Note: Italics added after the fact, so that the italicized passage can be more easily found when I make reference to a misrepresentation of remarks in this account, later.

Antistoicus ( ) 05/24/01 10:33 AM Re: Religion and empowerment [re: Ramessu] "The Divine gives each the tools to go about and succeed in life", states Ramessu. This raises the obvious question, "what about Ann Frank"? Please don't misunderstand me. I can easily see how a reference to the holocaust could be taken as a criticism of the legacy of Nietzsche, whom Ramessu quotes, but that's not what I'm getting at. Ms. Frank, in early adolescence, with only her immediate family for support, finds herself confronting the combined might of the Third Reich as her adversary. In what sense does she have the tools necessary to deal with such a situation? What has she left to her, but prayer? A belief in Divine intervention does not imply a belief that God will pick up one's room or do one's homework, as the dismissive tone of Ramessu's reponse to the concept of prayer would seem to suggest. "Babysitting humanity individually", as he put it. But sometimes, situations do arise that the worshipper could not reasonably be expected to resolve on his own. How, exactly, does a middle school student manage to take on an entire German army or even evade detection when so many are searching, without a remarkable bit of luck - luck that she can not realistically hope to make for herself? Like I said, when adults help children, sometimes it is the case that the children were in need of the help. Even when we're the "children". It was amusing, though, seeing a quote from the philosopher most famous for the quote "God is dead", in a religious forum. I disagree with the sentiment, but I enjoyed the chutzpah.

Click here to return to "Setting the tone"