I look forward to the next chapter of that book- I can't seem to find it in my local or university library. And considering all the shelves of books dedicated to philosophy, you'd THINK they'd have it.
Anyway, what to say? I need to read the next chapter to see exactly where he's going with this. I do agree with the words he quotes at the opening:
"Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world." People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will surely be the result.
How true this is. People with a religion MUST make a move to understand other religions. As Christians (or any other religion), we can't shut ourselves off from the world without knowing it and the ideologies within it...what difference can you make if you are naive? Christ taught that we shouldn't be judgemental and people have got to hold to that if they truly want to show compassion and encourage peace. I'm so sick of people doing things in the name of religion (eg- Christians being violently abusive outside abortion clinics, fanatics of all religions...) but in doing so, violate their own doctrine and cause more harm than good.
I appreciate the author's respect for both Buddhism and Christianity. It's exemplarary of the respect everyone should have as opposed to judgement and intolerance. To make a more educated judgement of the text, I'll ahve to read more...just stop bugging me about it. ^____^
I tend to suspect those who won't even consider studying other viewpoints of insecurity about their own - and certainly I think that it's neccessary simply because if you don't explore your ideas, how can you know you're on the path that's right for you? Anyhow, I like this one - will read your other passages from it. The 'fruit salad' thing is something I've long practiced but never been certain of the validity of - Taoism seems to hold that it's perfectly permissable to mix two traditions so long as you master them individually first, but that raises the question of what 'mastery' is, and I think that it'd destroy the sweet tapestry of it all in any case. I like mingling such things and using bits from one to reinforce bits from another - and once you've memorised a mystic system like tarot or basic qabalism, it can get to be so much a part of your mental structure that you use it to do your homework. But it's all something I do because I like to do it, because it works for me, rather than something I hold as a universal principle. Nice to see that someone more scholarly likes it too.
Melikes the notion that it is perception of connectedness that promotes peace - I often think that a lot of harm is done by people who never consider that their actions have wide social consequences. You've also set me thinking about the incredibly multifacetted nature of religion - and the fact that one of the most prominent aspects of Christianity, now and ever, is the political one. My own allegiance to Anglicanism is almost entirely about politics, and even the vague threads of spiritual resonance I have with it are generally based around politics rather than faith - and I prolly don't mean what you think I mean by that *sighs at inadequacies of language* Suffice it to say that spiritual life is an important thing to support in society, and that's the reason we choose not to separate church from state. An Anglican priest is a 'servant' (friend, support, guardian, aid in times of need) of the people of his parish, no matter what their personal religious allegience is. Believe it or not, this is one take on antidisestablishmentarianism. ><
As for the gender bias thing, I can certainly see where it's coming from, but - sticks and stones, lad; there's genuinely an awful lot of physical mistreatment of women by men in this world, not to mention financial disparities. I would see it as not a social problem so much as an unwarranted and irritating response to a far bigger and far older social problem.
And think, I have a new fridge magnet that reads 'Explain to me again why I need a man'.
Anyway, what to say? I need to read the next chapter to see exactly where he's going with this. I do agree with the words he quotes at the opening:
"Until there is peace between religions, there can be no peace in the world." People kill and are killed because they cling too tightly to their own beliefs and ideologies. When we believe that ours is the only faith that contains the truth, violence and suffering will surely be the result.
How true this is. People with a religion MUST make a move to understand other religions. As Christians (or any other religion), we can't shut ourselves off from the world without knowing it and the ideologies within it...what difference can you make if you are naive? Christ taught that we shouldn't be judgemental and people have got to hold to that if they truly want to show compassion and encourage peace. I'm so sick of people doing things in the name of religion (eg- Christians being violently abusive outside abortion clinics, fanatics of all religions...) but in doing so, violate their own doctrine and cause more harm than good.
I appreciate the author's respect for both Buddhism and Christianity. It's exemplarary of the respect everyone should have as opposed to judgement and intolerance. To make a more educated judgement of the text, I'll ahve to read more...just stop bugging me about it. ^____^
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Melikes the notion that it is perception of connectedness that promotes peace - I often think that a lot of harm is done by people who never consider that their actions have wide social consequences. You've also set me thinking about the incredibly multifacetted nature of religion - and the fact that one of the most prominent aspects of Christianity, now and ever, is the political one. My own allegiance to Anglicanism is almost entirely about politics, and even the vague threads of spiritual resonance I have with it are generally based around politics rather than faith - and I prolly don't mean what you think I mean by that *sighs at inadequacies of language* Suffice it to say that spiritual life is an important thing to support in society, and that's the reason we choose not to separate church from state. An Anglican priest is a 'servant' (friend, support, guardian, aid in times of need) of the people of his parish, no matter what their personal religious allegience is. Believe it or not, this is one take on antidisestablishmentarianism. ><
As for the gender bias thing, I can certainly see where it's coming from, but - sticks and stones, lad; there's genuinely an awful lot of physical mistreatment of women by men in this world, not to mention financial disparities. I would see it as not a social problem so much as an unwarranted and irritating response to a far bigger and far older social problem.
And think, I have a new fridge magnet that reads 'Explain to me again why I need a man'.
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I find that last line cute. :p
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FUNNY LOOKIN!
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