Society & Culture - 17 October 2006

Not enough to be looking for it, but enough to not be coincidental. Has this happened to anyone and please serious answers only.

2006-10-17 08:52:48 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Mythology & Folklore

During the middle ages virtually no medical research was done by Christians, why? because studying the human body was considered a form of "questioning god" so for nearly 1000 years all medical advancements where done by Muslims and Jews.
Is history going to repeat itself?

2006-10-17 08:51:50 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

So, I Don't want to get anyones undies all in a twist. However, I'm wondering do any real questions get an answer in Religion and spirituality or is it just a place for boring debates we've all heard before?

2006-10-17 08:51:22 · 25 answers · asked by Stacey 2 in Religion & Spirituality

From the beginning of creation when we used to be atoms, we have taken birth millions of times since then, with the intention of producing superior than us, we went on changing our form. This human form is an latest stage of atomic developments. There are few stages, some have developed beyond their material existence to attain sukshma (minute) body, even remaining in the universe.
Right from when human being has developed the thinking power, he has started getting the feelings of sorrows in a more way. When searched for its reason, he found that life is the all cause of miseries. For that reason, for the prevention of it, he started torturing himself and came to the conclusion that, ‘salvation’ i.e. the great destruction existence of own only can save him from the wheels of life and death resulting in eradication of his own miseries. And, he will come back to his original form, from which the creation was crated. Jainis acknowledge that- the human being suffers from all types of miseries in this world. There is no happiness in the life of human being. The total life is full of desire, expectations and miseries, and those can never be satisfied. Therefore, there is a regular stream unhappiness in human life. Buddhists have also this type of opinions. Birth, old age, diseases, death, sorrows, ill coincidences, separation of loved ones, non – attainment of desired substances; are the miseries. No creature in this world is free from grief. There are several causes for miseries and sufferings. Desire for enjoying materialistic things, adultery, desire for rebirth, satisfying ego of own etc. are the important of them. With the possession of appearance, smell mental arrangements and thinking power, man get trapped with pride, affection, anger, alteration, disturbances and dissatisfaction. Therefore, one should destroy those mirages and avoid the miseries produced by them.
TIPS FOR PREVENTING MISERIES :-
It is easy to discard miseries after knowing the cause of them. Illiteracy, lack of intelligence and desires are the causes of miseries, sufferings and the restriction of birth – death can be avoided by man. For this lord Buddha has suggested that of the eight ways, 1. Right vision, 2. Right commitment, 3. Right speech, 4. Right duty, 5. Right occupation, 6. Right exercise, 7. Right memories (mind that, this world is destructible), 8. Right Samadhi (concentration of mind should be on the destination) Here, samyak means truth. Further it is also stated that, for functioning of this ‘Eight bodied path’, observation of ten amendments is a must. 1. Non – violence, 2. Truthfulness, 3. Acting restraint from stealing, 4. Abdication of properties and its collections, 5. Adaptation of celibacy, 6. Abdication of dance and songs, 7. Taking food in proper time, 8. Abdication of soft mattresses, 7. Abdication of KAMINI KANCHAN. 10. Abdication of immoral deeds from the mind and body.
The meaning is to lead a life of good conduct and a moral one. Regarding prevention of miseries and salvation Mahavir gives the option as “From desires and mirages subjective to domestic life, the kind of deeds the man does, his soul gets trapped in those deeds. Not only this birth, but also the deeds of previous birth puts the load on the soul. Due to those deeds only, a creature undergoes repeated birth and death.
