From: Xela@yabbs
To: abort@yabbs
Subject: The Mind, part 2
Date: Fri Feb  4 14:53:04 1994

Abort has said:
    Now what are you ganna do to free yourself rom this conmtrol.  For 
instance Taoism suggests that you forget the categorizations that man puts 

on the tao, on the way.  Zen Buddhism suggests that you clear your mind of 

desires and wants.  These are just examples.  The thing is Xtianity is not 

very good for this freedom because it and judaism and hinduism and more 
conventional buddism, are based on a supreme bieng who you worship and ask 

favors of.  Taoism and Zen buddhidm, the power is drawn from within, and 
you are not dependent on outside forces,  Therefor you are truly free of 
control.  There is no supremne god to answer to in these 
religion/philosophies.  That is why they are truly free.

    "suggests"?

    Sounds like programming talk to me.  If a body of thougth suggests 
thatt you believe it and follow it, i.e. worship it, then you are 
programmed by it.  Taoism sounds about as  free as prison.

Abort has said:
The point of this is that spirituality and science are both equally 
capable of freeing yourself from control devices.  I prefer touse a 
combination of both since it speaks to me better that way.  Science and 
spirituality are both sets of symbols, both must be taken on faith.  
Science is much easierly taken on faith since it is more recently 
developed compared to rather ancient ideas of spirituality.

    The point is that spirituality, whether it can give illusion of 
freedom or not (I still have not heard any reason why it should be in a 
discussion of anarchy), cannot begin to be compared to science. 
    Man created science gradually, by building a foundation of truths 
whiich we take for granted today but had to be sought out vigorously in 
the days of science's youth.  Man created science so he could grow more 
and better food, keep his offspring healthy, and mature his reasoning 
ability.  Reason was, and is, the true basis of science.  You cannot throw 
a bible at a cancer patient and expect to heal him.  You *can* however, 
use biochemistry and immunology to elucidate the structure of the virus 
which is responsible for the cancer, use computer science to develop a 
computerized model of an enzyme which will catalyse the virus, and
 ususe organic cheistry to synthesize a drug which will eliminate the 
virus responsible.  You cannot chant hymns whle throwing dice to see which 
chemical you will use to remove heavy metals from a patients bloodstream.  
You cannot meditate while people are starving because a new 
antibiotic-resitant strain of wheat rust is destroying this years crops.
    Spirituality can provide illusions, but it certainly does not provide 
reality.

    And therein lies the difference between science and spirituality.

    -Alex Reynolds