Find out what it means to me...
BTW, does the teddy bear pix offend you? Tough noogies...you've come to the wrong place. To the best of my knowledge, I don't respect any religion, except maybe the Force and that's only because of Yoda. Which brings me to my point, relatively quickly for me...I respect people.
And that respect is invariably earned. I have met some holy men and women in my travels who have my utmost respect. Interestingly enough, they're from a pretty wide sweep of religions. As for the Prophet, when I spoke the eulogy at my father's funeral, I chose words from the Qur'an, a book that — unlike most of those other morons waving signs to kill this person or that person — I have actually read.
Cute bear, huh? A tip of the ole AK-47 to Seeker-Two for the link!
Glad you enjoyed the link. I'm thinking about getting the attorney bear...for my next range trip. ;)
ReplyDeleteNo respect for any religion? You have revealed a little too much here...sorry a definite turnoff. If anything, I could understand a reasonable amount of respect for the tenets of say the Christian faith but mistrust of the individual faith leaders. Sorry to hear your feel this way.
ReplyDeleteWell spoken, Michael. The thumpers would have us all believe that religeon deserves respect as a right, when religeons (all religeons) so often show a significant lack of respect for contrary belief systems.
ReplyDeleteI share your thesis: if you would have my respect you must earn it, not simply demand it.
Sorry...only people count.
ReplyDeleteMichael B
Well then your second amendment rights don't count since they are just words and concepts. Inconsistent Mr. Bane.
ReplyDeleteSIGH...if you want consistency, you've definitely come to the wrong place. I am seldom consistent — even tat this late date, I consider myself a "work in process."
ReplyDeleteHowever, NJ, you compared apples and pomegranates. The 2nd isn't just a "concept." It is part of the codified law of the land, essentially what we as a people have agreed upon as the boundaries of our individual actions. Laws are all about what's in your head; laws certainly spring from concepts, but once they are accepted, they become one of the primary defining factors of a society.
Religion, however, is all about what's in your heart, and the only maps of that territory are what you choose to tell me. You say "I am a Christian" or "I am a Muslem," and I am supposed to believe that those statements are emblematic of your belief system. But belief systems are notoriously flexible...giving aside the current slaughter that is going on in the name of Allah — a slaughter that I believe the Prophet would find sickening — Christians are hardly without blood on their hands. I suspect that throughout history more people have died under the order of the Vatican than all the mullahs who have ever lived.
As humans, we happily slaughter under the nine billion names for God, not to mention a huge assortment of lesser deities, pretenders, crackedpots, assorted lunatics and just because the moon is full.
If you break a law, society has agreed to punish you and punish you publcly. If you break a tenant of your faith, you get to pick your punishment.
So in my world, rightly or wrongly,it's trust but verify. Or, to use the Marine version of the same thought, "Be polite; be professional; but have a plan to kill everyone you meet."
Michael B
Laws are the framework by which the power elites in most societies impose control over the people (e.g. the assault rifle ban, IRS etc. Even the beloved Constitution – remember that Slave clause?). Laws do not reflect some universal agreement. They may claim that, but I don’t believe it. And oh by the way when they do, they do it under the name of the creator. The work product of politicians are laws. They view a good day as one in which they have thought up some cockamamie law. Did you ever think that at some point the politicians might say “that’s it, we’re done. Enough laws.”? Nope. Its just never complete. Wonder why. By some magic this country was just lucky enough to have some great men contributing to the Constitution. Turned out pretty good, but as I said even that is not perfect.
ReplyDeleteBut to the point, religion is also a framework. A moral framework. It defines ones life and BEHAVIOR towards others besides any supernatural part. But in this case you DO get a vote. You can believe Bushido or Buddha, Christianity or Zoroastrianism, whatever. You can interpret it any old way you want. You may get sanctioned by some of the officer corps in the organized group but it can’t stop you from believing what you want. And guess what? That takes place in the head. Last time I checked the heart was a pump.
As for the slaughter part, I do suggest you read up on some of the religions. Last time I checked good old chairman Mao, Hitler and Uncle Joe killed 200 MILLION people. As for the prophet being sickened by slaughter, nah. Islam is the furthest from a peaceful religion. A good primer are Robert Spencers books. Rape, murder and pillage are in fact part of their framework. Read of the life of the phophet. I don’t buy into that.
So in the end its all about a man having some framework on which he hangs his coat. To simply not have one is to be a sociopath. What is good for me I do. These are the feral animals that need to be removed from society. My take is that it’s all about not going to the dark side. There is a greater force and I don’t want to mess with it.
But I will let this be my last say.