When man don’t perceive any result of the deeds in the present birth, and with virtuous deeds destroys the result of deeds of the previous birth, he gets relieved from the wheel of birth and death. The main problem of life, is the domestic life. Therefore, by giving up domestic life, becoming a beggar ignoring all senses, and with deep penance, one can achieve the wisdom of truths, so that there will be no any rebirth of him in this world of miseries. The end comes for ever. The duties carried out by a domestic person should not be carried out, i.e. going in an opposite direction. So that, the ‘plant of life’ is destroyed in such a manner that it should not get germinated again after getting destroyed. Its existence should get merged with other element. It is like destroying a bamboo plant to avoid a flute.
The theme is, this creation didn’t suit the man. He can’t cope up with the hurdles of life. In spite of all the attempts, he is sad. Selfish people are unable to listen to the pains of heart and to the call of soul to each other. That is why man wants to turn back from this journey of life. In crores of years, what ever development he has achieved, he is unable to tie that up with his life. And out of frustration, he decides that he should achieve salvation. He is tired, ripe and got defeated by the life. He doesn’t see the ray of hope from even far – off. No body is here to understand his pain. Scientist talk about the destruction of the material world by atomic bomb and the high spirited are thinking of destroying their own souls by atomic bomb or by hard ‘UPASNA’. Every one has one ambition – the great destruction of his own existence. Is this a salvation ?
Getting the purest form of soul, and then getting merged with the prime soul (ISHWAR) is called salvation; where the chance of getting a new life comes to an end. The purest form of soul is achieved after the soul get released form ‘Sanskar’ (Explained before). The ‘Brahman’ and the ‘Sanskar’ are combined with the soul in a manner how the oxygen and hydrogen an found in water. As hydrogen (H2) + Oxygen (O2) = Water, like that Brahman + Sanskar + Desire (Manas) + Pran = Jivatma (life soul). Brahman is super energy. If it is separated from others, or total of them is converted into Brahman, then every substance can achieve its actual capabilities.
Energy is the cause of all substances found in this universe and the prime energy is the cause of energy. The meaning is – prime energy is the cause of every cause.
As per the sages of India, get it drilled what ever can be drilled and burn it down which ever can be burnt, then you will remain with the left over-which is the purest form. That is the ‘Brahman’ of ‘Veda’. KEIVALYA of Mahavir, Salvation of Buddha, absolution of ‘KAPIL and KANNAD’. The word salvation is a synonym of the great destruction of self existence. The meaning of salvation is to extinguish the flame by blowing out the lamp. You blew out the flame extinguishing it, but you are not asking where the flame gone. This is what salvation is. As according to Buddha- what ever is seen as a flame is the oxygen, is your mental body (Pran). The liberation of life soul from desire and arrogance, is the stage of absolution or salvation.
The flame gets extinguished by blowing the lamp off, it remains in the air in the form of the odor of fuel and as a smoke. The smoke can be re-burnt further, and the remaining part after this, is the purest form of it. For it, atomic fire is required to be ignited in the soul. With its fierce blaze, the soul being heated up and being separated from ‘Sanskar’ will come out of the boundary of birth-death.
Salvation is achieved by the above process, and by achieving divine knowledge also in which Sanskar is brought into an end. The ‘minute one’ loses its existence to combine with the great one, but it doesn’t turn into a great one- because the existence of it is too negligible in comparison to that ‘great one’. We can tell only this much that ‘Brahman’ got merged with the prime ‘Brahma’. Now don’t ask where the ‘Prime Brahma’ is situated. The prime Brahma is spread in the world of all inert and conscious soul, like an witness. The ‘space’ inside every atom is that one only, which is its body in a salvation stage and of yours as well. To become Buddha, to become Mahavir, to become a sage, you have to become a king first, to enjoy all the luxuries, so that you get fed off with life. The life will seem to be worthless, and utmost pleasure will be felt from ‘self torture’. The path of ‘Buddha’ and the path of Mahavir is applicable to those persons who have gone through all the luxuries of life. A little expectation in the life will never let you succeed in that. For that reason, before wishing for salvation it is necessary to get bored with life first. The persons bored with life are suitable for choosing the path of Buddha and Mahavir.

