From the seminarians I have talked to in my limited study focused on Catholic and Protestant faiths there is a "trans-literal" perspective that many are taught to embrace--at least when preaching. In Catholic and Episcopal traditions I was always taught about the symbolic nature of Genesis which I very much appreciate.
The issue is that the Religious right is dominated by politically active evangelical fronts and baptist fundamentalist groups which do believe in literal interpretation and I don't know if you read the OT but that shit is hardcore
The problem is that most people in the US may not be fundamentalists--but most do believe in a "God".
A pseudo legitimacy is seized upon from there and then all of the sudden we are a "Christian Nation" with a bent towards radical Christian ideology knownst or unbeknownst to the citizens. The argument over Gay Marriage is just the beginning of what the Falwell types have in store.
I expect that Islam would be much the same except that Middle Eastern society mostly forgoes any pretense of secularism.
edit- To follow up on Scarabs point Islam is very much indeed a global religion (the fastest growing in the US in fact) I just percieve that the issue of Islamic Fundamentalism in the Middle East is particularly pressing right now.
There are fundamentalists in every religion. There is no need to single out islam.
Religion is just a catalyst for crazy people to have legitimacy. Be it christian, islam or any other faith.
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WeaverWho are you?What do you want?Registered Userregular
edited September 2008
excuse me going back in time to kill Martin Luther
Christianity is adapted globally and politically to the modern world like it or not, and the seat of Islam is a dishtowel in a dirty sink. That is public perception.
The public perceives all those Islam types are in about 5 countries next to each other to the east of Israel.
Islamic fundamentalism is more dangerous to Islam than anything else-- it may be a world religion nearly on par with Christianity--but it is a world religion with a shitload of negative press and a bad pr department.
In a story that’s so weird his has to be considered true, a leading Saudi Arabian cleric has declared Mickey Mouse to be an “agent of Satan.†As such, he has put a fatwa, or death sentence , on the Mouse’s head.
This is not the first time the Mouse has come into conflict with the Muslim world. A few years back, the Palestinian political group Hamas used an almost exact duplicate of the Mickey, named Farfour, as a sort of host of its own TV show. From this pulpit it used to preach death and destruction to its audience, young Palestinian children.
In 2007, the character was also “murdered†on air. A co-host of the show declared Farfour was killed by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. At one point, the mouse called the Israeli a "terrorist."
"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, a teen co-star. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.
Jesus Christ on a bacon flavored dog biscuit.
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GRMikeThe Last Best Hope for HumanityThe God Pod Registered Userregular
Christianity is very contradictory on the idea of questioning faith if you stick to the scripture. Jesus' example in his trial of the desert shows he is human and that he is not immune to conflict of faith--same with Gethsemane.
"Crisis of faith" is really entirely different than asking hard questions about legitimacy--but often the two are conflated for political reasons.
On the other hand asking actual "questions" about whether or not a religious ideal or dictate was valid is often very difficult and was seen by my pastors as tempting the devil or such nonsense.
Christianity is adapted globally and politically to the modern world like it or not, and the seat of Islam is a dishtowel in a dirty sink. That is public perception.
The public perceives all those Islam types are in about 5 countries next to each other to the east of Israel.
Islamic fundamentalism is more dangerous to Islam than anything else-- it may be a world religion nearly on par with Christianity--but it is a world religion with a shitload of negative press and a bad pr department.
Man what is this naive fud you have going on.
Christianity has as much archaic beliefs as any other religion. How can you say Christianity is adapted to the modern world when half of them want to ban gay marriage. Doesn't seem very modern to me.
Christianity has as much archaic beliefs as any other religion. How can you say Christianity is adapted to the modern world when half of them want to ban gay marriage. Doesn't seem very modern to me.
Its pretty progressive compared to killing the shit out of the gays
also most mainstream Christian churches teach love and compassion for homosexuals --even if it is not a tolerated lifestyle right or wrong.
depends on the sect of buddhism you ask, since what nirvana is and how to define it and achieve it is essentially the big disagreeable point between the different sects
since you're asking me i'm assuming you're asking about the sect i follow
in which case the path to nirvana can only be achieved through a full understanding and enlightened examination of the consequences of your actions and thoughts, and the repercussions of them. to discern the causal relationships between yourself and the world around you, and to achieve a perfect causal state where your every interaction is understood and measured in response.
the "middle way" is one of finding a balance in your actions and responses, to command fully how you affect and are affected by the world
basically, the idea is, by understanding and meditating on your actions and consequences, and by comprehending fully how you are impacted by effects external to you, you see the relationships between them, realize their unity and how there isn't a full difference between the two.
by understanding, and observing it, you are able to compel the outcome. sort of like the observer effect in physics, by measuring it you affect the outcome. that sort of thing.
