Coexist

Have you seen these bumper stickers? Okay, if you're not in the U.S., maybe you haven't, but they consist of the word "coexist" and the letters are symbols of various belief systems including Islam, Wicca, science, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism and Chrisitianity.

I went to Catholic school, and one of the nuns (who was a sweetheart, by the way), told me she envisioned a tall mountain, at the top of which was God. Many people chose different paths up the mountain (the different religions), and some took longer to arrive and some took more treacherous paths to get there, but they all ended up at the same goal...God. Simplistic, but eloquent, I thought.

Peace.

Originally posted by Evey Hammond
Have you seen these bumper stickers? Okay, if you're not in the U.S., maybe you haven't, but they consist of the word "coexist" and the letters are symbols of various belief systems including Islam, Wicca, science, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism and Chrisitianity.

I went to Catholic school, and one of the nuns (who was a sweetheart, by the way), told me ...[text shortened]... ut they all ended up at the same goal...God. Simplistic, but eloquent, I thought.

Peace.

Wise nun.

_______________________


Clear light passes through a prism—

Now lets go to war over
whether it's many or one,
or which colors represent
its only true expression.

Originally posted by vistesd
Wise nun.

_______________________


Clear light passes through a prism—

Now lets go to war over
whether it's many or one,
or which colors represent
its only true expression.

I thought so. 🙂

Originally posted by Evey Hammond
Have you seen these bumper stickers? Okay, if you're not in the U.S., maybe you haven't, but they consist of the word "coexist" and the letters are symbols of various belief systems including Islam, Wicca, science, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism and Chrisitianity.

I went to Catholic school, and one of the nuns (who was a sweetheart, by the way), told me ...[text shortened]... ut they all ended up at the same goal...God. Simplistic, but eloquent, I thought.

Peace.

Science is more of a dis-belief system than a belief system.

Originally posted by Evey Hammond
Have you seen these bumper stickers? Okay, if you're not in the U.S., maybe you haven't, but they consist of the word "coexist" and the letters are symbols of various belief systems including Islam, Wicca, science, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism and Chrisitianity.

I went to Catholic school, and one of the nuns (who was a sweetheart, by the way), told me ...[text shortened]... ut they all ended up at the same goal...God. Simplistic, but eloquent, I thought.

Peace.

Cute story, but I'im not impressed with 'cute'! I do not believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god. it's a myth; a fable, and therefore, christianity is rubbish! Wicca is fluff! Science, a religion?? Buddhism is not a religion! Perhaps many ignorant people make it so--it ain't so! Taoism I like! but I don't think it qualifies as a religion, either. There's this stupid attitude that we have to "respect" other people's ignorant "religious" beliefs. Bull crap! Religious belief is not a sacred cow! Most people are ignorant, stupid, superstitious cowering fools!

Originally posted by Stregone
Cute story, but I'im not impressed with 'cute'! I do not believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god. it's a myth; a fable, and therefore, christianity is rubbish! Wicca is fluff! Science, a religion?? Buddhism is not a religion! Perhaps many ignorant people make it so--it ain't so! Taoism I like! but I don't think it qualifies as a religion, either. is not a sacred cow! Most people are ignorant, stupid, superstitious cowering fools!

Agreed about science.

Wicca and other animistic pagan religions are not considered “fluff” by their adherents (so-called “New Age”—well, fluff—aside).

From your references to Buddhism and Taoism (one could add Advaita Vedanta), I infer that you are defining religion strictly as having to do with a supernatural being or beings—i.e., a god or gods. [Note: Zen is closer to Taoism than are some other Buddhist expressions in this regard, and hence less inclined to the supernatural—at least, here, the Taoism of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu.]

I tend to allow the word for the non-supernaturalist, non-dualist views (largely because they do).

There are also non-dualist (and in that sense, technically non-theistic) streams in the otherwise theistic religions (e.g., Meister Eckhart, the Sufis); some are panentheistic, though they are supernaturalistic.

To the extent that I call myself anything, it is a non-supernaturalist non-dualist—if you think Zen or Taoism (or, perhaps, some versions of Stoicism), you won’t be far off the mark, though I don’t restrict myself to the practices (or the language) of any particular system. In that sense, as well as in the supernatural-theistic sense, I am not “religious”. (However, it should be realized that non-theistic, non-dualist systems often use the “G-word.” For the Stoics, for example, theos seems generally synonymous with physis, nature.)

