Reply #42: Can you clarify how I have erred? [View All]

[Az]

I am more the willing to change my position if you can point out flaws. I readily admit I am using broad definitions. But broad definitions still are definitions.

Furthermore I find that the interpretations I am using seem to be in agreement with the origins of the words. Religion for example

Latin religare to bind back, implying obligation; or from relegere to select, distinguish among various elements for the choosing of the best; ponder

This seems to eminently agree with my broad use of the word.

I suspect that many words and ideas have become tainted or corrupted by dominant groups. Religion is just such a word. It literally got owned for centuries by a dogmatic group. The trappings and implications of those groups have become associated with the word and the concept. But this does not mean this is as it should be. A group of atheists that gather together to share in their joy of life and their shared understanding of what it means to be connected to one another in this life is as much a religion as the Catholic church is. An atheist sitting on the corner grumbling about all the religious billboards cropping up in town is not a religion.