Dalai Lama offers $100,000 to religion department

28 May 2009 at 1:30 pm (Religion)

http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-05-27-voa21.cfm

Dalai LamaA bit of context first.  His Holiness the Dalai Lama was honoured by the Florida school in 1999 with a doctorate of divinity so he has a personal interest in the welfare of the school.  However I believe that this has only highlighted the financial issue with him rather than defined his reaction.  I’m a bit biased of course because his writings portray him as a person with few material desires and little regard for considerations of status. In a largely material western world this is unusual.

The news story states “Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has offered to donate $100,000 to help save the religious studies program at Florida International University.”

His reasoning for this support is outlined in a letter to the university president where he said that “understanding and appreciation of diversity of religions is critical in fostering a culture of genuine tolerance and peaceful existence.”  A laudable sentiment that crosses boundaries of faith and fosters cooperation and compassion.

Some may wonder how my support of this can be reconciled with my dislike of state funded education by religious schools.  As I explained in the comments I see a clear difference between education about religion and education by religion.  Tenzin Gyatso, the current and 14th Dalai Lama is supporting a cause that educates people about religion and about culture that is intertwined with religious thinking and expression.  He is not supporting a cause that churns out pastors or monks (although people might choose that path) by indoctrinating people into a faith.

DogmaThe key point here is that he has chosen to support an attitude of understanding and cooperation rather than supporting dogma.  He has chosen not to put his own view of Buddhism ahead of Christianity or Islam but to foster an attitude that encompasses all faiths and, dare I say it, no faith.

Good for him.

1 Comment

Muslim School Funding

26 May 2009 at 12:34 pm (Atheist, Religion)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/may/26/reussite-france-muslim-school

I read the above story with interest this morning.  It seems that the French are happy to fund faith schools for Christians but not for Muslims.  Quite why they (or any other nation) fund faith schools is beyond me. 

Shouldn’t the faith of people be a personal matter?  Shouldn’t faith be separate from state interference and support?  Can’t we leave religion alone and expect it to leave us alone?  Why should we expect schools to indoctrinate children into a faith at all?

That said, if you have one rule for Christian or Catholic (I know they’re Christian too) schools then that rule should apply to Muslims, Buddhists, Baha’i, Hindus, whatever.  Shouldn’t it?

10 Comments

Biblical Morality

28 February 2009 at 10:46 am (Religion)

Your morality is 0% in line with that of the bible.

 

Damn you heathen! Your book learnin’ has done warped your mind. You shall not be invited next time I sacrifice a goat.

Do You Have Biblical Morals?
Take More Quizzes

Before anyone with a religion tells me that I’m just being silly, I know.  It’s a joke.

11 Comments

Monk Fight (again)

10 November 2008 at 11:52 pm (Atheist, Reasons to be cheerful, Religion)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7718587.stm

Fighting erupted between Greek Orthodox and Armenian monks at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the traditional site of Christ’s crucifixion.

You seriously couldn’t make this stuff up.

Shocked pilgrims looked on as decorations and tapestries were toppled during Sunday’s clash.

Dressed in the vestments of the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations, rival monks threw punches and anything they could lay their hands on.

So much for the message of loving thy neighbour or turning the other cheek.

The Daily Mash has an amusing twist on the story.

2 Comments

What Kind of God Would You Be?

20 February 2008 at 9:22 am (Atheist, Reasons to be cheerful, Religion, You decide)

Blatantly stolen from Dubito Ergo Sum

The meme: list at least four things that you’d do if you were God. Assume the same thing I do: you’re omnipotent (do the logically impossible!) and whatever you do will work out fine with the laws of physics, such as they are.

