Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by TNT666 on March 9, 2010 at 3:10pm

I've seen that not only in judeo-muslim-christianity but also from Buddhists.

One of my best friends is constantly going on about everyone should search for enlightenment. "You must read the Tibetan Book of the Dead". She may not have found it yet, but at least she's searching... This attitude permeates any disagreement she has socially. The minute there's an issue, for example her son's problems at school, I hear it again: oh that teacher or that parent haven't being doing the internal work/research I'VE been doing, if they looked more inside themselves and healed themselves, then they would recognise how wonderful my son is... !

I respond to her: searching for enlightenment may be your way of passing time, but others are allowed to have different ways... Searching for enlightenment is not obligatory! Then she grumbles a little and says ok, but it always comes back :)

IMO it touches at the very essential nature of religiosity, the perpetual quest to be "better" than others.

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on April 1, 2010 at 3:40pm

Searching for enlightenment is a luxury. Most people have mind-numbingly horrible jobs to worry about.

Permalink Reply by TNT666 on April 1, 2010 at 6:24pm

She has through the years been my most steadfast friend, and I'm not always easy, I love her dearly. She considers herself spiritual, in the sense of not agnostic, not religious, not atheist, for her, Buddhism is it's own form of philosophy which not not preclude "higher beings" or "higher forces".

She doesn't teach her son any religion, but he hangs out with a bunch of Bahai' kids, and they are very devout. They do the Sunday afternoon "lessons" thing and he (10y/o) often partakes. I've tried to 'detect' what's going on in his mind with regards to 'beings' but I cannot find out anything more without being intrusive...

The other thing that erks me is this. If there is such clear racism inherent to being religious, why are all the visible minorities (and not visible) so bloody religious. Why doesn't everybody see what we see?

Permalink Reply by Moe Jones on March 30, 2010 at 6:49pm

Indeed. This was pretty much a no-brainer. But empirical data is always appreciated. Don't want to be hypocritical and all. Still, the results should come as no surprise. When one professes to have the "one and only truth," they typically have no reservations about persecuting those in error. Belief in the after life doesn't help either. It all but provides incentive to do so. "Don't worry, they'll get another chance when Christ returns or in the next life." I've always said the only problem with the uneducated masses is that they're massively uneducated. Ignorance and piety are a bad combination...

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on March 30, 2010 at 10:43pm

Ignorance and piety are a bad combination

Understatement! And very common, sadly.

Permalink Reply by Moe Jones on March 31, 2010 at 4:25pm

Indeed. One might be even tempted to say -- redundant.

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on April 4, 2010 at 9:10am

It's going back in time, but when I was growing up, the place where i learned about racism was the Baptist church my family attended. It was an all white church, and they were filled with hate and racism. Since that time, I have not been around religious people very much, and I don't want to paint every religious person with the same brush - but you can't forget personal experience, either.

Permalink Reply by Prog Rock Girl on April 1, 2010 at 3:42pm

But at the same time various religions believe that they are the ones discriminated against, even if their "discrimination" is just not being allowed to discriminate. Muslims actually equated their religion with race, and have so far fooled a lot of people into thinking it's racist to have a problem with them.