I'm not a Buddhist but I have studied several religions and read quite a bit about them. If you are a searcher I highly recommend any book from Osho. The Book of Secrets is excellent, as well as The Book of Understanding and Emotional Wellness. He has countless others which are probably very...
You're right, we could use just about anything to back money if we had an honest financial system. It is said that King Henry 1 implemented a currency using tally sticks which lasted for 726 years. It was used as a way to prevent manipulation of the currency by the goldsmiths. The only reason...
This doesn't directly relate to the OP but I think it's a very good video to show how the economy really works and why we can't get out of debt. I will warn you that it's pretty long but well worth watching.
The Money Masters - How International Bankers Gained Control of America
That's very true about people reading books with "21 century eyes." Not only that but we often read with "cultural eyes" as well. That's one of the problems that I think faces many of the prominent religions today. It's very hard to gain a proper understanding of, well anything, if it's...
Fair enough, thanks. Like I asked in my previous post, is this how those Christians define wisdom, as it pertains to Solomon, in their beliefs? If not and I suppose many Christians have varying opinions on this matter, they may still have a paradox within their own belief system, which is one...
Point taken. I did note that my opinion of wisdom doesn't have any place in interpreting the idea of wisdom used in the story of Solomon and that I'm rather uniformed when it comes Hebrew, or for that matter any foreign, grammar. I just wonder how many Christians who take this story as a...
It's true that people are going to have varying ideas of what wisdom is. As it pertains to Solomon in this story you may be correct, I'm not familiar enough with the hebrew term(s) used that were translated or in what sense the authors meant by wisdom. To me true wisdom requires a permanent...
That's one way of looking at it. I was a little more curious about those that take the story more literal and hold to the mainstream Christian belief about Solomon, that is that he was the wisest man and still managed to fall out of favor with God in the mainstream Christian sense.
One thing that I've always found intriguing in the Christian faith is this idea that Solomon, said to be the wisest man who ever lived, somehow fell out of favor with God. Wisdom, which is synonymous with good judgment, is supposed to be the trait that leads one to a "godly" life. How can it...
I think it would be beneficial for children to have something like a "religions of the world class." I'm not going to debate whether it should be mandatory or not but the school system seems to have no problem making history a required class, which in some cases seem to be a fairly one sided...
I don't think there are many true pacifists and I mean very few. Most of it's adherents are simply acting with the same "group think and act" behavior that the other side exemplifies. I would wager that nearly the entire flock of "pacifists" would partake in violence/murder if under certain...
Very good pictures! I really like the first one, it has very peaceful quality about it. Maybe because of the country setting, which I love. And your dogs are adorable.
I see a different picture. Existence is a paradox and is at least very difficult to communicate clearly by normal/clear methods. Some of the most insightful individuals who ever lived often spoke in parables or with contradictions. Lao Tzu, Khalil Gibran, Gurdjieff, Jesus, Osho, Alan Watts...
I really don't care much whether everything in a spiritual teaching is correct or not. In the sense you are speaking of it doesn't have to be. The real benefits I've received from the Gurdjieff's teachings have been through flashes of insights often provoked indirectly by some teaching or...
What he teaches must be understood in it's proper context. This requires a different perception of reality than we are normally akin to. For this to occur one must study his system as a whole not bits and pieces. I do not think that Gurdjieff's understanding of science was in the same mold of...
I think calling him a Christian Crusader is even giving him too much credit. To me he doesn't appear to have any real personal conviction. The only thing I can figure is that the same men pulling Bush's strings are pulling Obama's.
You're apparently not alone in having this opinion. Honestly that's one of the things I love about him. It is said that he was a master at playing roles and shaping a persons view of him. Pretty much everyone has a different opinion about him and his work, so maybe his teachings can be useful...
Me too, sorry, I didn''t see that this was a Catholic only question. I'm no longer part of the Catholic church but like Ultraviolet I was Catholic for quite a while so at least I have somewhat of an understanding of them.
I actually was baptized Catholic but I do not think one is always considered Catholic just because of this. I think you have to be a practicing member in order to keep this status. As far as I know they still have the doctrine of excommunication, which banishes you from the Catholic community...