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To: Diamond

Please define the difference between religion and superstition


82 posted on 12/03/2011 6:27:18 AM PST by muir_redwoods (No wonder this administration favors abortion; everything they have done is an abortion)
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To: muir_redwoods
I thought you didn't want to waste time and bandwidth in deconstruction of words (?)

Words are the only tools we have here to try to communicate. My intent has not merely been to engage in word deconstruction, it has been to communicate a message to you.

As far a the word "religion", I am willing to stipulate its meaning in the same sense(s) in which the Founders used it.

As far as the word, "superstition", I submit the following current definition for your consideration:

su·per·sti·tion / ˌsoōpərˈstishən/ • n. excessively credulous belief in and reverence for supernatural beings: he dismissed the ghost stories as mere superstition.
∎  a widely held but unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences of an action or event, or a practice based on such a belief: she touched her locket for luck, a superstition she had had since childhood.

The difference of course is whether or not the belief is considered properly justified, or properly basic, but these concepts entail epistemological problems that I'm guessing you will probably not want to delve into in light of your expressed distaste for undergraduate-style philosophical discussion.

Cordially,

83 posted on 12/03/2011 7:36:38 AM PST by Diamond (He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people,)
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