TED Community » Tim Colgan

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  A reply on Conversation: What is the true purpose of religion?

  Aug 24 2012: Roy - I commend you on your life journey of enlightenment. It sounds like a real trip.
  
  But as I like to say - it’s not God I have a problem with, but religion.
  
  Yes, religion has many aspects, but it is the political aspect which makes it religion.
  
  Your answer is like the soldier who is asked “what is the purpose of the military?” responding “it provides me employment”. Yes, religion utilizes many tools in its purpose of control. It taps into many aspects of the human psyche to empower it. It uses music, architecture, spectacle, need for community, desire for enlightenment, etc. to implement its core purpose of control.
  
  Look, we can glory in the magnificent structure of a medieval church without accepting religion.
  
  Religion played a role in humankind’s social evolution. But now that we are a global society it is time to leave it behind. Our spiritual quests don’t require its restrictive basis in constraining traditions. What do you think?
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  A comment on Conversation: What is the true purpose of religion?

  Aug 23 2012: The purpose of religion - to maintain the status quo.
  
  Religion is fundamentally a political construct. Strip away the political aspect and you simply have each individual’s personal belief system.
  
  Religion is a set of traditions (practices and beliefs) shared by a cultural group. It defines an “us” and a “them”. Again, this describes the political motive. To unite the community to defend itself against others and to define the others as less than human so that they can be eliminated if desired.
  
  Of course, individuals participate in religious organizations for their own personal benefits - to be part of a community, to comfort them in times of trouble, etc. But what is it that defines religion as distinct from other social organizations? It is the esoteric set of traditions which separates one religion from another. Again - the political motive. The means of maintaining the status quo.
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  A reply on Conversation: Could you tell me about a small kindness from a stranger that made a real difference to you (in whatever way)?

  Aug 3 2012: Your extraordinary ability to find great lessons in everyday experiences always amazes me Salim.
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  A comment on Conversation: Internet freedom: Safe or In Peril?

  Jun 25 2012: The politicians will try everything they can to control the media. But this time they will fail. The Genie’s been let out of the bottle and he ain’t goin back. The parallels between the internet and the printing press are edifying. When the presses first started printing bibles in the vernacular, the Catholic church was concerned and tried to prohibit it. Moreover, they issued their list of banned books. All to no avail. Another interesting parallel was that early booksellers did a lively business in pornographic literature.
  
  Now, in fact the power elite did have a degree of success at controlling the print media. The Bush manipulations in the run-up to the Iraq war is an interesting case study. But this new medium will be even more resistant to control. Every censorship measure will be met with a new countermeasure. And the people’s desire to communicate without restraint will be achieved.
  
  Perhaps one of the greatest things the internet will teach is the value of free speech. Countries are going to be faced with a choice: 1) accept free speech and gain the benefits of the internet or 2) reject free speech and live in the dark ages. Governments which choose number 2 won’t last long.
  
  Don’t worry Ed. The end is far.
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  A reply on Conversation: Can you tell me what motivates a man to get married? What is marriage to a man living today? Do you also have a theory of why women marry?

  Jun 23 2012: Debra. You don’t know how much I miss our open-ended discussions ; )

• A reply on Conversation: What do you think is the biggest technological challenge the human race will face in the next 30 years?

  Jun 22 2012: Hey Edward. You may think you're the guy on the left, but I feel like the one on the right:
  
  http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2374/2232466581_8bf522d537_o.gif
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  A reply on Conversation: Can you tell me what motivates a man to get married? What is marriage to a man living today? Do you also have a theory of why women marry?

  Jun 21 2012: Yes, I agree on the desire for acknowledgement of the relationships we consider most special in our lives. But the need for a legal contract? That seems most founded on the unequal power relationship between women and men which always existed in the past. But aren’t we getting beyond that?
  
  I always remember a statement I read (I think it was one of Plato’s writings) that said that you can’t be a true friend with your slave. Even if you believe you have a strong friendship, some event will always arise with makes you aware of the shortcomings of the connection. Isn’t the same true in any grossly unequal power relationship?
  
  So if true friendship is sought with our partner, isn’t it imperative that we seek equality first? And does a legally binding constraint aid or hinder the sense of equality?
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  A comment on Conversation: Can you tell me what motivates a man to get married? What is marriage to a man living today? Do you also have a theory of why women marry?

  Jun 15 2012: Personally, I never could understand what motivated anyone to get married. Always seemed like most of the married people I knew were miserable with each other. Yes, marriage can serve a useful function to bind people together in order to create a stable environment for raising kids. But beyond that, what is the point? If two people love one another and want to be together, why not just live together? Is turning it into a legal contract somehow going to improve the relationship? Well, I guess there are the tax advantages and the sharing of health insurance and the sundry other material benefits. But is getting hitched for financial reasons really wise?
  
  I think the motivation (for both men and women) to get married is the belief that doing so will somehow increase the probability that their mate will stay around and be faithful. But does it?
  
  What do you think Debra? What would (did) motivate you to get married?
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  A reply on Conversation: What makes you truly angry? How do you handle this emotion?

  Jun 11 2012: Hi Colleen. I read your response (about using anger as a constructive motivator) and thought “what a great idea”.
  
  Then I thought “hey, I do that too”.
  
  In fact, that’s why I started weDialog. It was the frustration (anger) with TED policies of terminating conversations, deleting comments (and allowing others to delete comments), not permitting multiple conversations on similar topics, defining what’s on-topic and what’s off-topic, etc., etc. etc. that gave me the energy to act.
  
  At times vengeance (la vendetta) can be put to good use. Isn’t that what Luigi Vampa (may he rest in peace) taught us?

• A comment on Conversation: A network of TEDsters spreding TED across the web for maximum impact.

  Jun 8 2012: Great idea Jimmy. I constantly promote TED on weDialog. In fact I just posted a link here:
  
  http://wedialog.com/conversations/71?selected=2752