The Truth About Cats and Dogs in Black and White

Truth is just one person's reality. Here is mine in black and white (maybe some shades of gray). This blog has little to do with Cats or Dogs - just humourous sarcastic antics about my life or occasionally, someone else's. You know, intercepting volleyballs with my face, egg dropping, etc. The truth has seen some changes and in fluidity with change expect to see more artistic expressions posting up - so give your two cents worth!

Thursday, March 23, 2006

Religious highway, more like surburban side street


I had today's post handed to me at the door this morning. My invitation to their Kingdom. This isn't going to be some South Park satirism. That is another story - people who can not appreciate the art of satire - the fable of the 21st Century. I believe in compassion, it is the axiom of all world religions. This is why I am polite and sometimes too tolerant of tele-sales and door-to-door religious marketing. So I listen, as it is important to understand people before judging them. Then I play the "ok, that is your interpretation, now here is what my spiritual guide says." The door-to-door religious meeting should be a give-take relationship, although it is my personal belief that this type of religious solicitation is not morally sound.

She was a lovely lady, very polite, and didn't say anything crazy or bless me and when I told her that my spiritual beliefs fall elsewhere and outside the realm of traditional Christianity she didn't even flinch or condemn me to hell (ok a little sarcasm). Obviously surprised by the absence of the door in her face I explained that I do find religion fascinating (mostly the impact of religious and spiritual influence on one's relationship with nature) and noted that nothing that she had professed, in fact, conflicts with my "scripture." Different authors and publication dates. And this is my point really. People are fundamentally the same. Religion is fundamentally the same. Belief in whatever form - an omnipresece or science, fulfills a role in our spiritual fullfilment our raison d'etre. I can't name one religion that does not vehemently teach compassion or revere the cause of peace. So what is the world missing? Tolerance. Understanding. While other people choose to congregate, I choose to meditate in solitude and as often as possible in natural surroundings. I found my own path and won't be biting the hook of any religious fisherman but if their boat was sinking I would help them to land.
Unknown 10:28 a.m.
Comments...

I think that more people should be understanding of other people's faith or spirituality. I also think they are fundamentally the same and people just express it in different ways.

posted by Blogger Laurie Roche : 11:48 a.m.  

Did I mention that I'm Catholic...the ever so tolerate religion. In fact I have a funny joke about Catholics and heaven.

posted by Blogger Laurie Roche : 11:49 a.m.  

You do...I love that joke...

posted by Blogger Unknown : 11:52 a.m.  

just found your blog randomly, very interesting :)

posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 1:01 p.m.  

I like that analogoy (as I am a big fan of analogies) I would add that not everyone knows what they are looking for on top of the mountain, just climbing aimlessly. Sure some people are searching for god, some are searching for self, some are searching for the mystical tzu tzu tree where the magical tzu tzu flower blooms. I'll be happy with enlightenment...but I'm open to what I find there.

posted by Blogger Unknown : 2:07 p.m.  

I don't like religion, it is just a way to control the masses, keep them in order (you must do this, this and this or you go to hell) and get them to die for someone else's cause.

Religion is the cause of all the world's ills, it is the antithesis of peace, tolerance and harmony.

posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 3:59 p.m.  

I'm not particularly fond of organised religion. I'm a bit of a forest dweller, feel food, flakey type. Spiritual is far more important to me but it essentially fills the same role.

You can't lump them all into one god-fearing group. There are many that lack the concept of hell and not everyone blows themselves up for greater glory. I think calling it the antithesis of peace, tolerance, and harmony is a stretch. We all have our bad apples. As long as we don't use it to justify the means. It's kinda like communism (if there is a hell I'm definately going there for comparing religion to communism) In theory, communism works. In reality someone has to disrupt the status quo.

I don't mean to offend anyone but I think the world needs more humanitarian dialogue to understand diversity and embrace it.

posted by Blogger Unknown : 6:11 p.m.  