  1. My holy book gets regular updates and version releases. Times change and people come up with fantastic ideas all the time.  Limiting myself to a book set in a particular time just seems crazy.  It has to move with the times.
  2. I’m banning prayer.  Seriously I have better things to do as an omnipotent deity than listen to your whingeing.  Get over yourself.  I’m not setting up a celestial bureaucracy to deal with prayer requests and no horde of angels will be sifting through your commentary for good points.  I’m God and I get to read your mind if I like.  If you come up with a good idea I’m taking it.  In fact if you do pray I’m going to turn it around so it works against you.  You’re wasting your time and mine.  If you want to change something then go and change it, don’t ask me.  Finally if you even think about praying for your football team to win then you’re asking for the ground to open up and swallow you.  I will do it.
  3. Priests of my new faith are required to wear silly hats or outlandish costumes so that nobody ever takes what they say seriously.  What?  The Catholics have already got this rule?  Dammit!
  4. There will be no heaven and hell.  The afterlife will work like this:
    • When you die you get to review of your entire life.
    • Every mean, spiteful, vindictive act that you inflicted on your fellow human would be given back to you.  You get to live the life of the people you harmed so that you can appreciate the full impact of your wrong.
    • Every act of kindness, love, charity and aid that you offer or provide to your fellow human would be given back to you.  You get to live the life of the people you helped so that you can appreciate the full impact of your good deeds.
    • In fact you get to live the life of everyone who you touched in some small way to see how you influenced them.  This means that Hitler literally gets to experience the suffering off millions and Gandhi gets to live the peace of everyone who he influenced.  A suitable punishment\reward system in my opinion.
    • Then, with perfect clarity, you get to live your own life again but this time you can change things.
  5. People get to be really tough and get to heal really quickly.  A fall from a 10th floor window may result in broken bones but these will mend in a week or two.  Gunshot wounds can be shrugged off.  Basically you get to be as tough as the hero in a Hollywood movie.

I’m going to tag everyone who wants to play.

8 Comments

Prophecy

8 February 2008 at 5:38 pm (Pedantic, Religion, You decide)

It started the other night when I was walking home with Cake Worm.  We started talking about how witches always seem to be portrayed as wizened old hags and never as beautiful women.  Inevitably we ended up talking about MacBeth and the witches prophecy:

First Witch 
All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!

Second Witch 
All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!

Third Witch 
All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!

Also the comment from Deb

Mr. Frog…I hope u’ll hop over and give me your explanation on how things that were written thousands of years ago have come to pass, are coming to pass and will come to pass…I’m sure there is a logical explanation

got me thinking about the nature of prophecy.  Actually it goes back to Greta’s post on predictions from earlier in the year. 

Is it that they that come true because we make them come true or because they would come true anyway?

Now, before anyone leaps up and yells “Hey Mr Frog.  You don’t believe in the supernatural.  How can you believe in prophecy?” let me explain.   A prophecy that does not come true isn’t a prophecy.  It just doesn’t count,  That’s why so called psychics throw scores of predictions out and then grandly announce the fact when they get one right.  It is prophecy because it becomes true, before that it is simply a statement.

I have some tips for people who wish to write their own prophecies.  As a gamer since I before I was a teenager (and that was a while ago) I have enjoyed writing and being subjected to prophecy in a game (or The Game as we often call it) environment. 

Multiple meanings: Come up with three meanings for every element in a prophecy, so that if one thing is prevented, the others can step in.  Daniel 9 26 “After the sixty-two ’sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.”  Suitably vague.  Sixty two ’sevens’ could mean weeks or loaves of bread or anything else that you get lots of.  The Anointed One could be the Jesus figure, a holy pilgrim or someone who got rained on.  It doesn’t matter as long as you leave the answer open to interpretation.

The Wizard’s Bluff: Find ways to make avoiding a problem, cause the problem.  An unfair technique but useful if you need something to happen or to explain something that can’t go another way.  For instance, say you need to prophecy one person being in Ankh Morpork but they refuse to go there.  In avoiding the problem they try to escape and end up getting lost and going to the very place that they wanted to avoid.  A simpler method is a lever that either opens a trap door or prevents it opening.  If you need someone to fall through the trap door then it doesn’t matter if you pull the lever or not because it’s going to happen the way it has been foretold.  This is very much a “heads I win, tails you lose” gambit.

What’s your name?: Don’t give names but use vague references instead.  When you want Bill the plasterer to be your focus of the prophecy never use his name.  Use “the third son with hands of clay”or “the dark eyed laughing one”.  If you want to prophecy a death don’t say that “only a man who was born by Cesarean section can kill you”.  Turn it round to the positive and mysterious.  Say instead “None of woman born shall harm MacBeth”.  It’s suitably vague and leaves unsaid the key point.