EDIT: Let's not dismiss myth too readily. The real problem is when myth is treated as being something other than—well, mythological.

EDIT 2:

Religious belief is not a sacred cow!

It is to the—cow-erers. 😉

Originally posted by Stregone
Cute story, but I'im not impressed with 'cute'! I do not believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god. it's a myth; a fable, and therefore, christianity is rubbish! Wicca is fluff! Science, a religion?? Buddhism is not a religion! Perhaps many ignorant people make it so--it ain't so! Taoism I like! but I don't think it qualifies as a religion, either. ...[text shortened]... is not a sacred cow! Most people are ignorant, stupid, superstitious cowering fools!

Thx, I think.

I'm not talking about Jesus...I'm talking about reaching God...The Source, if you will.

Having been raised Christian, I've had enough and have decided to explore other beliefs.

Points taken as to religion.

Taoism? I really liked what I read regarding that.

Anyway, respect, to me, however ignorgant a person may be, is a good thing. 🙂

Originally posted by Evey Hammond
Thx, I think.

I'm not talking about Jesus...I'm talking about reaching God...The Source, if you will.

Having been raised Christian, I've had enough and have decided to explore other beliefs.

Points taken as to religion.

Taoism? I really liked what I read regarding that.

Anyway, respect, to me, however ignorgant a person may be, is a good thing. 🙂

Perhaps I was too strident. Religious arguments do that! I, too, was raised christian. converted to catholism as a teen. left, came back, and left again. tried the protestant thing for awhile. left that. & tried judaism, then, realizing that the orthodox would never accept me as jewish, i left that. basically i'm just a pagan. i dig witchcraft (not wicca!).
"stregone" is italian for male witch! http://www.angelfire.com/magic/faerygrove/

Originally posted by Stregone
Perhaps I was too strident. Religious arguments do that! I, too, was raised christian. converted to catholism as a teen. left, came back, and left again. tried the protestant thing for awhile. left that. & tried judaism, then, realizing that the orthodox would never accept me as jewish, i left that. basically i'm just a pagan. i dig witchcraft (not wicca!).
"stregone" is italian for male witch!

What a coincidence. I was raised a pagan and converted to wicca as a teen, left, came back, and left again, tried the witchcraft thing for a while, left that, and tried orthadox Satanism. Then I thought to myself, your just plain stupid. I mean, worshiping Satan is just plain nuts!!!! Then I converted to Christianity and never looked back.

Originally posted by whodey
What a coincidence. I was raised a pagan and converted to wicca as a teen, left, came back, and left again, tried the witchcraft thing for a while, left that, and tried orthadox Satanism. Then I thought to myself, your just plain stupid. I mean, worshiping Satan is just plain nuts!!!! Then I converted to Christianity and never looked back.

I predict that you WILL look back.

Originally posted by Stregone
I predict that you WILL look back.

I'm just messing with ya man. Where's your sense of humor? I find it a healthy thing not to take ourselves to seriously all the time.

Originally posted by Stregone
Perhaps I was too strident. Religious arguments do that! I, too, was raised christian. converted to catholism as a teen. left, came back, and left again. tried the protestant thing for awhile. left that. & tried judaism, then, realizing that the orthodox would never accept me as jewish, i left that. basically i'm just a pagan. i dig witchcraft (not wicca!).
"stregone" is italian for male witch! http://www.angelfire.com/magic/faerygrove/

i dig witchcraft (not wicca!).

I used “wicca” generically in my prior post for certain older, pagan paths (Celtic). I realize that that is probably incorrect, as it is not what they may have called it. (I believe there is some controversy over the origination of the term.)

Originally posted by Stregone
. i dig witchcraft (not wicca!).

With all kidding aside, just out of curiosity, what do you dig about it?

Originally posted by Stregone
I do not believe that jesus is the messiah, the son of god. it's a myth; a fable, and therefore, christianity is rubbish!

Simply because something is a fable makes it rubbish?

That's not a very enlightened thing to say.

Nemesio

Originally posted by whodey
What a coincidence. I was raised a pagan and converted to wicca as a teen, left, came back, and left again, tried the witchcraft thing for a while, left that, and tried orthadox Satanism. Then I thought to myself, your just plain stupid. I mean, worshiping Satan is just plain nuts!!!! Then I converted to Christianity and never looked back.

Orthodox Satanism?

What do they do with heretics? Hose them down with water?