PS. Glad to see you back! You have been keeping an awfully low profile?

posted by Blogger Unknown : 6:17 p.m.  

I agree with you Jilly.

I also totally disagree with anon.
"Religion is the cause of all the world's ills, it is the antithesis of peace, tolerance and harmony."

Haha, now that is funny.
The world had ills long before there was organized religion, and to say organized religion is the antithesis of peace, tolerance, and harmony is blatantly wrong.

Anyone been beat up by a Buddhist lately?

If organized religion didn't exist the fundamentalists would find some other doctrine to blame for their atrocities.

posted by Blogger justacoolcat : 6:49 p.m.  

Even Buddhism has its divisions and where there are differences and divisions in religion, there are potential problems.

All religions are the same, one guy receives divine inspiration and decides that from now on he will live his life a certain way. His followers then decide that everyone must follow his strict guidelines in order to reach heaven, This is the same with Buddhism and Sikhism through to Christianity and Islam.

Personally I think that if people accepted that there is no heaven or hell and that life is all there is then they may treasure it more and think more about what they are taking away from others; instead of spending their lives in some frantic and misguided attempt to get into heaven by the shortest route.

posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8:35 p.m.  

I'm afraid that my beliefs do not fit into your sweeping generalisations about all religions. And perhaps you missed the point that I was not speaking pointedly to organised religions - belief systems in general.

I believe that people are fundamentally compassionate. I respect life. Life is sacred. I do not believe in strict guidelines and I am certainly not taking the easy way anywhere. My life's purpose has very little to do with getting into heaven or winning medals or procreating (highly overated life purposes). My life's purpose is to share my love and respect of nature. That is what I do. And just because I believe that every living things deserves respect and has an intrinsic value apart from our narrowed human valuation process doesn't mean I have taken anything away from any one else.

There are potential problems every morning I wake up but I still get up. There are potential problems because the 6 million plus people in the world don't understand each other's language. There are potential problems because my skin has different pigmentation from my neighbour. Do you want cookie-cutter human beings - blonde hair and blue eyes - that didn't wash so well aas I recall.

So, clearly you are not religious. You claim that religion "is the cause of all the world's ills, it is the antithesis of peace, tolerance and harmony" so then how is it that you, being such a non-believer, are so obviously tolerant of diversity?

posted by Blogger Unknown : 11:59 p.m.  

I apologise, I didn't mean to cause offence. I wasn't taking pot shots are your beliefs, I meant religion as in a way of life; sticking to a serious of teachings and customs and so on.

I suppose I was really talking about organised religion, or any religion where they feel the need to impose their beliefs on others.

I agree that people are generally compassionate but it is religion that then teaches these compassionate people that their neigbour isn't living his life the way he should, he is therefore different, wrong and should not be accorded the same compassion as one of 'us.' There are few conflicts in history that weren't fought because of religion.

I'm guessing that the tolerance part was sarcastic? I am a tolerant person, I was always taught to respect and understand the beliefs of others, doesn't mean that I have to agree with them though. I also believe that tolerance should be reciprecated, but religion puts a bar on that.

posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11:16 a.m.  

I would think for many it is part of a way of life. Many organised religions do not pimp their religions off on others or proclaim to be on the top of the evolutionary-relgious ladder (now there is a contradictory. Speaking of which, tangent, I actualy met somewhere last year who doesn't believe in evolution but works in ecology. No further comment. Even some of the more radical groups do some very good community work. See analogy redarding circling the mountain above.

Sorry about the sarcasm bit...you must really expect it by now. It just "sounded" rather oxymoronic...I'm sure you are quite tolerant but alluding to the social insanity of the brainwashed masses of religious or spiritual followers doesn't help the cause. Furthermore, if I thought you were come uncompassionate lunatic I wouldn't have wasted my...my...ink? finger muscles? I like loyal commentators.

posted by Blogger Unknown : 11:26 p.m.  


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