God is a Metaphor Re: # 111 Let`s see if you do face questions:

How do you know that there is someone real behind this metaphor? Is it your subjective guess?

Does this reality you call `God` have traits which can be talked about non-metaphorically? For example, will we be right if we say that your god is jealous of other gods?

If the metaphors we use to address god are only helpful to us, what`s in it for the god who is independent of these metaphors?

God is a Metaphor Re: # 95 What a word of wisdom. I am impressed.........

God is a Metaphor Re: # 90 Would you also provide your speculations on these questions?

God is a Metaphor Re: # 85 dr sahib,

You are probably right that interfamily marriages are more of a learned trait and in spite of Islam, things can be made better by creating awareness about the harmful consequences of the practice. The only reason I feel Islam is to blame somewhat is the reason I wrote in reply to khurram. Islam`s extreme conservatism in the matters of sex surely does have significant effect of encouraging the practice. The girls in a family, even the elderly women do not have any method of socializing with men outside the family because of conservative values that usually family members are the only ones well known and trusted and become the natural choice. I think for the change to come, these values must also give way.

God is a Metaphor Re: # 89 khurram,

You may be right. But there should be no denying about the indirect effects of relavent pressures. For example, it is said that women is Islam are encouraged to get educated and work. But in reality, they are discouraged by some relevant but indirect social behaviours directly stemming from religion e.g. perdah and sex starvation through segrigation. I am for looking at the system in its totality as that is how it affects its subjects.

God is a Metaphor Re: # 68 kaalchakra,

For us slackers, its always a pleasure to find you here and a previlege to be remembered by you.

I like to say that I have liked this cultural aspect of hindu people that extra effort is made to carry out marriages between virtually perfect strangers. If only they could get circumcised too.......... (kidding)

God is a Metaphor Re: # 70 PM

Speaking of my intentions, my case was indeed against cousin-marriages only. But since you reminded me of its ties with joint families living together, I have to admit that the later will have very hard time to sustain without the help of the former. This is my practical experience, again from my paternal family that an outsider girl is more likely to drag the husband out of the joint. Actually, my mother did this to my father. :-D

I don`t know how good or bad extended family system is, but it always sounds like a fun idea to me. Whenever you go there, you have so many people to socialize with.

God is a Metaphor Re: #79

A common man usually trusts religion on questions he has less knowledge about. If I were an average religious guy, this is how I would think:

`If there is something really wrong with it, allah would have forbidded it already. Hence there is nothing wrong with it`.

I know the primary reason for cousin marriages is not religion per se but by all means, Islam fosters such an environment by limiting and discouraging intra-family interactions between males and females (the primary method for couples to know about each other) and creating a paranoia around this whole sex and honour thing. As a result, family marriages become the default and convinient choice.

Yes, I can`t find a hadis saying `marry thy cousins`, but you gotta take practical things into account..... makes any sense?

God is a Metaphor #65 khurram,

This is what I would call `bending over backwards` to be a religious appologist. I can tell you my first hand experience that about 1 in 4 children have died in my father`s family who live in a large haveli usually marrying internally. And I not taling about a sample of 4 kids but about 20 of them. They see all this happenning but religious endorsement is so strong that they keep doing it.

Also, it looks like your experience of god not being a dellusion begs some explanation. Would you bless us with some?

Honored Congrats Dr sb......

The Role of Mystics, Artists and Scientists in Human Evolution Dr sb,

That was a nice tribute to liberal people throughout history. It is indeed these individuals who are selflessly motivated by the beauties of their dreams who are slowly but surely creating pathways to better ways of living and understanding. For such people Ghalib has said:

Hoon nishaat-e-germi-e-tasawwur se naghma-sanj
Mein andaleep-e-gulshan-e-naa aafreeda hoon,

The gulshan may not be afreeda in their lives but they live it inside their dreams and it is their `germi-e-nishaat-e-tasawwur` which brings their dreams to reality.

On a side note, the word `philosopher` is missing from the title of this essay who were one of the biggest anchors of liberal thought. Or is it that your concept of `scientists` includes them?

Psychology of Guerrilla War #98 by zeemax

zee, you are getting hysterical man. dr sohail, plz do some of your psychaitary magic.....

Psychology of Guerrilla War #84 zeemax

``They`re like `ziddi` children. If you take them to hell with `pyar mohabbat`, they will gladly go. But if you push them to `heaven`, they will kill you.``

This looks more like the definition of a Pathan.

Psychology of Guerrilla War #73 SR

``Al pHuda``

That was wicked.......

Psychology of Guerrilla War moulana zee,

i have every reason to call your response:

``charon shaanay chitt``

plz correct me if you feel otherwise.

Psychology of Guerrilla War #40 zee,

I will try to stimulate your lazy intellectual faculties again.

Mohammad was on a mission to create and perpetuate a religion. He was most probably aware of this. He knew what religions of the past (christianity and judaism) had done. He knew what the potential of this activity was. He was not a small time looter. Rather, his eyes were at replacing christianity and judaism with his version of `islam`. I wonder why an avid Qaari of quran like you can miss this.

And don`t forget that he had a careful plan to make mecca into a future hotbed of islam. Do you think he did not have the intention to tag that black cube to be the center of earth?