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I've been reading a lot on Islam lately and find it fascinating.
Interesting that the Koran really is a far more peaceful book than the Bible.
It has none of the absolutely frightful deathly proclamations of the Old Testament where people can be murdered for dozens of the most bizarre reasons.
I'm intrigued as well by the Islamic notion that interest is forbidden and is a form of enslavement.
My father was a successful banker all his life and rose right up the ranks to become a director.
In his old age he concluded the banking system he worked in was actually quite evil and a form of enslaving the ordinary worker in so many ways.
Did Atheists start a war in the Middle East? Blair is a Catholic, Bush is a Christian. Benny is a Jew and Yasser Arafat Rawhi was a Muslim same as Abu Mazen.
There isn't a thing I read that I disagree with that are purported to be the teachings of Jesus He was the most gentle & knowledgeable man.
Did he actually exist? Well the history really is as good as any history so I tend to think he did.
If not somebody unbelievably clever set in motion an extraordinary cult that over a billion people follow these days.
Sadly like most religions it's become awfully corrupted with bizarre and scary cults within "Christianity".
# I met the Dalia Lama once.
I was at the opening of a shop in Sydney where the athlete Cathy Freeman was the guest.
Word came through that the Dalia Lama at a nearby hotel wanted to met an Aboriginal person as he never had.
I convinced Cathy to go and she walked quickly with great lopes with her really long legs while I trotted to keep up.
We both briefly met the Dalai Lama who gave us long white scarves and one of his aides then drove us back to the shop.
He told us people often feel very light headed after meeting him.
Cathy got up to give a speech and she wandered off in a bizzare tangent and then said "I feel like I'm floating". I felt the same..bizarrely light headed with my head sort of spinning.
So, did Muhammad split the moon and ride around the galaxies on a horse? That must have been some acid trip. Not even Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac had trips like that.
In RE getting told that about Muhammad over 45 years years ago, the whole class burst out in laughter. If they did now, the school and teacher would have a Fatwa over their heads. When we laughed the teacher laughed also.
hedda wrote: There isn't a thing I read that I disagree with that are purported to be the teachings of Jesus He was the most gentle & knowledgeable man.
I agree the Jesus of the New Testament is an astonishing figure, in terms of compassion, psychological understanding and wisdom.
What sets Christianity apart from it's older and more recent siblings, Judaism and Islam, is that it is concerned with what kind of a person we are, rather than just endless prescriptions on behaviours.
But of course yes in many groups it gets corrupted and distorted and used for earthly ends...
Green Man wrote: So, did Muhammad split the moon and ride around the galaxies on a horse? That must have been some acid trip. Not even Peter Green from Fleetwood Mac had trips like that.
You almost bumped me off there GM. Very nearly choked to death on me Latte.
hedda wrote: There isn't a thing I read that I disagree with that are purported to be the teachings of Jesus He was the most gentle & knowledgeable man.
Did he actually exist? Well the history really is as good as any history so I tend to think he did.
If not somebody unbelievably clever set in motion an extraordinary cult that over a billion people follow these days.
Sadly like most religions it's become awfully corrupted with bizarre and scary cults within "Christianity".
# I met the Dalia Lama once.
I was at the opening of a shop in Sydney where the athlete Cathy Freeman was the guest.
Word came through that the Dalia Lama at a nearby hotel wanted to met an Aboriginal person as he never had.
I convinced Cathy to go and she walked quickly with great lopes with her really long legs while I trotted to keep up.
We both briefly met the Dalai Lama who gave us long white scarves and one of his aides then drove us back to the shop.
He told us people often feel very light headed after meeting him.
Cathy got up to give a speech and she wandered off in a bizzare tangent and then said "I feel like I'm floating". I felt the same..bizarrely light headed with my head sort of spinning.
So odd.
This Lama Hedda?
What is it with cult and religious leaders having a thing for children?
Green Man wrote: Do Atheists issue out Fatwas Wyot?
I read a lot of Richard Dawkins, he has never said to kill those who are not Atheists.
You raise two interesting points GM.
An atheist could issue a fatwa yes. It may be that the atheist belives he is an Islamist (or more broadly theist). He assumes the label for a variety of reasons. But a person's spiritual maturity is not properly measured by their proclaimed devotions. It is measured by their actions.
This was, of course, the distinction Jesus drew with the Pharisees; and which saw him crucified.
Similarly Blair may call himself a Christian but he is mistaken or lying. Christ said to love thy neighbour, not to kill and offer the other cheek. If we look beyond Blair's self-labelling, he is no Christian, whatever he may tell himself.
It is possible to call yourself a Christian, or a communist, or a freedom fighter, or a soldier and find reasons to be able to kill.
This is human psychology; not at any meaningful level or even interesting level, is the root cause religion.
We need to look beyond labels. Most people don't know themselves well enough to accurately inform us who they are.
To Dawkins:
I too have read him and also recall no call to murder believers. But I have also read Thomas Aquinas and don't recall a call to murder those who are not Christians.
I don't think Atheists gave Rushdie a Fatwa, Cat Stevens wanted harm done to him though. You can do your own deep-dive research about Stevens and Rushdie.
I don't think Atheists gave Rushdie a Fatwa, Cat Stevens wanted harm done to him though. You can do your own deep-dive research about Stevens and Rushdie.
I see we aren't going to move this one on tremendously....
I don't think Atheists gave Rushdie a Fatwa, Cat Stevens wanted harm done to him though. You can do your own deep-dive research about Stevens and Rushdie.
I see we aren't going to move this one on tremendously....
Probably not Wyot.
However we can talk about Noah if you look like a drunkard, lived to be 950 years old but it was booze that killed him. How did het get croc and gators on the Ark?
How did he clear stench of 2 skunks on is bad enough?
Seems the Gospels made it up as they went along, I wonder if they were getting paid a penny a word like L.Ron Hubbard?
Luke 14:26 is probably one of the vile parts in the Bible. “If any man come to Me and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
I'm not getting into a strawman argument about whether God exists or Christianity is "true". I never even said I believe or not. Your last two posts have got nothing to do with mine.
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You almost bumped me off there GM. Very nearly choked to death on me Latte.