When was that again?:  Don’t give dates of events at all if you can help it or use an odd method of calculating dates like an ancient language or a vague unit like age or season.  For example say “In the season of darkness” when you mean winter.  You can always reveal later that this meant a time of lunar eclipse or night time or even a very overcast day.  Avoid specifics.  Daniel 9 26s sixty-two ’sevens’ is another example.

Where was I?:  Don’t use place names.  Use a description instead.  Instead of saying Rome, for example, say The City of Seven Hills.  That way you can use another city that happens to have seven hills (or mounds, or piles of rubbish even) if your first choice lets you down.

Retroactive Prophecy:  One of my favourites.  Have a figure of importance make some off hand comment that is open to interpretation.  Write it down.  Later some event could occur and people will point at that comment and say “Wow, that was spot on.  Amazing!”.  My example is another biblical one Matthew 24 1-2 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.  “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

The key to prophecy is to be vague and to get others to look for meaning.  Never be explicit, never clarify.  When you get close to the mark make sure that you shout out that you got it right.  Only then should you explain that you meant this or that all along.  If anyone doubts you then all you need to do is accuse them of lacking faith and demand that they explain how you could be so accurate with your prophecy.

5 Comments

What’s in the box?

2 February 2008 at 10:09 pm (Atheist, Reasons to be cheerful, Religion)

I’ve once again been chatting online with people of religious belief.  It struck me that many people often look at things as either black or white, positive or negative.  This isn’t a trait of the religious but I have noticed it in my Christian verses atheist debates.  You know the spiel: atheists have no morals because they follow no Gods, Christians are all proselytizing Jesus-freaks.  Nonsense, of course.  Yet, as human beings, we find it convenient to simplify and categorise things that we encounter.  There’s probably some sort of inherited survival trait responsible.

One particular thing that bothers me is the idea of sin.  I’ve often been seen to praise one or more of the traditional Seven Deadly Sins (Greed, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, and Sloth) as having positive aspects.  I don’t think that I’ve ever explained my reasoning though or put them all in one place.

Well this is my blog and I’ll write about sin if I please.

Greed or a desire for wealth may be bad when taken to extremes but in a modern society wealth means that you pay more taxes and contribute more to society.  You have the ability to spend money on consumer goods which need to be made by someone.  Someone whose job you have secured with your expenditure.  Wealth begets more wealth and greedy people are willing to invest in order to secure that wealth and increase it.

Lust or strong sexual desire often accompanied with fertility is one of my very favourite “sins” ;) .  Our very species relies upon sexual desire for procreation.  We wouldn’t want to go the way of the panda now would we?  A dose of lust keeps a relationship healthy and allows us to overlook small foibles in our partners.  I’m willing to let the fact that The Hildy puts spoons in the draining rack upside down when I know I’m going to get some action at some point.  She similarly forgives my minor annoyances (not that I am ever annoying) that would otherwise build up without some healthy release.

Pride or feeling of self-respect and personal worth is another of my favourite “sins”.  I feel proud when I perform a task well or create something that I place value upon.  I am willing to stand up for my opinions and ideas that I think are right.  Lack of pride can lead to others taking advantage of you as you lack self worth and so defer to others.

Gluttony or the consumption of food and drink in abundance isn’t one of my favourites but eating a hearty meal is a pleasure.  More than the actual consumption though the very fact that you can provide a large repast speaks of your success.  We don’t live my hunting and gathering any more but a large meal has to be paid for and being able to provide it is cause to celebrate.

Envy or a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another, an eager striving if you will is an excellent motivator.  I’m not so keen on “keeping up with the Joneses” but seeing someone else’s well earned success may well prompt me to work harder.

