> I really
> believe that people can benefit by critical thinking (which is
> the antithesis of faith in my view) and pushing people's buttons
> is just a means to end (and good memetic engineering).
>
> So that's where I'm at. Do you have an opinion on where to
> proceed on the issue?
>
Critical thinking is vital to true faith in my opinion. It is getting
clearer about how you have derived your understnding of faith. I do not
think that we have a disagreement as long as you are loyal to your own
definition. That is to say that as long as you are willing to stand
outside yourself and subject your own beliefs to the same critical
thinking that you wish for others, then I am OK with that.
What I sincerely desire is to eliminate judgement from my memetic DNA.
To do that I need to evaluate the assumptions that I use to base any
value I place on an idea.
The entire list has been helpful to me in that regard. Perhaps I am
getting closer to that discrete moment in time that I can consider
myself a 'true' human being. Until then, I plan on continuing to
evolve.
Marie
PS... My buttons do not push as easily as they used to. I find I prefer
puzzlement to panic and appreciation to fear.