Sympathy for the ... Christians (was Books burnt in Germany too!!)

[Aberforth's Goat]

No: HPFGUIDX 15578

Alex wrote,

> > Burning books seems like an enormous waste of money and I hope this
> > was not done or condoned by any churches or there will be accusations
> > of hypocrisy again.
>
> It's not the money aspect I'm worried about.  I forgot who said it, but
> someone said something very similar to "the next step to burning books is
> burning people."  *That*'s the part I'm worried about.

This is may be drifting OT (if so, my apologies!), but I think one thing
should be mentioned here: burning books may be the first step down the slope
toward burning people. However, what's so great about *not* burning books?
What if *that* were a step down the slope toward not giving a damn about
noxious cultural influences? And if you'll grant that there *are* such
things as radically evil books (Mein Kampf, for instance), would it not be
appropriate to take a radical stand against them?

Most Christians share a committment to a particular understanding of
spirituality. Part of that understanding is our belief in a concrete and
active spiritual reality--including devils and demons. It follows that we
are genuinely concerned that dabbling with unknown spiritual quantities is
destructive to the dabbler's spritual well-being.

Of course, as a certified, 83% obsessed Harry Potter fan, I obviously think
these particular Christians are straining gnats, swallowing camels and
depriving themselves of a very enriching experience--but I still respect
their willingness to take a stand about spirituality.

Then again, I also respect the Afghan statue bombers for the same
reason--although I have even less capacity to relate to their world view ...
(In their case, the cultural vandalism is coupled with an active contempt of
human rights, which makes their behavior nearly as sickening as things we
Christians have done over the centuries ... )

Baaaaaa!

Aberforth's Goat (a.k.a. Mike Gray, who often feels himself an odd man out
on both sides of the Christian divide. <bleat!>)
_______________________

"My own brother, Aberforth, was prosecuted for practising
inappropriate charms on a goat. It was all over the papers,
but did Aberforth hide? No he did not! He held his head high."