While I am not opposed to atheism, I think that religion can be a worthwhile and positive aspect to people's lives. However, this tends to be true only in moderation. Devoting oneself wholly to one's religion is admirable, but only tends to work if one takes measures to remove oneself from the regular world, by joining a monastic order or by secluding oneself away from mainstream civilisation. Attempting to practice one's religion in an extreme way while remaining an active part of mainstream society usually results in unhappiness both for one, and for the people around one.
As most people are not interested in joining a monastic order, they usually attempt to balance their religion with their secular life - although of course, the degrees to which they succeed vary widely. If anyone reading this would like to share their experiences balancing religion with secular life, I'd appreciate it!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
A Different Level
In class, we discussed the difference between the popular conception of Buddhism's regulation of emotions and the reality - the former that it simply removes the highs and lows of emotion, and the latter that it causes one's emotions to exist on a totally different level. I still wonder, however, how much actual joy is involved in achieving a disconnect from all attachment. It seems to me (and I could be wrong, of course) that the most significant joys in life are connected to attachment - stargazing with a good friend, for example. If one was not attached to such a friend, I would imagine that one would appreciate their company less; not to say that one could not appreciate them, but that a significant element of the appreciation would be gone.
Perhaps a middle ground between attachment and disconnection would be the ideal state for emotions. If one does develop attachments, and thus does feel loss when those attachments fail, but then learns to eventually let go of that loss, one can experience the best of both worlds.
I am not certain of my ideas here, so if anyone has comments I'd appreciate the input!
Perhaps a middle ground between attachment and disconnection would be the ideal state for emotions. If one does develop attachments, and thus does feel loss when those attachments fail, but then learns to eventually let go of that loss, one can experience the best of both worlds.
I am not certain of my ideas here, so if anyone has comments I'd appreciate the input!
Response: Extremism and Visibility
In response to Lauren Feeney's post "The Thing About Christians" (April 14, 2012):
Very interesting article! I agree that many people are obsessed with Christianity, probably because it has become such a visible force in politics today. It does seem as though the most extreme Christians are the ones making policy these days - for example, the Vatican has some ridiculously strict doctrines, but most people I know who identify as Catholic are much more moderate in their views. This extremism, I think, is not only detrimental to atheists, agnostics, and non-Christian theists, but to any Christians who have less extreme views than those visible few. In fact, it may do more damage to such moderate Christians, because it may cause many non-Christians to assume that every Christian is a fanatical extremist (like Fred Phelps, or someone similarly awful).
A quick side note - I could have missed it, but reading the article, I didn't notice Seven mention Catholicism. It seems like he was commenting on Christianity in general, not Catholicism specifically.
Very interesting article! I agree that many people are obsessed with Christianity, probably because it has become such a visible force in politics today. It does seem as though the most extreme Christians are the ones making policy these days - for example, the Vatican has some ridiculously strict doctrines, but most people I know who identify as Catholic are much more moderate in their views. This extremism, I think, is not only detrimental to atheists, agnostics, and non-Christian theists, but to any Christians who have less extreme views than those visible few. In fact, it may do more damage to such moderate Christians, because it may cause many non-Christians to assume that every Christian is a fanatical extremist (like Fred Phelps, or someone similarly awful).
A quick side note - I could have missed it, but reading the article, I didn't notice Seven mention Catholicism. It seems like he was commenting on Christianity in general, not Catholicism specifically.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Response: Theological Curiosity
In response to Ryan Walters' post "Respect" (April 8, 2012):
I do not think that attending a church, and/or participating in its activities, without belonging to that church's denomination is disrespectful at all. Unless the church states that only members of the religion are allowed within, you are simply taking advantage of an open invitation. In fact, I think that many churches would probably welcome visitors, due to the chance of gaining new members of the faith. Curiosity about other systems of belief is an indication of an admirable sort of open-mindedness, I think. As long as you do not take the opportunity of being in a church to cause disruption amongst the other attendees (for example, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church shouting and throwing rotten fruit in a Unitarian Universalist church), there is no reason not to attend churches (or other places of worship) for all the religions you wish to investigate.
I do not think that attending a church, and/or participating in its activities, without belonging to that church's denomination is disrespectful at all. Unless the church states that only members of the religion are allowed within, you are simply taking advantage of an open invitation. In fact, I think that many churches would probably welcome visitors, due to the chance of gaining new members of the faith. Curiosity about other systems of belief is an indication of an admirable sort of open-mindedness, I think. As long as you do not take the opportunity of being in a church to cause disruption amongst the other attendees (for example, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church shouting and throwing rotten fruit in a Unitarian Universalist church), there is no reason not to attend churches (or other places of worship) for all the religions you wish to investigate.
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