My posts on other's sites II

My response to atheists going after religion as irrational. The piece which spurred the discussion was about a glbt Christian youth camp. It's nice to see a piece on the church doing something right, especially on Alternet.

Religious systems that have millions don't work by one person creating them in some arbitrary manner. The appeal of religion is it gives us a working story about us and our world and provides a framework in our lives and in a community to live that out. If it wasn't compelling then it would be arbitrary.

There's nothing liberal in dismissing what the vast bulk of humanity believes and lives out of. Many of them live in traditions which have thousands of years of tradition behind them and maybe they have picked up a thing or two, idea wise that may be relevant to the solving of human problems today.

Instead of getting folks to adopt or to throw away religion, it'd be better for these traditions to put their collective resources together, to talk and learn from each other, to try to make some positive difference in our world. I don't see any indication that conversion (including to atheism) makes people better or the world better. But I have seen evidence that dialogue does.