Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Justin Hale]

A quick word on people doing good things in the name of their faith (as it was mentioned in the OP).....

It is said that people have been motivated to do great things by their religion. The most cited case is Dr Martin Luther King. He was, it�s true, a minister. He did preach Exodus, the exile of an enslaved and oppressed people as his metaphor. If he really meant it, he�d have said that the oppressed people were entitled to kill anyone who stood in their way, forcefully take their land, their property, enslave their women, kill their children, commit genocide, rape, ethnic cleansing. That�s what the book of Exodus describes happening � the full destruction of other tribes. It�s very fortunate that Dr King only meant the Bible � at the most � as a metaphor, and of course he used the only book he could be sure his audience had ever really read. During his lifetime, he was also attacked all the time for having too many secular, leftist, nonbelieving friends � black secularists who actually organized the March on Washington.

Name me an ethical statement or moral action performed in the name of faith by a theist that could not have been made or done by an atheist. Religious faith is surplus to requirements�.whereas, if I were to ask "think of a wicked statement or action by a person of faith in the name of faith", no-one would have a second of hesitation before thinking of one.

[SuperHero]

[Hanson]

Amid the debating, I feel it pertinent to congratulate the OP on his use of paragraphs in this rebuttal thread.

Carry on...

[RACETRAITOR]

[flakfizer]

[Justin Hale]

[Rteacher]

A number of posts back someone ("laogaiguk") asserted the following:

There is no such thing as a good Christian. There is only a Christian who is good (or bad).

I think the reality is that everyone has both good and bad tendencies, and those who follow the teachings of liberated souls with realized knowledge of the Absolute Truth can control their lower selves and make steady progress to a higher state of being (without drugs...)

A good Christian, therefore, is one who strictly follows the real teachings of Jesus and becomes fixed in good behavior.

Of course, my understanding of the original core teachings of Jesus is that even animals should not be unnecessarily killed, and mankind should be caretakers of all living things that make up the environment.

Usually mundane religion becomes linked to economic development which faciltates sense gratification, and eventually people want salvation in order to enjoy sense gratification in the afterlife.

However, the real focus of religion should be on understanding and developing love for the unlimited person who we're all minute part-and-parcels of - and who is maintaining us all.

Ultimately, all material attachments - including to our own bodies - have to be given up in order to transcend the dual world of birth and death, which is why guidance from a completely liberated, realized soul (like Jesus) is essential for attaining total spiritual happiness.

Materialistic religionists who have deviated from the original teachings will have mixed results at best.

Although the beginning of many religions can be dated historically, one arguably can not trace out the origin of the Vedic oral tradition. Krishna claimed (5000 years ago) that he originally spoke Bhagavad-gita some 120 million years earlier to the demigod in charge of the sun.

I mention that to counter charges that all religions have been manmade.

I'm inclined to think that the original religion was personally created by God, and relatively recent religions are more-or-less copies of the original, adapted by empowered representatives to suit different times, places, and intellectual levels.

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/christianity_and_the_vedic_teachings_within_it.htm

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/christianity's_similarities_with_hinduism.htm

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/buddhism_and_its_vedic_connections.htm

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/articles_to_read.htm

[laogaiguk]

[tractor]

[caniff]

[Omkara]

The only thing more absurd about K Christianity is that it has been embraced fairly late in history, after there was enough scientific evidence to know better. In Wetsern countries, we have the bad-habit factor to justify our clinging to absurdities.

I feel embarassed for Christians for believing as they do.

Having absurd beliefs does not make a person bad, but it does make them dangerous--to themselves and others.

[crusher_of_heads]

[Captain Corea]