Write4U - 24 January 2012 11:49 PM

catey.condon - 24 January 2012 09:42 PM

We are a relatively new country and have not had time to hash out certain issues. I think that maybe the religious people are quieter or calmer about it in some overseas countries

I find it very interesting that the Abrahamic religions are the most extrovert and exclusive and actually allow violence. The eastern deistic religions seem to be much more introspective and solitary, stressing inner peace and tranquility.

The Hindu’s in India are not so “tranquill”

dougsmith - 25 January 2012 05:25 AM

TimB - 25 January 2012 12:35 AM

Write4U - 24 January 2012 11:49 PM

I find it very interesting that the Abrahamic religions are the most extrovert and exclusive and actually allow violence. The eastern deistic religions seem to be much more introspective and solitary, stressing inner peace and tranquility.

Buhdism (sp?) seems nice, what little I know about it.  No god, no sin (only longer paths to enlightenment) and chanting about the sacred teachings of karma, hardly seems like a religion at all.

Buddhism is borderline religious in its origins: the earliest teachings we have from the Buddha (the Pali Canon) are mostly about psychological and moral wellbeing; he viewed the two as interrelated. In that it’s not so different from Aristotle, though Buddhist practice did include meditation and chanting. (As with all pre-literate traditions like the Iliad and the Odyssey, chanting was necessary to memorize and retain the relevant information).

But Buddhism quickly took on all the ordinary trappings of religion. There are Buddhist deities both good and evil, there is even a notion that is similar to God (Buddha Nature that pervades the universe). There is no notion of original or infinitely punishable sin like in Christianity, but there is a notion of evil actions that get you bad karma which must be discharged in this life or the next lives. (Reincarnation). In practice, in places like Tibet there are also notions of magical spells and incantations, etc., invoking deities and devils for human purposes.

It’s possible to practice Buddhism without believing all that rot, because I would argue the core teaching of the Buddha is essentially psychological in character. There is nothing essentially supernatural about it. But to do so would be to reject virtually the entirety of contemporary Buddhist practice.

...

Thanks for the insights, as this is one of your areas of study

TimB - 25 January 2012 11:04 AM

Thanks for the insights, as this is one of your areas of study

No problem. I should add that the Buddhism of the Pali Canon also included reincarnation and karma (which are indeed supernaturalist), and IIRC also does include references to supernatural beings and minor deities of the kind that essentially everyone in India believed at that time. But then so too did Socrates.

mid atlantic - 05 January 2012 03:36 AM

Is the claim that the USA is a Christian country actually true? The thread about an atheist political party got me thinking. Is it possible that we are -  what do you think?

An entity can label him/it self whatever it pleases. It is affixed by God or given credence when the principles are seen by him to be followed.

You take for example Christianity(you could have picked any one).

In Christianity it states that in order to be Christian all individuals(citizens I assume) must be baptized by desire or of water. It states an entity/individual if in a state of mortal sin does not accumulate good until it/he has regained it’s friendship with God through penance. This means for instance that if an individual is culpable of mortal sin 50 years ago and he had a good life from then on, contributed to the community and did everything else right, then he doesn’t make it to heaven.

So if a nation for instance retains the death penalty and does everything else right, then it too does not find favor with God, and any good it does is not credited to it.  Therefore this nation is not Christian in the eyes of God. (I am assuming consistency and a just God. No double standards with me. (smile))

Spence

Quoting Spence:

So if a nation for instance retains the death penalty and does everything else right, then it too does not find favor with God, and any good it does is not credited to it.  Therefore this nation is not Christian in the eyes of God. (I am assuming consistency and a just God. No double standards with me.

  It would seem to me that there’s a far greater reason that the nation wouldn’t be considered Christian and be doomed.

Exodus 35:2 clearly states that anyone who works on the sabbath should be put to death, and we haven’t written any laws in compliance with that. 

Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, but our government has laws that disagree with this.

The government has written laws prohibiting us from selling our children into slavery as allowed by Exodus 21:7.

Lev.15: 19-24 prohibits contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness, but we have written no laws covering this.  If our country allows this, are we in further danger of being doomed?

We have many air pollution laws which would prohibit burning a bull even though it would create a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. Another infraction?

Lev. 11:10 says eating shellfish is an abomination, yet we have no laws prohibiting lobster, crab, and shrimp from being served in restaurants.  Which will be damned to hell for this, the government, the restaurants or the patrons?

Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight.  I haven’t seen any denomination in the U.S. which prohibits those who wear glasses from attending their churches.  I guess this means all U.S. citizens who need visual correction and have visited a church are doomed.

Lev.19:27 expressly forbid males from getting their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples.  This pretty well wipes out the U.S. male population.

Lev.19:19 prohibits wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread such as a cotton/polyester blend.  Since most clothes are now blends is our country made up of all sinners?

With great thanks to:
James M. Kauffman, Ed.D. Professor Emeritus,
Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education
University of Virginia

Occam