Would Polytheism Be Better For Us ?

[karlhenning]

Every religion has its fair share of commandments.  Are you going to contemplate each of them?  You'll be one very busy man.

You read my mind, mon vieux!

Poor chap has too much time on his hands 

[Bulldog]

The pronouncements and commandments of the Jewish God, Yahweh, do not give you pause ?

News Flash!  There is not a Jewish God and a Christian God.  Both religions pray to the same God.

[Bulldog]

Elgarian,
For instance, are you able to respect the beliefs of, say, Orthodox Judaism ?  And why ?

The pertinent question is this - are you able to respect that other people have different beliefs?  If you are, everthing is well. 

[Homo Aestheticus]

The pertinent question is this - are you able to respect that other people have different beliefs?  If you are, everthing is well. 

But there is so much 'picking and choosing' that goes on in religion... How does one know when to stop or start with it all ? 

[drogulus]

The pertinent question is this - are you able to respect that other people have different beliefs?  If you are, everthing is well. 

     Not everything, Shirley, er Bulldog. Once we've taken care of our obligation to respect peoples beliefs in the prescribed manner of guaranteeing the free exercise, etc. other questions have to be dealt with, like the warrant for holding any of them. This is where the "good for us" approach falls down badly. It won't often tell you what you want to know. For example, I'm sometimes tempted to disbelieve the particle/wave duality of quantum mechanics because I suspect, at the level of intuition , that it's interfering with the proper function of my immune system. Since I don't want to impair the free exercise of my opinion that this is so I've been reluctant to take steps to find out if this is actually true. Would it be disrespectful to treat the quantum health question as one pertaining to facts of the matter, or does belief status immunize questions from this kind of analysis? If something is a belief, can it also be a fact? Please provide an answer ASAP, because I'm not feeling well.

     

[Bulldog]

But there is so much 'picking and choosing' that goes on in religion... How does one know when to stop or start with it all ? 

That comes from within yourself.  The answers to these vexing questions are much easier to come by if you have a good sense of your own being.

Karl, David, Catison and others are confident in their beliefs; non-believers in the group are confident in theirs as well.  You can join all of them if you stop looking at the entire menu as a mine-field.

[Bulldog]

     Not everything, Shirley, er Bulldog. Once we've taken care of our obligation to respect peoples beliefs in the prescribed manner of guaranteeing the free exercise, etc. other questions have to be dealt with, like the warrant for holding any of them.

The warrant does not have to be dealt with.  You want to deal with it (which is your right).

[Homo Aestheticus]

Elgarian,

Because I don't have a monopoly on wisdom.

Excuse me but do you honestly believe that Judaism contains more wisdom and sensitivity towards the human condition than Spinoza's  Ethics ?   

[karlhenning]

I love the way he asks questions, and doesn't pay any mind to answers.

And don't the commandments of Vishnu give you pause?

[Dr. Dread]

[Florestan]

Excuse me but do you honestly believe that Judaism contains more wisdom and sensitivity towards the human condition than Spinoza's  Ethics ?   

There he goes again...

[Elgarian]

Really ?
The pronouncements and commandments of the Jewish God, Yahweh, do not give you pause ?

The pronouncements of vast numbers of people and/or their deities give me pause. Why single out this one?

Excuse me but do you honestly believe that Judaism contains more wisdom and sensitivity towards the human condition than Spinoza's  Ethics ?

You put that question as if I had expressed that particular belief, which I didn't. But in any case, that's a problem for you to solve, if it bothers you. I have no interest myself in pursuing it.

[Homo Aestheticus]

You put that question as if I had expressed that particular belief, which I didn't. But in any case, that's a problem for you to solve, if it bothers you. I have no interest myself in pursuing it.

True, you did not express that belief you seem very tolerant... Will you at least acknowledge some of the absurdities of organized religion ?

[Florestan]

the absurdities of organized religion

Do you really believe that your beloved polytheism was less organized than Judaism? Or that it had no absurdities?

[Homo Aestheticus]

Do you really believe that your beloved polytheism was less organized than Judaism? Or that it had no absurdities?

No, of course not.

Btw, I first brought up polytheism because I agreed with the author that it may better explain the problem evil in the world, that's all. 

I just wish Elgarian would acknowledge some of the absurdities of the Abrahamic faiths. He said that he doesn't have a 'monopoly on wisdom' which implied that Judaism offers a good amount of wisdom.

[Florestan]

Judaism offers a good amount of wisdom.

That's true. Judaism doesn't reduce to its countless prescriptions, rules and interdictions. You make the mistake of looking very attentively at the finger when a sage points you the moon.

[karlhenning]

There he goes again...

If he doesn't agree with anything someone else has said before, it just doesn't exist.

[karlhenning]

True, you did not express that belief you seem very tolerant... Will you at least acknowledge some of the absurdities of organized religion ?

They are as nothing compared to your absurdities, bub.

[Elgarian]

Will you at least acknowledge some of the absurdities of organized religion ?

But why single out organised religion? The whole of human history is full of absurdities. Why would we expect organised religion to be free of them?

He said that he doesn't have a 'monopoly on wisdom' which implied that Judaism offers a good amount of wisdom.

It implied no such thing. It implied that I am not all-seeing, all-knowing; it implied that I may be wrong about almost anything, including Judaism - indeed, I know too little about Judaism to say anything of any use to you (or anyone else) about it.

You're twisting my statements - which essentially have nothing to do with Judaism (in which I have very little interest) - to suit your personal agenda. I'm not willing to continue under those circumstances.

[karlhenning]

You're twisting my statements - which essentially have nothing to do with Judaism (in which I have very little interest) - to suit your personal agenda.

Ah! I see you've met Eric!

I suppose my favorite segment of any given piece of music will likely continue to change as long as my neurons fire.