Wrath or belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong is a righteous anger against something.  The key thing here is that the anger is in response to a perceived wrong.  If some ‘tard blocks the footbridge at the train station with their foolishly placed luggage then I have a right to be angry and express that anger.  In fact if anyone does something that angers me then I may well be prompted into action. I shouldn’t let my anger control me but I can certainly let it motivate me.  Some of the greatest changes in society have been prompted by wrath.  Do you think that the civil rights movement would have even started if people had not been angry at the unfairness of their situation?

Sloth or a disinclination to work or exert yourself or simply to rest and recover is a fine reward for hard work.  To describe it as a sin is to dismiss the efforts that allow a person to rest and relax.  How often have you simply needed to take a break?  Recovery is important to keeping a person going.

Well these are my justifications for why sin can be good and why looking at the world in black and white means that you miss the shades of grey.  I’d love to expand on this and hear any comments that you might have.

27 Comments

He’s dead, Jim.

8 January 2008 at 10:00 pm (Atheist, Religion)

“Death is nothing to us, since when we are, death has not come, and when death has come, we are not.”
Epicurus (341 BC – 270 BC), from Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers

Death is a part of life. None of us want to go there, but we will. Before I was born, I did not exist. I suppose one could say that I was not alive before I was born. When I die, I will return to the same status I had prior to my life – I will not be alive. From what I remember of being “not alive,” it was not unpleasant or the slightest bit inconvenient. From a non-religious perspective, death is not something to be overly afraid of. Death is simply the way of nature. It is a part of evolution and change.

With that in mind I’ve been pondering methods of approaching death.  Like most people I’ve known a number of others who are are no longer alive. 

The “I can’t wait” Death

It’s been said that suicide is painless but I don’t even think that could be true for the people dying.  it certainly isn’t true for those left behind who live with the guilt of wondering if they could have done anything to save the deceased.  There probably isn’t but that doesn’t stop the guilt.

The “What the fuck?” Death

This is reserved for the sudden and unexpected death typical in a motorbike accident.  One second you’re pootling along a country lane at 90 miles per hour and the next you’re park of the road.  You didn’t even see what hit you.

The “I give up” Death

Usually as a result of a long and often painful illness.  The suffering simply overwhelms the individual and consumes all their attention.  In the end death becomes a welcome release.

The “You ain’t takin’ me alive” Death

This is a way of living where you focus on fighting what’s killing you.  Like the “I give up” death you really need some notice of your impending doom.  People who die fighting are very focused on survival.

The “No-one here but us chickens” Death

Rather than fighting against death or accepting it there are people who would rather just avoid the subject.  They are the people who hide the illness from themselves, miss doctors’ appointments and pretend that if they can just pretend that they aren’t ill then death won’t come to claim them.  Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.

The “It’s not fair” Death

This death is reserved for people who like to focus on themselves.  Failure of the body is somehow the responsibility of someone or something else and these people really don’t like that.  However as long as the focus is on them they have the satisfaction of other people’s pity.

The “Can you leave the light on” Death

As much as I’d like to mock there are plenty of reasons to fear the unknown and while may think I know what happens when life ceases I don’t know.  I do know that it’s inevitable and wasting your dying moments in fear isn’t how I want to go out.  Now, if I’m cowering under the bed when an axe wielding manic ends my existence then I at least have an excuse.

The “If I pray hard enough” Death

The ultimate form of bargaining is to try to escape a permanent death by giving something in exchange for eternal life.  I could be devotion, prayer, charity, sacrifice or having lots of children to continue your legacy.  The person who is going to die is trying to continue in some way in order to escape death.

The “Whatever” Death

Death, being the great unknown that it is, as well as pretty much inevitable is nothing to fear.  The state of concentrating on life requires an ability to live in the moment that most people simply cannot master.

The “I’m on fire” Death

People who get set on fire tend to run around screaming as the flames consume them.  What they should be doing is rolling around on the ground to put out the flames.  Logically that makes sense but there’s not a lot of logic in the survival instinct.  People who approach death in a blind panic tend to spend a lot of money on insurance policies that have clauses that invalidate them.

Can anyone think of any more?

3 Comments

The Great and Magnificent Predictions of Dominic Destiny

4 January 2008 at 10:22 pm (Atheist, Bad things happen, Lazy Blogging, Religion, You decide)

I have been reading Greta Christina’s blog over the last few days and I’ve been particularly amused by the Are you Smarter than a Celebrity Psychic? entry.  Have a read it’s a really good blog.  I can highly recommend the entry on Atheists and Anger.

