Paco Dennis
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- Mid-Missouri
What IS Truth/Reality? Anyone? Be sure your 100% sure now.
Although I was raised Catholic as a young child, went to Catholic school for 8 (long) years, I no longer practice any organized religion. I think a lot on the list is just common sense. Be calm and humble, eat/sleep/breathe sensibly, dress properly, be polite/patient/truthful, care for your parents, etc. I guess sacrifice regularly and worship dedicatedly don't need to be there, for me anyway.No matter what religion you practice (or don't practice), consider nurturing these traits for your health, well being and getting along better in the world. My middle grandson posted this on his Facebook page today. We Muslims were advised by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) to:
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@Pecos
THANK you Pecos!! I must say I admire you so much because here you are, a former high ranking naval officer who has traveled the world, met and interacted with many people of many different cultures and races, yet you still feel you have more you can learn. That to me indicates a high degree of intelligence as well as humility. You obviously respect the differences diversity brings. And you are right...all religions have something dark that happened in their histories. Great points! You are always the voice of reason.All religions seem to have a few dark elements that come to the surface. Speaking as a Christian, I can assure you that Christianity is no exception. Think about all of the "Kool Aid" mass suicides, or the rationalization that has been used to justify some horrific things..
I think that you have started a game of "whataboutism" that misses the point of the entirely innocent start to this thread.
It pains me when I see otherwise good people refuse to even consider that they might learn something of value from another culture or religion. Going into a Dark Hole is not beneficial in any way.
War is of God's making, don't you know? Down through the centuries the battlecry has always been: "In God's Name, Charge!"And before Christianity there was a lot of smiting in the old testament
And in the new testament?
Those that crucified The Lord had to hurry it up a bit
.......so they could get home and prepare for the sabbath
'Religion'
The cause of many a war
There are lots of replies here to read and respond to, all of which I won't do right now because I'm playing catch up on three social networking sites. But for @AnnieA and @Keesha ...question. What did your mother teach you about proper dress? Mine taught me to always "Look presentable!". She always emphasized it, just like that. Back in the day it meant wearing a decent dress or skirt and blouse that wasn't too short or too tight. We wore socks and later stockings. Going to church meant wearing your Sunday best, including a hat and sometimes gloves. My great grand aunt really lit into me when I came to church one day without a hat. I was about 14. Different cultures have their own dress codes. The Bruderhoffers wear long dresses and cover their hair; the Amish women cover in the same manner, though not the same as Muslims. In fact, I don't wear traditional (Islamic) hijab but I do wear long dresses or pants and a scarf or hat covering my hair. Dress properly in the context of the OP means dressing modestly.
I hope we can all agree that proper dress is not letting all your goodies hang out for the world to see, as so many of the younger people are doing now (and unfortunately some older women too). Like I told my granddaughter...be classy, not trashy. We were on the boardwalk recently where she said she saw a young woman with her ass cheeks hanging out. I remember the first time I saw someone with a thong bikini walking the boardwalk at the Jersey shore. Disgusting! OMG! Don't get me started; I could go on and on! So back to my question ladies. What did your mothers tell you was the proper dress. Start there.
THANK you Pecos!! I must say I admire you so much because here you are, a former high ranking naval officer who has traveled the world, met and interacted with many people of many different cultures and races, yet you still feel you have more you can learn. That to me indicates a high degree of intelligence as well as humility. You obviously respect the differences diversity brings. And you are right...all religions have something dark that happened in their histories. Great points! You are always the voice of reason.
I am Muslim now but I spent over half my life as a Christian. I was raised in the church. We went to church every Sunday and that included Sunday school before services. When I was in my 20's I started to feel disenchanted with what I saw happening in the church, so I guess you could say I stopped being a "practicing Christian" for quite awhile before I studied Islam and finally accepted that as my religion (really it's a way of life).
You're so welcome. Well deserved!Diva,
That was extremely complimentary. Thank you so much.
Yep!War is of God's making, don't you know? Down through the centuries the battlecry has always been: "In God's Name, Charge!"
There is nothing wrong with the list.Which beliefs are correct and which are incorrect?
Who calculates truth?
What’s considered polite and impolite?
Dress properly?
Who is the one who decides what properly means? Who decides what’s polite and impolite?What truth? Who’s truth? What’s true?
Share love passionately?
I didn’t say there was anything wrong with the list. I asked questions about it for verification. Nobody could answer and I don’t think my questions were rude or ridiculous.There is nothing wrong with the list.
We are all able to ponder each line in relation to our own philosophy of life.
We have two options, I guess. When it is something like dress or diet we might consider 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. When is is a matter of morality we should stick to our own principles, even if to do so could prove costly.I didn’t say there was anything wrong with the list. I asked questions about it for verification. Nobody could answer and I don’t think my questions were rude or ridiculous.