naturally, that sort of thing takes a lot of self-analysis and intuitive nature towards others and isn't easy.
but none of that requires me blowing myself up in a cafe or beating up gays, so, i guess that's why me being religious don't make me a shitheel
depends on the sect of buddhism you ask, since what nirvana is and how to define it and achieve it is essentially the big disagreeable point between the different sects
since you're asking me i'm assuming you're asking about the sect i follow
in which case the path to nirvana can only be achieved through a full understanding and enlightened examination of the consequences of your actions and thoughts, and the repercussions of them. to discern the causal relationships between yourself and the world around you, and to achieve a perfect causal state where your every interaction is understood and measured in response.
the "middle way" is one of finding a balance in your actions and responses, to command fully how you affect and are affected by the world
basically, the idea is, by understanding and meditating on your actions and consequences, and by comprehending fully how you are impacted by effects external to you, you see the relationships between them, realize their unity and how there isn't a full difference between the two.
by understanding, and observing it, you are able to compel the outcome. sort of like the observer effect in physics, by measuring it you affect the outcome. that sort of thing.
naturally, that sort of thing takes a lot of self-analysis and intuitive nature towards others and isn't easy.
but none of that requires me blowing myself up in a cafe or beating up gays, so, i guess that's why me being religious don't make me a shitheel
Alright, so here it goes. This is all the Judaic interpretation, for the record.
Lets' start with Introductions. When the bible introduces Noah, he is reffered to as "a great man in his time", but when Avram/Avraham is introduced, he is called "A great man."
So, what's up with the qualifier on Noah? Well, the thing is, when god came to Noah, and said "Hey man, I'm gonna flood the entire world" Noah's response was "So, how big of a boat are we talking about?"
On the contrast, when God came to Abraham, and said "I'm going to destroy these two towns which are only full of known sinners anyway" Abraham's response was "What can I do to talk you out of this?"
Abraham was a great man because he was willing to stand up for what he knew was right (in this case, the preservation of Human life) EVEN in the face of God himself.
As long as you know what you are talking about, questioning authority is considered to be proper, and even the appropriate response at times, in Judaic cultures.
As an end note to this, let me briefly discuss the story of the binding of Isaac. You see, this story was the last time that God EVER spoke to Abraham, and that's because he messed up. When God told Abraham to kill his own Son, Abraham went and did it. He failed that test, and as a result his wife died, and God never spoke to him again. Not a pretty picture.
There's more I could get in to in the Talmud, but I figure some common biblical stories are good enough for now.
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FandyienBut Otto, what about us? Registered Userregular
edited September 2008
I met a dude who looked me in the eyes and said we should stone prostitutes and adulterers
Other people rake sand around rocks in a garden designed specifically so that all of the rocks in the garden cannot ever be seen all at the same time, no matter what angle you look from.
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FandyienBut Otto, what about us? Registered Userregular
Other people rake sand around rocks in a garden designed specifically so that all of the rocks in the garden cannot ever be seen all at the same time, no matter what angle you look from.
man humanity has what, 20,000 years of evolution under its belt? aint nothing in the last 4000 thats gonna be right about the great beyond. these silly people in their robes and pajamas thinking they have it all figured out. just wait till they die and find out they should've been practicing druidism or learned how to speak chinese.
abraham talking to god about the two cities is also the first instance of the true jewish haggle
"i'm going to blow up these two cities"
"aw, two whole cities! c'moooon, my nephew lives there!"
"alright fine, who is your nephew?"
"his name is lot, he's a good guy!"
"fine, i will spare lot"
"well, that's not right, lot has a wife and two daughters!"
"oh for the love of... they can't possibly all be good people"
"have you talked to them?"
"have i... no i have not talked to them, shit man i will send two angels to interview them alright?"
"thanks, we got a deal."
Other people rake sand around rocks in a garden designed specifically so that all of the rocks in the garden cannot ever be seen all at the same time, no matter what angle you look from.
That's pretty neat
About the rock gardens, I never knew that
Japanese Zen art.
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FandyienBut Otto, what about us? Registered Userregular
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There are fundamentalists in every religion. There is no need to single out islam.
Religion is just a catalyst for crazy people to have legitimacy. Be it christian, islam or any other faith.
don't even think about it
he will nail you 99 times with his cock
The public perceives all those Islam types are in about 5 countries next to each other to the east of Israel.
Islamic fundamentalism is more dangerous to Islam than anything else-- it may be a world religion nearly on par with Christianity--but it is a world religion with a shitload of negative press and a bad pr department.
people see it as all mellow and shit, what's the most violent thing most people know buddhists as doing? monks who light themselves on fire, i guess.
i mean buddhists have killed people in the name of religion. mostly other buddhists though, in sectarian violence in southeast asia n shit
so generally it gets seen as pretty okay
hinduism usually is okay with most people but then you say the words "caste system" and uh
Or the wrong authority!
