> A major consideration is whether the opinion in
> question is mine or someone else's. I.e., is it
> necessarily my business? (Of course others'
> opinions can affect me, but not nearly as directly
> as my own opinions, or (a very small proportion
> of) others' actions, which therefore are my
> business.) Beyond that, I think the question is
> too vague to be answered. But remember,
> because you seem to be confusing two issues
> here: to say that, in general, the opinions of
> others are as good as mine and vice versa,
> is not to say that any specific opinion is as
> good as any other specific opinion. Far from it.
> But that doesn't mean you can tell people what
> to believe.
>
> Robin
As someone who has driven at least a few people away from Christianity,
I know that "faith" can be broken. i am not claiming that I had real
positive results though. Some people may be able to give up "faith" but,
from my experience, this usually needs to be replaced with some other
pacifier. In my experience, most people are unable to live with the
concept of finality when it comes to consciousness. One person i
dissuaded could not bear the concept of living without a pre-defined
purpose. So far, I have found that I am not qualified to "covert" people
from "faith" if I care about how they fare after it's loss.
I agreed with your statement on moral grounds, but disagree on
intellectual grounds. everyone is equal and everyone's opinion matters.
But some people are idiots and have no business holding any opinions.
Sodom