On Dec 15, 3:59*pm, "HD" wrote:
"ooznb" wrote in ....
Worshipping the Weather

December 14 2008

Larrey Anderson

Everyone is religious. People will have their religion. The particular
religion does not, necessarily, have to include worship of a god -- but it
must include a dogma and rituals.

The word "Religion" means Fear of God.

Actually, the origins of the term are unclear. In English, it is first
attested at around 1200 when it referred to those *bound* by monastic
vows. The Latin "religare" means "to bind fast". Contemporary words in
English such as "reliable" have this derivation. The etymology may be
apocryphal since this was a time when Latin was written more
frequently than English particularly in the church.

One might speculate that a person devoted to worhip things godly or
monastic might persistently read and re-read texts (hence Cicero's
suggestion re + legare). Just as the meaning of texts (ie textiles
[woven things] on which ideas and accounts were set down in ancient
Sumeria) became transferred to the articles and then the ideas
themselves (hence our modern word "text") so too one can imagine that
a person devoted to re-reading texts, perhaps in solitude (recall than
monastic life is about 'oneness' hence the "mono" stem) might be an
exemplar of 'religionem' or "respect for things sacred; reverence for
gods".

[Sidebar: It's interesting that text is, after all, *ideas* woven
together with *syntax* whereas in ancient Sumeria things were written
onto woven things -- language comes full circle. Equally
interestingly, the first computer like programs were written on what
was known as a "Jacquard loom" -- long punch card like 'software' that
looked like pianola roles that allowed the loom -- a weaving machine
to operate). But I digress ...

If my hypothesis is correct this idea of weaving and text should go
back further than the Latin "legere" to read/go through, perhaps to
proto-Indo-European (PIE), and indeed this turns out to be so. There
is a straight line between the modern word 'lecture' to 'lectus' (the
past participle of 'legere') where it also was used to convey the
idea of "gathering and choosing" (compare "elect", "select",
"collect"). Homer used the Greek "legein" in this sense and also to
mean "enumerate" and "logos" for "word speech, thought, description".
The stem 'leg" does appear in PIE as "gather" or "collect" or "pick".
The word "lignin" describing the robust carbon-based material in woody
plants has this root (no pun intended), presumably because this is
what people were gathering up. Ironic that they later made paper out
of it!\ and we now do "elections" on these things. Interestingly, the
word "elite" (chosen ones) has the same etymological origins

So as it turns out, religion may have a basis in respect for forests
after all.

Isn't etymology fun?

You are full of bull****.
You don't have a religion, you have a sick obsession.



Since when is sick obsession incompatible with religion?

Fran

See what RELIGION does to peoples' minds?

Adults no longer believe in the Tooth Fairy - but they still kill each other
over ancient myths and superstitions.

"We all remember how many religious wars were fought for a religion of love
and gentleness; how many bodies were burned alive with the genuinely kind
intention of saving souls from the eternal fire of hell." --- Karl Popper

The Freedom From Religion Foundation: http://ffrf.org/
The Secular Coalition for America: www.secular.org
Secular Student Alliance: www.secularstudents.org
www.infidels.org
www.humaniststudies.org
www.atheistalliance.org
www.americanhumanist.org