Denver
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2007
- Messages
- 10,015
I am wondering if a decent case can be made that:
1) A belief in Extraterrestrials vising Earth is a religious belief.
2) Therefore, a city ordinance declaring that #1 is true, is promoting a religious belief.
The case in point is the Denver Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission ballot initiative, to be voted on by the public Nov 2: Full Text PDF
My argument goes as follows:
The initiative states, for one thing:
A belief in Extraterrestrials covers a lot of ground. As I search the internet on this topic, I find that its proponents not only include a belief in other galactic civilizations, but also include spiritual beliefs, such as higher states of being and of consciousness wrapped up with the whole ET thing. The term “New Age” seems to be the common category for this belief system. The author of this initiative even sells new age items on his web site, such as a credit-card-type object which he claims reduces the stress of the possessor.
Given these new-age entanglements, and products reminiscent of those sold by televangelists, and the requirement to believe in something (extraterrestrials) for which there is no proof, puts this ET belief system more in the realm of a religious faith, than of a general issue for the public welfare.
Everyone has a right to his or her own beliefs, their own faith, and to free speech. But is it even legal for the proponents of such a belief system to use Denver and its resources as a platform to amplify the credibility of those beliefs? Is it legal to implement this initiative, so as to make this law, which establishes this system of belief, as part of our government?
1) A belief in Extraterrestrials vising Earth is a religious belief.
2) Therefore, a city ordinance declaring that #1 is true, is promoting a religious belief.
The case in point is the Denver Extraterrestrial Affairs Commission ballot initiative, to be voted on by the public Nov 2: Full Text PDF
My argument goes as follows:
The initiative states, for one thing:
A belief in Extraterrestrials covers a lot of ground. As I search the internet on this topic, I find that its proponents not only include a belief in other galactic civilizations, but also include spiritual beliefs, such as higher states of being and of consciousness wrapped up with the whole ET thing. The term “New Age” seems to be the common category for this belief system. The author of this initiative even sells new age items on his web site, such as a credit-card-type object which he claims reduces the stress of the possessor.
Given these new-age entanglements, and products reminiscent of those sold by televangelists, and the requirement to believe in something (extraterrestrials) for which there is no proof, puts this ET belief system more in the realm of a religious faith, than of a general issue for the public welfare.
Everyone has a right to his or her own beliefs, their own faith, and to free speech. But is it even legal for the proponents of such a belief system to use Denver and its resources as a platform to amplify the credibility of those beliefs? Is it legal to implement this initiative, so as to make this law, which establishes this system of belief, as part of our government?