04-19-2007, 08:00 PM
Interesting topic, something I've wrestled with forever - the whole question of faith. It's Jesus here, but you could conceivably extend this debate to most religious texts. If their historical validity is questionable â and in truth, all history is, to some extent, since we can't go back in time to verify it personally â does that also put in doubt the accompanying religious beliefs & dictums? If Christianity holds that one of Jesus' teachings was to turn the other cheek, how relevant is the question of whether there was a Jesus and that he indeed rose from the dead, etc?
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<b> One of the reasons Vedanta appeals to me is that its tenets stand at arm's distance from historical facts. For instance, the great battle of Mahabharatha may be the setting for the Bhagavad Gita, but it has relatively little to do with the appeal of its teachings.</b>
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I think the reason we get so caught up in the historical background of our religions is because we need to prove our religion is 'right'. Hey, my authority figure (insert prophet/God/Son_of_God) pulled off this miraculous feat (rose from the dead, levitated, spoke in tongues, etc), so my religion must be the RIGHT one. Taken to extremes, this gives me justification to kill/plunder/burn you, but on an everyman/everyday level, I just feel righteous/good/morally superior.
How 'bout we just say: "these are my beliefs/fictions and those are yours". No, instead it's "this is my Truth and I'm going to stuff it down your throat".
<span style='color:orange'>
<b> One of the reasons Vedanta appeals to me is that its tenets stand at arm's distance from historical facts. For instance, the great battle of Mahabharatha may be the setting for the Bhagavad Gita, but it has relatively little to do with the appeal of its teachings.</b>
</span>
I think the reason we get so caught up in the historical background of our religions is because we need to prove our religion is 'right'. Hey, my authority figure (insert prophet/God/Son_of_God) pulled off this miraculous feat (rose from the dead, levitated, spoke in tongues, etc), so my religion must be the RIGHT one. Taken to extremes, this gives me justification to kill/plunder/burn you, but on an everyman/everyday level, I just feel righteous/good/morally superior.
How 'bout we just say: "these are my beliefs/fictions and those are yours". No, instead it's "this is my Truth and I'm going to stuff it down your throat".