TranceTara
Posts: 152
Joined: 12/22/2008
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I was born Jewish and my parents were not dogmatic in that I attend Hebrew school and follow their faith. They were comfortable enough in themselves and loved me enough to let me explore and find which religious path, if any, suited me. I did not like the idea of a punishing God in heaven, so I began my search.
In high school, we had to read the Bible and I could not get past Genesis I and II. Already I found a discrepancy in the logic for I was faced with two different creation stories. Ah, perhaps this is symbolic and not to be taken literally. As I read further I began to think that in many parts, the King James Bible was the ideal form of crowd control. Put the fear of God into people and they'll do as you say.
From some of the posts I have read, I get the feeling that Muslim is a bad word. I know some Muslims and they are some of the kindest people I have met. And, I know some Christians who go to church like good Christians, attend Church meetings and yet, they are quite dishonest. I was shocked when I heard one young man telling me how we could write off certain things at work to get credit. I looked at him and told him, "That is most unethical." So, based upon the reasoning that others are using, if I wished to base my concept of Christians upon this young man and a couple of other cross wearing, Jesus loving gang members who have been in jail and still do some illegal things, I could then say, if A then B. So, if a Christian, then one is dishonest and is a member of gangs. And, I could all say if C then D, C being the Muslims I know and D being that they are kind, loving and ethical. So, all Muslims are kind and ethical. But such thinking is quite limited and erroneous for I am basing my judgment on the acts of a few people. To generalize such things is quite unfair.
(I edited this paragraph for the original was poorly written and did not make sense when I re-read it.)
I have a copy of the Lamsa Bible and in the the Introduction, there is a very long explanation about the original text of the Bible, the Aramaic Peshitta Text. Now, if a bug had accidentally splattered onto the page, or if some ink splattered, thus making a dot over or under a word, that would change the meaning of the word entirely. Also, if one was not well versed in the language, one could very well misinterpret the text. An example, PESHITTA TEXT "And the Lord said to Moses, take all the chiefs of the people and expose them before the Lord in the daylight..." Kind James version "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun..." Deuteronomy 27:16. I guess some people lost their heads over that one. 
My point is that there are many cultures. And, I cannot claim to understand them all. I thought the piece by Hannity was a bit funny and I do not believe a word of it. And on the other hand, it scares me a bit because some people will take this as free reign to judge and further separate themselves from a people they consider the enemy. The enemy is not the Muslim faith. The enemy is not the Jewish faith. The enemy is not the Christian faith. The enemy is not Wicca, Buddhism, taoism Confucianism... and others I have omitted from lack of time and ignorance. The enemy is ignorance and an unwillingness to open one's heart to another's differences. I have seen many left wing radicals do similar things with those they wanted to poke fun at. I do not agree with either extreme. I do not like extremes. I find them rather mean. I like Green eggs and ham. But do not give me spam.
I love the teachings of Jesus, but I am not a Christian. I have had many many empowerments in highest Tantra yoga of Tantric Buddhism, but I do not identify as a Buddhist. I gaze at my picture of Jesus hanging over my Green Tara and Avolketishvara statues and know they are one and the same. I am One with them. Jesus was the son of God, as are we all. (And my definition is more quantum based than religious based.) We all have access to peace within and that is where it starts. I must go within, come to terms with my own intolerance and be willing to feel the discomfort and pain so I can be a better person in order to bring about more peace and love on this all too chaotic planet.
I love this line from the movie The Kingdom of Heaven, "There is so much done in the name of Christendom of which Christ would be incapable." Amen! Christ was not a Christian. He was a man who only wanted to show people that they had the power within. Perhaps he was a Master?  He had influence because he cared, he was passionate and he did not judge. Nowadays there is so much judgment done in his name, well, I bet if he were alive right now he'd be crying his eyes out and I'd be there to hold him and tell him his work was all not for naught.
In Ethics 101 John Maxwell makes it a point to say the most important rule to remember in ethics is the Golden Rule:
Christianity: "Whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them."
Islam: "No one of you is a believer until he loves for his neighbor what he loves for himself."
Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow man. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary."
Buddhism: "Hurt not others with that which pains yourself."
Hinduism: "This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you."
Zoroastrianism: "Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others."
Confucianism: "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
Bahai: "And if thine eyes be turned towards justice, choose thou for thy neighbor that which thou chooses for thyself."
Jainism: " A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated."
Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria): One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts."
Okay, so I am not addressing the masochists here. lol Lord knows how we love pain. "But officer, I was doing unto others as I wanted done unto me. I thought they'd love that whipping." 
When I feel an angry thought arising I now stop before saying anything and pause. I then ask, "Where the heck is this coming from?" I ask myself if it's fear based, ego based, wanting to be right, being so dogmatic that I cannot allow room for another's opinion, or is it in witnessing an injustice. I used to be very hot tempered and was very active in PETA and some other causes. I then found that anger and ridicule shuts doors fast. But a willingness to listen and be receptive opens and respect keeps them open, and then we have a chance for peace. (Edited because I left out the willingness to listen and be receptve.)
I personally do not believe in organized religion for the simple fact that it seems to organize different faiths against one another. It saddens me greatly when people have to resort to name calling and intolerance in order to be right. (Why can't there be more than one right way?) I do have a lot of faith and read the words of Jesus, Buddha and now have a Koran which I shall soon begin to read (I also just got two books on Tantra and as the homework assignments are many and I wish to be a very very good student, the Koran will wait for a bit.) I also love the ancient Mayans. And, now I know why they call it Armageddon. When it happens Armageddon outta here.
And, I voted for Obama, but that does not mean I blindly trust him. He is a human being yes, but he is also a politician. Red flag in my book. But, I believe in a lot of what he is attempting to accomplish by opening the doors of communication. Let's give him a chance.
May we all find some common ground, inner peace and COSMIC ORGASMS.
< Message edited by TranceTara -- 2/3/2009 4:21:56 PM >
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“Listen, I am trying to cope with the presence of God and the Universal Human Experience, and I haven’t even had a cup of tea yet!” -French and Saunders
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RE: How come Hannity doesn't get fired? - 
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