Re:What if consciousness is not what drives the human mind?
by suf on Monday November 27, 2017 @12:24PM
(#15789050)
Should your ancestors have stuck to their traditions, instead of adopting the foreign Christianity?
It's absolutely ok to be anti-Christian (i.e critical of Christian doctrine). I agree with you that the enthusiasm towards other traditions of spirituality is perplexing, but I would disagree that Christianity offers any sort of more valuable refuge.
Re:What if consciousness is not what drives the human mind?
by internetman55 on Monday November 27, 2017 @02:41PM
(#15790467)
Well, that's an interesting question, and it's helping me to realize that my arguments have been quite muddled and imprecise. In the case of my ancestors, there are a few points I think are relevant. One, Christianity was a split from a several thousand years old religion, and two, my ancestors presumably joined it under the regular supervision of teachers in this faith. So even though I mixed these two points together and lost sight of my middle argument, I would agree that joining Buddhism or Islam or something under the supervision of a competent and sane teacher (and you do have to be careful here, same goes for Christianity) would likely be safer than doing drugs and miscellaneous religious practices you read about from the internet. But I guess I'm worried about the number of crazy teachers in all religions now that we're discussing this. I guess I just think everyone should take this stuff with a bit of respect and stay safe.
For whatever reason, foreign religious figures such as the Dalai Lama have more cachet than Christian figures in the minds of many modern people, and from what I understand he has stated the same thing:
"Whenever I give a large teaching, I always make clear that it is safer to follow your own traditions, rather than change to another tradition," he said. "There's less confusion. Here in the West, I do not think it advisable to follow Buddhism. Changing religions is not like changing professions. Excitement lessons over the years, and soon you are not excited, and then where are you? Homeless inside yourself."
Some folks get so tied up to their anti-Christian sentiment that they'll try to join foreign religions they have no understanding of instead of just reading what the doctors of the Church have to say about the interior life, and admitting that maybe they were a bit hasty in writing off such a complex and beautiful tradition.