What I wondered about was if there was a reference point.
Why a reference point?
Dress properly to a native who lived in the wilderness would mean something completely different than a Catholic nun let’s say.
@OneEyedDiva …. Yes I was taught to dress nicely for church, Sunday school , public school etc…. I completely understand that part. When asking these questions I didn’t mean to come across as critical of your faith. The answers to these questions would vary depending on the people answering them due to age, race and culture.
Then days later I realized that all of these questions are meant to be individualized. There is no ‘set answer’ for any of them.
Dress properly, eat sensibly, think truthfully and all the others mean for ‘you personally’ to reach for the highest level of understanding. I didn’t get that before.
Unfortunately I’m one of these people who can complicate anything to the extreme.
This was a great example.
When in Rome, dress like Romans but when it comes to morality, stick with our principles.We have two options, I guess. When it is something like dress or diet we might consider 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'. When is is a matter of morality we should stick to our own principles, even if to do so could prove costly.
When it comes to treatment of others there are wise words in every culture and religious faith. The Dalai Lama sums it up in just two words: 'Be kind'.
None of us gets it right all of the time which is why the the Lord's Prayer contains the line 'Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us'.
I didn’t say there was anything wrong with the list. I asked questions about it for verification. Nobody could answer and I don’t think my questions were rude or ridiculous.
What I wondered about was if there was a reference point.
Why a reference point?
Dress properly to a native who lived in the wilderness would mean something completely different than a Catholic nun let’s say.
@OneEyedDiva …. Yes I was taught to dress nicely for church, Sunday school , public school etc…. I completely understand that part. When asking these questions I didn’t mean to come across as critical of your faith. The answers to these questions would vary depending on the people answering them due to age, race and culture.
Then days later I realized that all of these questions are meant to be individualized. There is no ‘set answer’ for any of them.
Dress properly, eat sensibly, think truthfully and all the others mean for ‘you personally’ to reach for the highest level of understanding. I didn’t get that before.
Unfortunately I’m one of these people who can complicate anything to the extreme.
This was a great example.
Now that I re-read the list I notice that it is incomplete. It omits practising forgiveness so let me say that you are forgiven. I think it was Martin Luther who exhorted Christians to "Sin boldly". The context was that so many people had been frightened to death by the idea that their sins would send them to Hell if they hadn't been absolved every day via confession. The wealthy sought admission to Heaven by buying papal indulgences or by building/funding cathedrals. Luther preached that Christ died to free the world of sin and this transaction had no limits in terms the sin or the sinner and it was a once and for all time transaction.When in Rome, dress like Romans but when it comes to morality, stick with our principles.
That’s a great generalization of ‘dressing properly.’
When it comes to the treatment of others, always ‘Be Kind.’ Yes. This being THE most important thing and looking over my questions was like an inquisition on someone else’s faith which isn’t kind. I honestly hadn’t looked at it that way before so I owe OneEyedDiva an apology.
I am sorry for coming across so rudely in this
thread about your beliefs. It wasn’t kind of me.
Thank you Warrigal for bringing it to my attention. I think I’ll stick to posting photos.
Apology accepted Keesha. Forgiveness is also a very important part of Islamic beliefs. In fact, forgiveness is something I need to work on sometimes myself. My husband had an unbelievable capacity for forgiveness; I haven't reached that level yet.When in Rome, dress like Romans but when it comes to morality, stick with our principles.
That’s a great generalization of ‘dressing properly.’
When it comes to the treatment of others, always ‘Be Kind.’ Yes. This being THE most important thing and looking over my questions was like an inquisition on someone else’s faith which isn’t kind. I honestly hadn’t looked at it that way before so I owe OneEyedDiva an apology.
I am sorry for coming across so rudely in this
thread about your beliefs. It wasn’t kind of me.
Thank you Warrigal for bringing it to my attention. I think I’ll stick to posting photos.
Thank you. I’m one of these people that doesn’t think before I type and I really need to start doing that. I actually type stuff out as I’m thinking about it. Something I really don’t recommend.Apology accepted Keesha. Forgiveness is also a very important part of Islamic beliefs. In fact, forgiveness is something I need to work on sometimes myself. My husband had an unbelievable capacity for forgiveness; I haven't reached that level yet.
SO true!Thank you. I’m one of these people that doesn’t think before I type and I really need to start doing that. I actually type stuff out as I’m thinking about it. Something I really don’t recommend.
Forgiveness IS very important in any religion and a very important part in healthy mental health. If we all woke up each day with no resentments wards anyone or anything, we’d be far happier and far healthier.