Confession Re: [FoRK] "Peace and Love"

[Jeff Bone]

On Dec 20, 2007, at 3:18 PM, Dr. Ernie Prabhakar wrote:

>> You name a SPECIFIC  good thing that has been done in the name of  
>> religion, and I will counter to illustrate how that action was  
>> either (a) self-serving, (b) not "religious" at all, or (c) in  
>> some way dependent on more "evil" actions or motivations.
>
> My cousin (who was a wealthy doctor in Illinois) spent three years  
> of his life -- with his wife and two kids -- working at a mission  
> hospital in the jungles of Africa.  Yeah, they preached the gospel  
> when they had a chance, but mostly they spent a lot of time in  
> pretty miserable surroundings healing sick people who would never  
> have gotten any other care.  Because he believed that's what the  
> love of Christ would have him do.

A cynic would say that a True Believer who did this was merely  
currying favor with a juvenile god.  A rationalist would even applaud  
this as, at least, being consistent with the True Believer's stated  
beliefs;  three years of gutting it out is a small price to pay for  
an eternity of "perfect" reward.

jb