John, I agree with you that any religious discussion should be limited to
that which helps explain Sinclair history. I personally am related to
Sinclairs who are Quaker, Episcopalian, Presbyterian and Roman Catholic.
Only God knows what other persuasions we have among us. Shalom!---Kay
----------
> From: John S. Quarterman <jsq@mids.org>
> To: sinclair@jump.net
> Subject: religion on the Sinclair list and web pages
> Date: Thursday, May 27, 1999 8:20 AM
>
>
>
> Folks,
>
> I was afraid this would happen when I added the religion web pages.
> That's why I included this disclaimer:
> This set of web pages is a place to put information about religious
events
> and dogma that affected Sinclair history and genealogy.
> Religion and politics are notoriously divisive subjects,
> so let me hasten to say at the outset that opinions from many
> different people will be represented here, and I do not confirm,
> deny, attest, or refute any of them, except where I explicitly
> say so. --jsq
>
> I suggest we apply a similar disclaimer to religious postings on the
> discussion list.
>
> Let's back up and think about this a little.
>
> There have been allusions to the Jesus and Magdalene parentage story
> in the book list in the web pages and in links related to Templars
> for quite some time. Probably most Sinclairs are aware that that's
> what the Baigent Holy Blood Holy Grail book is about. So the story
> is nothing new.
>
> It's also just a story, not to mention one that is generally rejected
> by most scholars who have attempted to check what that books says.
>
> There are also links to various Muslim pages. Muslims believe that
> Jesus was just a prophet.
>
> There are also links to various Jewish pages. Jews don't even believe
> that Jesus was a prophet.
>
> There are links to Cathar information. The Cathars didn't believe Jesus
> was a human.
>
> There are links to Hindu information. Some Hindus believe Jesus was
> an avatar of Vishnu.
>
> Then there are Buddhists, for whom Jesus has no particular significance.
>
> And that's only a small sample of beliefs that are out there.
>
> Should I remove all these links, and should no one mention any of these
> things on the list? I think it's safe to say that some of them are
> considered blasphemous by some people on the list.
>
> However, please remember that none of you are being asked to believe any
> of them. At least, I hope not. Religious proselytizing is probably
> beyond the scope of this list.
>
> But some or all of the above beliefs are related to topics that are
> relevant to Sinclairs, which is why they are mentioned in the web pages
> and why discussion of them on this list is relevant. This is a family
> whose motto is Commit Thy Work to God. Religion (of more than one kind)
> is inextricably intertwined with the history of the Sinclair family.
>
> I, for one, see no difficulty with anyone describing any of the above
> (or other) beliefs or stories, and also no difficulty with anyone saying
> they don't believe them. But I would hope that we can all do those
things
> with civility. And could we all refrain from overgeneralizations such
> as "All Sinclairs believe," as well as from overreactions whenever
somebody
> does slip and post something like that.
>
> If we can't do that, Niven's idea of a separate list for such matters
> may be what we will need to do.
>
> Comments? Opinions? Suggestions?
>
> John
> [ This is the Sinclair family discussion list, sinclair@jump.net.
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