Friday, January 3, 2003

Some of the best advice I've ever heard: No man is your friend, no man is your enemy, every man alike is your teacher - although some may appear more or less so than others. I have found no person that I can get away from this saying with, and everytime I have tried (consciously or unconsciously) I am quickly reminded of the truth in it. - Caleb 10:04:19 PM    comment []

A conversation continued... That may be true Caleb. But the aformentioned text says Old & New Testaments which are enjoined to "religion" in a way that you cannot tease them apart. If the author wants to say great wisdom can be gained from these texts then I would never had made any comment. As it is the author specifies that the "rules" can be found in these texts. That is point on - religion. I think I understand your opinion and see value in having such a conversation but the author as presented is far more assertive than thnking and places her eggs in the basket of a religion, whether you care to admit it or not. Christopher Filkins [christopher@safersex.org] Well after consulting dictionary.com I found out we our both right in our definition of the word "religion". Here is what I found: re·li·gion  n. 1. a. Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. b. A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship. 2. The life or condition of a person in a religious order. 3. A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. 4. A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion. When I think of the word religion I think more along the line of "b" from above rather than the much looser standard of "a". If you go with "a" then basically anyone who believes that there is a power outside of themselves is religious. I guess if that label or definition works for other people then I will have to deal with that on some level, but I personally take being called religious as an insult (though that may not be the way you meant it) because it holds so much baggage that I don't associate with nor want to be associated with. I'm much more into 'here are some concepts, and they either improve your life or they don't'. In fact I'm going to go completely over the top and reference to a historical speech by Krishanamurti in 1929 in which he disbanded a group which had been organized for him from the age of 13. I will warn you ahead of time - this speech is the bomb: http://bernie.cncfamily.com/k_pathless.htm Of course, I would be remiss to point anyone to a Krishnamurti speech without mentioning the it is possible to get too irreverent, and that people have taken his words farther than I'm sure even he intended. There were many parts of the spiritual community that have taken him to task over the past several decades for 'leaving people without a life raft'. Basically the trick to making sure this doesn't happen is to understand that what he is saying doesn't mean that there isn't value to be gained from spiritual resources, just that there IS a limit to that value. A person may read a bible and gain the benefit of truly great wisdom, but at some point on the way to full enlightenment they must eventually transcend their bible. - Caleb "An Irreverent, Spiritual, Progressive, Activist Thing" http://blogs.salon.com/0001847/ 9:50:23 PM    comment []

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