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From: markrose@spss.com (Mark Rosenfelder)
Subject: Re: Is there a spiritual force which also effects the future?
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References: <SOSUSER.2.2E731869@sos.net> <1994Sep11.164225.6753@news.media.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 13 Sep 1994 21:58:54 GMT
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In article <1994Sep11.164225.6753@news.media.mit.edu>,
Marvin Minsky <minsky@media.mit.edu> wrote:
>In article <SOSUSER.2.2E731869@sos.net> SOSUSER@sos.net (SOSFULLUSER) writes:
>>Many people believe that past, present, and future events are influenced by 
>>spiritual events.  What is your thoughts?
>
>Thousands of years ago, many clever people discovered that it was easy
>to implant this belief into innocent minds, and that these victims
>would then pay handsome fees to those who claimed to be able to
>manipulate these effects. This activity soon became so profitable that
>it is now the third largest industry in the world, surpassed only by
>entertainment and government.  It frequently attempts to advance
>itself by taking over government and by abolishing entertainment.

There's something about religion that makes people completely abandon
rationality and standards of evidence, and condemn to perdition anyone who
doesn't agree with them.  And that's just the effect on the *un*believers.

There's no doubt that religion has always been abused for reasons of money
and power... though it's always been simpler to acquire both via brute force.
To assert that religions were all founded for monetary gain, however, is
simply not to care what the facts are.  Quite a few religious movements
began by rejecting or despising wealth: Buddhism, the early Christians,
the Egyptian hermits, the mendicant orders, the begging holy men of India,
the liberation theologians.  For that matter religion arises and flourishes
(e.g. among many Amerindian tribes) in cultures without a money economy
or any distinct class of priests.

As for the claim that religion is the third largest industry in the world,
this is almost as remarkable as the claim that government and entertainment
are numbers one and two.  The fact that the US GNP is around $5.7 trillion,
the federal budget about $1.3 trillion, and broadcasting, publishing,
movies, and recreation GDP around $100 billion (all 1991 figures) casts
just a wee bit of doubt on this notion.

Once the eeevil conspiracy theory of religion has been put aside,
some interesting work on the sociology of religion can be done; I recommend
that of Marvin Harris.  
