I'm a Buddhist, friend. I don't believe in God, I believe in the simultaneous nature of cause and effect. The Law of Karma, in other words.
I know what Occam's Razor is. Thanks for clarifying it for other people, though. My point to you, however, is this. You don't KNOW anything, and neither do I. You might think you do, but in 100, a thousand, or ten thousand years, everything you think you know, will have changed. To think that 200 years of science has created anything other than consistent, workable hypotheses begs the question of eternity. All things being equal, zero still equals zero.
I am in complete agreement on that. According to my own particular faith, EVERYONE has a buddha nature, not just men. To treat one half of the species as if they were nothing more than property is not only offensive to me, but illogical. The same energy flows through your brain as does mine. Because your anatomy differs does not mean I should afford you less respect than someone who's anatomy doesn't differ.
E=MC^2 means that "we are more than just crude matter. Luminous beings are we."-Yoda
Ultimately, we are all the children of the stars. The same stardust that constitutes my body is what constitutes yours. We are all children of the same father, we just have different pictures in our family albums.
We can't have a polite society without guidelines to ensure that everyone treats everyone else with respect. The best motivation for obedience is fear of punishment. Since punishment of a more powerful entity is impossible, the fear is generated via the use of the idea of an all-powerful, all-seeing entity that transcends mere personal power.
Whether this entity actually exists or not is beside the point. Does the truth of the boogeyman or Santa Claus prevent parents from using it as a fear tactic to modify their children's behavior?
Same difference.
Lack of evidence does not consitute lack of existence. That is the application of Occam's Razor to the dilemna at hand. As our knowledge expands, certain paradigms are altered or even abandoned.
The evolution of belief parallels the evolution of our knowledge. The details of the quantum nature of the universe leaves room for doubt on both sides of the equation.
Faith and spirituality are personal, subjective things that we can either agree to disagree on, if we're rational adults, or we can go to war over it, because, in reality, our behavior has not evolved beyond the schoolyard.
My respect goes out to all those who have faith, regardless of the manner in which it is expressed. It is the acknowledgement that things are more than they seem, and that ultimately,
I care about the world I live in. I care about the people in it. Whether I like them or not, I still care. Thats what being a bodhisattva is all about.
Sad, happy, blue, or elated; I am never one thing or another. Yin and yang.
No modern leader has any accountability to his constituents. It's all multinational comglomerants these days, and the special interest lobbies they fund. Politicians only use nationalism as a tool to get what they want from their constituents, by manipulating their emotions...the rest of the time it's all just about $$$.
I know there's not many, if any People in the world like me. I am the white unicorn, Hidden at the edge of eternity.
I have a camouflaged grace, Under the trappings of an unruly beast. My heart is gentle, fit for a feast.
I am the wind, clipping the cliff, I am the ocean, wearing the rift. I am the ache at the heart of the world, I am divinity, being slowly unfurled.
Destiny is the flood of tears, That I produce when I fall to my fears. Joy is fleeting, and yet ever repeating. Sadness has no hope of defeating, The soul of the white unicorn.
Forever and a day will I be reborn, This is the power of my magical horn.
I've had my fill of making stupid mistakes, And the heartache that misunderstanding makes. I've had my fill of my heart aching, Petty retorts, both giving and taking. Call me deep, or stubborn, or complex, The shoals of selfishness cause shipwrecks. The veiled agendas, the games people play, Must always be first, even if Hell is to pay. I want not these superficial goals, My heart is already riddled with holes. I never know just when to walk away, I hold on too long, and yet keep love at bay.
Competition for the prettiest girl, This "natural selection" makes me hurl. Beauty in the eye of the self-deluded, Sooner or later, your manhood denuded. Demanding, pretending, deceiving, distending, Juggle these woes, while always defending The core of my soul from another trauma, I'm not a big fan of all this petty drama. Cooperation, compromise, honesty, love, I give all of these to my bright-winged dove.
Reminiscent of South Vietnam's dependence on the US during that particular conflict. Incompetent governments always need someone to help, so they have someone to blame when things go wrong.
Business as usual.
When is America gonna' grow up and let people fight their own battles? Only when war stops being a lucrative enterprise for the industrialists.
Galactic_bodhi Forum Posts (9,196)
RE: Religion vs. Common Sense
I'm a Buddhist, friend. I don't believe in God, I believe in the simultaneous nature of cause and effect. The Law of Karma, in other words.I know what Occam's Razor is. Thanks for clarifying it for other people, though. My point to you, however, is this. You don't KNOW anything, and neither do I. You might think you do, but in 100, a thousand, or ten thousand years, everything you think you know, will have changed. To think that 200 years of science has created anything other than consistent, workable hypotheses begs the question of eternity. All things being equal, zero still equals zero.
TET