by men in the name of God. On the other hand, letting children run riot doesn't help either. Some of the most balanced people I've ever met were brought up by parents who were open and informative, and who gave them freedom of choice. Some of them were religious, but not because it had been rammed down their throats on a daily basis. Some of them weren't religious, but not because their parents rammed anti-religious rhetoric down their throats every day. Ultimately, religion isn't about guidance. Religion is a personal choice based upon an animalistic need to believe in something higher than oneself (perhaps in order not to believe oneself quite so low). [i]Organised[/i] religion on the other hand often claims to provide guidance; but unless one has made the choice to follow that guidance, it is simply a dictatorship, and as with any man-made dictatorship, it is open to abuse and extremism. I was brought up by parents who both chose not to be religious (my mother had a horrific time learning what 'guidance' was all about in a Catholic school). I was given choice, and have chosen not to be religious as I have no need of religion. I do not, however, find it necessary to practice black arts, murder people, or generally spread anarchy and suffering into the world. My moral compass is self-governed, influenced by the guidance of my parents and my own intellect, and based upon my personally developed sense of right and wrong. It seems to me that a vociferous few seem to think that nothing is of value to anyone unless it preaches religion, and credits its values as such. To suggest that morals may be taught without the threat of burning in hell eternally always risks the wrath of various followers of one faith or another. Thankfully, I hope, I live in a country where these people don't make the law - else we'd still be compelled to stone homosexuals to death on the street, or likewise young women on the doorstep of their father for sex out of wedlock. Recently, a story featured in the papers about a young woman who was being put to death after being gang-raped. Ultimately, because she'd been chanced-upon by her rapists while in the company of a married man, she was guilty of infidelity and subject to the death penalty. There's moral guidance for you. I thought to myself that I'm so glad I live in a country where I can draw a cartoon of Jesus, or perhaps see a great children's fiction turned into a film, without having enraged zealots baying for blood on the streets. [small]Sorry for the rant - carry on.[/small] Loading...
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