However if you are too lazy or too busy because you are at work then just run with the meme and make some predictions.

The rules: Make five predictions about world events in 2008: political events, natural disasters, celebrity gossip, etc. Post them in the comments here, no later than January 15, 2008. Predictions should be things that reasonably might or might not happen; totally obvious predictions such as “The sun will continue to rise in the East” and “Saturn will not crash into Jupiter” will not be accepted. However, credit will be given for partially correct answers, since the celebrity psychics do that when they score themselves. Credit will also be given if events can be interpreted to fit the prediction — ditto.

Here are my five predictions:

  1. Well known celebrity couple Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (Bradgelina) will announce a split and will go their separate ways.
  2. Hillary Clinton will be the first female president of the United States of America.  I’m only saying this because the democrats will probably win and I’m certain that Americans will vote for a woman before they will vote for a black man.
  3. England will experience freak weather conditions on an unprecedented scale.  I include heat waves, snow storms and\or tornadoes.  None of these will stop me from getting to work though…unfortunately.
  4. There will be a large food scare in England akin to the salmonella, BSE, or bird flu farces of recent years.  I don’t know, maybe it’ll be the turn of vegetables to receive some bad press.
  5. The west will go to war against a major nation in the middle east… again.

Now, what are your predictions?

20 Comments

Tagged about books

28 December 2007 at 12:54 pm (Lazy Blogging, Religion, You decide)
Tags: ,

Darla tagged me with her virtual tag gun.  Now I’m forced to answer questions on my reading habits or face the prospect of setting off alarms in books shops for the rest of my life.

01.  One book that changed your life   Ah now there’s the crux.  By the very definition every decision I make has some bearing on my life and therefore changes my life to some extent.  However I’d have to say that the book that really changed my life most significantly wasn’t a book at all but a play.  That play was William Shakespeare’s The Tempest and it showed me that there is magic in words. 

02.  One book that you have read more than once  Another tricky question.  I read most books more than once which is why I keep them after all.  I suppose that The Color Purple is one that I read every few years.  It really gets to me and I can see hope rising out of such cruelty whenever I read it.  The film, while excellent, didn’t do the book justice.

03.  One book you would want on a deserted Island  It’d have to be something long and something that I’ve never read.  War and Peace.  The Hildy keeps telling me to read it and one day I just might.

04.  One book that made you laugh  I’m not the fruitcake that laughs out loud on trains while reading.  Really I’m not.  One book that is packed full of giggles is Good Omens by Terry Pratchett.  It’s also one that I keep meaning to reread.  Another was Making Waves by David Hasselhoff.  OK it wasn’t supposed to be funny but it had me in stitches from the beginning.

05.  One book that made you cry  I’m really not the sort of person who cries.  No, no, I am far too manly for such things.  Other than The Color Purple mentioned above I’d have to say that Lovely Bones was one book that was certainly sentimental enough to make me blink a few times.

06.  One book that you wish had been written  All of them.  Every book that I read.  Recently I wish I’d written American Gods but I’m not Neil Gaiman.  I’d have loved to have spent a year researching it though.  It was fascinating.

07.  One book that you wish had never been written  Hard Times by Charles Dickens.  Honestly I studied this book for a degree course and it was so very dull and so packed full of obvious stereotypical characters who were just there to be sneered at.  I hated it.  Alternatively the Bible.  It just seems to be an excuse for all sorts of unpleasantness that humanity gets to inflict on itself.  Yeah, yeah, there are good bits too but someone gave away the ending and I’ve disliked it ever since.

08.  One book you are currently reading  Sadly I am currently reading IT Governance: A Manager’s Guide to Data Security and BS 7799 / ISO 17799.  I won’t give away the ending though.

09.  One book you have been meaning to read Oh so many.  The Book Thief is definitely high on my list.

10.  Now I am suppose to tag 5 people  Oh I don’t know.  Anyone who wants to play.

3 Comments

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