Like that in bit in Jesus Camp where the kids pray for cardboard cut out George Bush.
Jesus Christ on a bacon flavored dog biscuit.
That man's voice. I could listen to him talk about anything.
blog facebook steam twitter
how are you supposed to do it
"Crisis of faith" is really entirely different than asking hard questions about legitimacy--but often the two are conflated for political reasons.
On the other hand asking actual "questions" about whether or not a religious ideal or dictate was valid is often very difficult and was seen by my pastors as tempting the devil or such nonsense.
Hey Weaver's back.
Man what is this naive fud you have going on.
Christianity has as much archaic beliefs as any other religion. How can you say Christianity is adapted to the modern world when half of them want to ban gay marriage. Doesn't seem very modern to me.
But that's exactly it.
Christianity stresses that authority knows what is best for you, and you should follow unquestioningly.
I could give you differences in biblical interpretations between Jews and Christians which would make this all clear, but I don't want to bore anyone.
The point is, a bunch of good Christian kids are told to worship a cardboard cut out, they just ask "for how long"?
Its pretty progressive compared to killing the shit out of the gays
also most mainstream Christian churches teach love and compassion for homosexuals --even if it is not a tolerated lifestyle right or wrong.
I learned this from a comic
Preach it Eihud
excommunications
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
tough question
depends on the sect of buddhism you ask, since what nirvana is and how to define it and achieve it is essentially the big disagreeable point between the different sects
since you're asking me i'm assuming you're asking about the sect i follow
in which case the path to nirvana can only be achieved through a full understanding and enlightened examination of the consequences of your actions and thoughts, and the repercussions of them. to discern the causal relationships between yourself and the world around you, and to achieve a perfect causal state where your every interaction is understood and measured in response.
the "middle way" is one of finding a balance in your actions and responses, to command fully how you affect and are affected by the world
basically, the idea is, by understanding and meditating on your actions and consequences, and by comprehending fully how you are impacted by effects external to you, you see the relationships between them, realize their unity and how there isn't a full difference between the two.
by understanding, and observing it, you are able to compel the outcome. sort of like the observer effect in physics, by measuring it you affect the outcome. that sort of thing.
naturally, that sort of thing takes a lot of self-analysis and intuitive nature towards others and isn't easy.
but none of that requires me blowing myself up in a cafe or beating up gays, so, i guess that's why me being religious don't make me a shitheel
god just shut up ghandi, nobody asked
yeah and someone asked too
Alright, so here it goes. This is all the Judaic interpretation, for the record.
Lets' start with Introductions. When the bible introduces Noah, he is reffered to as "a great man in his time", but when Avram/Avraham is introduced, he is called "A great man."
So, what's up with the qualifier on Noah? Well, the thing is, when god came to Noah, and said "Hey man, I'm gonna flood the entire world" Noah's response was "So, how big of a boat are we talking about?"
On the contrast, when God came to Abraham, and said "I'm going to destroy these two towns which are only full of known sinners anyway" Abraham's response was "What can I do to talk you out of this?"
Abraham was a great man because he was willing to stand up for what he knew was right (in this case, the preservation of Human life) EVEN in the face of God himself.
As long as you know what you are talking about, questioning authority is considered to be proper, and even the appropriate response at times, in Judaic cultures.
As an end note to this, let me briefly discuss the story of the binding of Isaac. You see, this story was the last time that God EVER spoke to Abraham, and that's because he messed up. When God told Abraham to kill his own Son, Abraham went and did it. He failed that test, and as a result his wife died, and God never spoke to him again. Not a pretty picture.
There's more I could get in to in the Talmud, but I figure some common biblical stories are good enough for now.
It's different for everybody.
Some dudes meditate for six years under a tree.
Other people study kung fu.
Other people rake sand around rocks in a garden designed specifically so that all of the rocks in the garden cannot ever be seen all at the same time, no matter what angle you look from.
That's pretty neat
About the rock gardens, I never knew that
Join me and together we can rule the gaza strip!
wow
I did not know that stuff
Buddhism just lost all kinds of cool in my books.
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
The appropriate response to this declaration is laughter.
"i'm going to blow up these two cities"
"aw, two whole cities! c'moooon, my nephew lives there!"
"alright fine, who is your nephew?"
"his name is lot, he's a good guy!"
"fine, i will spare lot"
"well, that's not right, lot has a wife and two daughters!"
"oh for the love of... they can't possibly all be good people"
"have you talked to them?"
"have i... no i have not talked to them, shit man i will send two angels to interview them alright?"
"thanks, we got a deal."
I made a TD for iphone and windows phone!
Japanese Zen art.
Well, I was trying to be polite so I stifled my initial laughter
Then I realized that people who beleive stuff like this are genuinely frightening