Which Religion is the biggest physical threat?

[maarts]

[Ryosuke]

Religion is all good and well, but it has nothing on fried tofu:

[KooL]

Oh man, what are you doing to me here? That looks scrumptious....

[Ryosuke]

Cool emoticon.

Not only are fried tofu better than relgion, they're also better than Nelson.

[sisyphus]

agadashi tofu is my favorite. mm. do i spell that right? no idea.

[Kensterberg]

I haven't read anything on this board, but I assume you're asking which religious group is the most likely to be able to kick your ass. I'm right, aren't I?

Well, considering that Zen/Daoist monks invented a shitload of martial arts, that's who I'm going with. I'm pretty sure that Zen/Daoism is among the very few mainstream world religions where learning how to kick ass is the same thing as prayer. Certainly their holy men could kick the ass of any Christian minister, bishop or Pope, or any of the Islamic Imams I've ever seen.

But since Daoism isn't exactly the same as Buddhism, I've gotta vote for Nelson in this poll.

[Rit]

religion is for sissies.

[Rit]

wtf? did i dream it? i could have swore that Wayved wrote a response here as the last post to this board.....

[Thorngrub]

Let's dissect this word, "Religion".

"Re-" + "Ligion" = Religion.

Re = "With regard to"
Legion="A very large number",

Therefore,

Religion = With Regard To A Very Large Number,

i.e,

Quantity (not Quality).


There you have it, Religion broken down for you ;D

[Thorngrub]

the etymology of the word Religion comes from Latin religion, religio, meaning "supernatural constraint, sanction, or practice", possibly from religare, "to restrain" or "tie back".

It is closely associated with the roots of the word "RELY", also associated with Middle English relien, "to rally".

Tying this in w/Latin's religare which also means "to bind" or "tie", there is a connection with ligature: "something that is used to bind".

As you can see, "Religion" is something that is used to bind a supernatural constraint or sanction or practice to rally the masses with.

Viewed in this strictest of definitive light, one can begin to easier see how religion is a tool appropriated by the Powers That Be to keep us all in line. It really makes sense if you think about it.

[Thorngrub]

I really like the idea of "to restrain" being at the etymological roots of Religion.

[Thorngrub]

Cuz the way I see it, and you know I always calls it like it is, Religion definitely restrains us from exploring more fundamentally individual nodes of spirituality. But what do I know -?-- perhaps we should be restrained. Perhaps Religion is all about "DO NOT go there". . .

... That does kinda make sense for Christianity, a religion based on the assumption that God commanded the first people (Adam & Eve) to NOT eat of the Tree of Knowledge. "Do NOT go there, people!" Yet they did.

Hence, Religion was set up in order to RESTRAIN them from continuing in that vein. "Turn Back! Stay In Line. The Scoops are on their way..."

Does this mean that Religion is the polar opposite of Freedom ?


Yes. I think that is exactly what it means.


Discuss.

[Rit]

sexy analysis. i will respond later.

[Thorngrub]

One of the intrinsic meanings of the word "spirit" as a transitive verb, is "to carry away secretly or mysteriously", and I believe that is a crucial axiom to remember in attempting to divine the true meaning behind the word.

First of all, the transitive verb form of the word spirit is important, because all life and creation as we know it is in motion, that is, all life is a verb in a manner of speaking, and most definitely in transition.

But let us not overlook the noun aspect, shall we?

1. : an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms

2. temper or disposition of mind or outlook especially when vigorous or animated

3. the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person

and there are lesser usages of the word of course

4. a lively or brisk quality in a person or a person's actions

5. mental disposition characterized by firmness or assertiveness

(And I won't even go into the "malevolent being that enters and possesses a human" aspect of the word's definition, but it may not be a bad idea to keep that in mind . . . )

The word is derived from Latin spiritius, meaning literally "breath". (from spirare, to blow, breathe)

"Spiritual" from spiritualis meaning "of breathing, of wind".

Well its true that the workings of the wind are quite mysterious to us, I wonder, what is it that the wind carries away secretly? Or what wind carried us all here -?

A nice, rounded - out definition that I just came up with for spirit is

"An animating principle characterized by assertiveness describing the vital aspect of sentience and life"

That encompasses the depth and breadth of the word "spirit", and it gets me to thinking:

We often think of God as the exterior/outside influence which we must RETURN to once we've perished,


Yet how often does it occur to us that He may have "spirited Himself" (i.e, US) here ? In other words, because we are thinking He granted us some kind of "temporary residence" in the shells of our flesh here in this life, we are prone to think of "spirit" as that which should rightly return to that "kingdom of heaven", when we die.

When in fact it is perfectly reasonable to assume quite the opposite (and I do): That what we -- All Life, that is -- actually are, is that which was spirited here from another realm, and that what all the holy teachings and scriptures have been trying to tell us is, we have arrived in the kingdom of heaven but it is up to us to maintain it properly.

I.e, There Is No Such Thing As Death, i.e, There is no such place as "the other side", i.e, This Journey we all represent has been and always was, from the beginning a one - way trip, that is, from oblivion.

We have arrived, ladies & gentlemen. And we really need to get the word out ! We need to STOP with this "getting it all backwards" bullshit, and Cease & Desist with this mentality of destroying ourselves and our environment on account of how we incorrectly reason it's a shortcut to the afterlife! Fuck all that bullshit I say ! There IS NO AFTERLIFE, McFlies !

This is the only life we have. And it is up to us to make the best of it.

/end sermon

[Thorngrub]

It is clear to me that this planet harboring our species is but one solitary OUTPOST representing a fraction of humanity. Please get that through your heads. We are only "alone" in that we are stranded out here / seperated from the rest of us scattered throughout this galaxy. I.e, We are not alone! Merely "isolated".



Think about that for a while. Take time to digest it. What it implies is an entirely new paradigm for us to think of the nature of reality and the universe.

It would imply there may not be any such thing as "aliens" as we have come to imagine them (that is, beings fundamentally different from ourselves), and instead cast a perspective which shows how we may be no more than the tiniest fraction of humanity isolated out here in this solar system.


That is what I honestly believe the human race to be - one lonely outpost in a universe brimming with fellow human beings scattered out there amongst the stars, none of which could possibly be fathomed as "alien" (unless we "alienate" ourselves from our own brethren, that is).

So there you have it. When you back up from this perfectly reasonable picture of life in the universe, you begin to understand that each and every one of these "outposts" of humanity (including earth) struggling amidst the stars is left to its own devices, to either succeed or fail in their respective endeavors of maintaining a heavenly or hellish state.

That's my story & I'm stickin' to it (until something more compelling comes along).