On 01-10-98 David Martorana wrote to Frank Masingill... 
 
        Hello David, 
  
        [snip] 
  
 DM>  FM> I know that some of you who actually listen and meditate were 
 DM>  FM> somewhat puzzled a while back when, following Eric Voegelin, 
 DM>  FM> I stressed the sharp difference between ideology, which is 
 DM>  FM> always to be deplored, and philosophy, a noble pursuit.  There 
 DM>  FM> were honest responses (some dishonest ones as well, of course) 
 DM>  FM> characterizing "ideology" as nothing more than the holding of a 
 DM>  FM> body of opinions and therefore harmless. 
    
 DM>      "Dishonest" to differ in opinion ??? ....AND Frank, we both 
 DM>       know that *nothing* is harmless; even "noble philosophy" 
 DM>       can be tossed about (or is that "so called" philosophy?) !!! 
    
  Yep! 
  
        [snip] 
  
 DM>  FM> he did not although that is certainly possible. 
    
 DM>      You are not in any meaningful way vindicated by finding a source 
 DM>      that helps YOU make your own ideological opinion more fixed. You 
 DM>      yourself have NOT YET clarified your distinction beyond your 
 DM>      own opinion .......and you dabble a bit in ideologies yourself. 
    
  Yes, he does as I wrote to him before.  There, I took the defintion 
of ideology and expounded it to: something an individual argues 
for that -is- assumed to be true.  The thing Frank advocates 
argues here and -assumes- to be true is Voegelin's -assumption-.   
  Ideology is defined as (Encarta's definition): 
 
        1) the body of ideas reflecting the social needs and 
           aspirational of an individual, group, class or culture 
 
        2) A systemic set of Beliefs or doctrines. 
 
  Doctrine is defined as: 
 
        1) A body of principle presented for acceptance or 
           belief, as by a religous, political or philosophical 
           group 
 
  Belief is defined as: 
 
        something believed or accepted as true, expecially 
        a tenet or body of tenets. 
 
        [snip] 
  
 DM> FM> Voegelin has said that "ideology is rebellion against God and 
 DM> FM> Man" and Professor Feuer is saying almost the same thing. 
    
        [snip] 
 
Take care, 
John 
 
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