> Travis Edmunds <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >From: Deborah Harrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >[Huh,....I actually
> >was calling _Christianity_ 'Paulanity,' not the
> >actual-as-far-as-we-know-which-isn't-very teachings
> >of Jesus.]
> I know. It's just that my whole spiel on
> Christianity is that it's based on
> the actual teachings of Jesus.
Mmmm, well, I think that's a hard row to hoe, as what
we have are recollections of what some folks said was
said and done, and some of those didn't make it into
the 'official' Bible (like the gospel of Thomas or
Mary Magdalene), and what did get included has been
edited or slanted by those with their own agendas, and
church doctrine has been essentially made up in the
following centuries... That is why some people say of
themselves "I'm a follower of Jesus" rather than "I'm
a Christian." Those televangelists who exhort the
faithful to pray, send in their cash, and 'by-n-bye
they'll have a Cadillac too' bear little resemblance
to
Mother Theresa, who actually did follow in Jesus'
footsteps AFAWK, by caring for the poor and
downtrodden. Contrast those who point a finger and
snarl, "Pervert! You're going to hell!" to Jesus'
reaching out to lepers, tax collectors and adulterers
- "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."
Yet both Mother Theresa and Robert Tilton are labeled
'Christian.'
> But that's all the
> way back in another thread
> where I was attempting to point out hypocrisy as I
> see it. Alas, that train
> of thought in it's entirety has escaped me.
Jumped tracks on you, eh? ;)
<snip>
> ><serious> In another thread cross-over (from Dan's
> >Hypocrisy IIRC), the concept of karmic slappage
> >applies: I made an 'absolute' statement in an area
> in
> >which I am at best a dilettante, and whose premise
> >affects many many people...I got smacked for it.
> >OTOH, "I am a Heretic Lutheran Deist" is not
> risking
> >karmic correction because I am intimately
> acquainted
> >with the subject, and the outcome affects but one.
> That's a neatly written paragraph (thumbs up for
> that), but I don't
> subscribe to that karmic philosophy in relation to
> making statements (which
> is a part of discussion/debate, which in turn is the
> backbone of this list)
> or in practicing our apologetics and polemics. I
> simply understand that I am
> human and prone to imperfection, and want others to
> acknowledge that about
> me and about themselves as well.
Well, I don't subscribe overall to the concept of
karma (as I understand it, which is probably poorly),
although I can see the appeal of believing that "what
goes around, comes around" WRT evildoers getting their
just desserts, in the next lifetime if not in this
one. The major problem I have with it is the
corollary that if a person is in dire straits, it's
their own or former self's fault; that leads to
apathy, stagnation and resignation or complacency. As
a social construct it's quite a stabilizing meme, but
it discourages innovation and promotes a fatalistic
viewpoint (IMHO). [I think the concept of Purgatory
serves a similar societal function.]
Nor do I think that from a personal stance, "karma"
serves the diseased or mentally ill; I have mentioned
before the overwhelming guilt seen in family members
when certain diseases strike their loved ones: "Oh, I
caused this by being away from home/boasting about
him/her!" etc. Certainly I do not think that I (or my
parents) deserve or did anything to cause my own
health problems, nor would I wish them upon anyone.
But in terms of stated pride, arrogance and smug
self-certainty, I have to concede that there _does_
frequently seem to be an appropriately-timed
smackdown, at least in my case; I have friends who say
the same WRT themselves. Perhaps it's nothing more
than a sort of personification of the "Pride goeth
before a fall" principle, or an externalization of my
conscience kicking in all-too-accurately when I push
the hubris envelope [ooh, what fun to use such
multi-syllabic words!!].
Getting back to what I think was behind the discussion
in another thread, while I don't know what Michael
Moore himself intended with his 'pay in blood'
comment, what I heard was the inevitability of a sort
of karmic balance, or another version of 'the sins of
the fathers are visited upon the children.' This does
not mean it is fair, desirable or to be meekly
accepted, but if possible consequences of one's
actions (or inactions) are not considered, the outcome
may be costlier than originally thought.
A horsey metaphor (hey, I have to get one in!) is
below, and can be skipped by the unamused. :)
Debbi
You Have Been Warned Maru ;)
If I ignore warnings from another trainer that a
particular horse is dangerous to ride, and I - a
competent rider trying to help out an over-mounted
owner* - not only mount up, but take the horse out of
an enclosed arena into unfenced land, where I proceed
to ask it for a hand-gallop -- I should not be
surprised that the animal bucks, bolts and does its
best to unseat me; in such a struggle I could be badly
hurt. It's not that I _deserve_ to have my skull
cracked, but it was unwise to ride without doing
preliminary groundwork. It is of course possible that
I will get the horse to do as I wish with little more
than bruised muscles and ego(s), but that is not the
most probable outcome. It is karmic slappage that,
because I did not heed professional advice and do
required preliminary work, I am dumped on my butt in
the mud. (It would _not_ be karmic, at least in my
view, if I was unaware that the horse was a rogue and
was informed that 'it was a safe trail horse.'
*In this scenario, the owner has gotten a horse with
dangerous vices (kicking, biting, bucking) that s/he
does not know how to correct, and needs professional
assistance. To have a horse that you cannot ride
because of a lack in your riding ability, and/or
nervousness/vices/high spirits in the animal, is to be "over-mounted."
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