2006-10-17 08:51:22 · 9 answers · asked by ibkhandel 2 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-10-17 08:51:12 · 5 answers · asked by hellokitty 2 in Other - Society & Culture

2006-10-17 08:49:41 · 11 answers · asked by David W 1 in Religion & Spirituality

I just had 2 more of my questions yanked.

2006-10-17 08:49:23 · 19 answers · asked by I am Sunshine 6 in Other - Society & Culture

I'm not asking the obvious question, about non Christ like acting people. I'm asking about Christian groups labeling other religions as non Christian since they have different beliefs about Christ or his teachings.

2006-10-17 08:49:14 · 17 answers · asked by ChunderHog 1 in Religion & Spirituality

Please do not just cut and paste stuff from the internet.
You can source articles etc to support your opinion.
Ten points for the best explained answer.

2006-10-17 08:49:13 · 23 answers · asked by jason12211 3 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-10-17 08:48:24 · 3 answers · asked by wisdom3126 1 in Mythology & Folklore

2006-10-17 08:48:18 · 46 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

Not that I necessarily want them. I could care less. But in light of all the other reparations payments, why haven't the blacks been given theirs? Before you say it, why haven't the decendents of slaves been given reparations. FYI, Below are the years, amounts and names of people paid:

1952 - $822 million - Holocaust Survivors
1971 US - $1 billion + 44 million acres of land - Alaska Natives Land Settlement

1980 - $81 million - Klamaths of Oregon

1985 - $105 million Lakota of South Dakota

1985 US - $12.3 million - Seminoles of Florida

1986 - US - $31 million - Chippewas of Wisconsin

1986 - $32 million - Ottawas of Michigan

1988 - Canada - $230 million Japanese Canadians

1988 - Canada - 250,000 square miles of land - Eskimos and Indigenous people

1990 - Austria - $25 million - Jewis Claims on Austria

1990 - US - $1.2 billion - Japanese Americans

What's up with this. How can you guys get soooo pissed when black people bring it up, but not here?

2006-10-17 08:46:53 · 15 answers · asked by 11:11 3 in Other - Society & Culture

i have nothing against christains but it seams like all the ones around me are really nosy about my religious beliefs and wont leave me alone about not being christain......so im wondering if all christains are like this or am i just in an area of nosy ones?

2006-10-17 08:46:45 · 25 answers · asked by allen=[\m/] 2 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-10-17 08:46:39 · 13 answers · asked by BOB D 1 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-10-17 08:43:25 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

Does anyone know if these languages are similar to learn? I know some Hebrew and a little Mandarin Chinese so I'm used to difficult languages. I guess I am hoping I have a bit of a head start as to the structure knowing some Hebrew already. I appreciate your insight.

2006-10-17 08:42:59 · 4 answers · asked by lulu 2 in Languages

I saw this comment on someone's profile, and I don't think it's right to say something like this. It borders on discrimination, but above all, it just seems unfair. I mean, I have atheist pals, and I'd never make a statement that "the world would be better without athiesm." The same goes for different religions, other than my own. It's the differences of peoples beliefs and opinions that makes the diversity of our cultures so rich. To those who would hang the historical misdeeds of religious people over their heads, they are also over-looking the wealth of giving, compasion and sharing done by these same religions (when things like storm disasters occur, it's generally "religious" people first on the scene to offer help, a fact largely ignored by the media. But that's another subject.)

I respect other people, either athiests or people of faith, and I don't think it's right to make statements like, "the world would be better without...(blah)". Thoughts?

2006-10-17 08:41:02 · 15 answers · asked by Rob 5 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-10-17 08:39:18 · 35 answers · asked by Anonymous in Halloween

Are we not judging an entire religion based on a select few that were extreme enough to make the news? Also: how many of you have actually read the Qur'an or talked to a Muslim who follows it to the letter instead of listening to the (false) preachings of others? How would you like it if an influential group did the same to Christianity - just basing their judgements on the followers of, say, the KKK?

2006-10-17 08:38:47 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

I'm 14, and I don't want to spend all that much.

2006-10-17 08:38:22 · 3 answers · asked by k.c 2 in Halloween

Here's why I think Catholics like to portray Jesus as dead on the cross:

Pilate "found no fault" with Jesus and was going to release him.

To get Jesus crucified, the High Priest of Israel said "We have no king but Caesar".

Because the priest had the authority to bestow the office of "king", the office did actaully change hands.

Pilate (the authorized representative of Rome) then transfered the title to Jesus.

Because this is the accusation for which he was crucified, if He wasn't guilty of the charge, he wouldn't have been put to death.

OK, Jesus died. If Jesus rose from the dead, the living Jesus retains the Title "The King of the Jews".

If Jesus remained dead, the Title reverts back to Caesar who had been given the office of "King of the Jews" by the High Priest.

Since the Roman Empire morphed into the Roman Catholic church, their only claim to their authority derives from Jesus staying dead following the crucifiction.

The resurrection nullifies it.

2006-10-17 08:38:08 · 11 answers · asked by s2scrm 5 in Religion & Spirituality

Imagine that!

2006-10-17 08:37:25 · 7 answers · asked by wisdom 4 in Religion & Spirituality

We Christians beleive that God is far superior to us, much more than this analogy, perhaps as an ant to a human as far as minds go. Would you expect the ant to undertand the humans thinking? Or the person from 600 AD to understand our modern ideas? Have you ever tried to explain to a two year old why they must permit the doctor to give them a shot? How can we be expected to understand God's ways?

2006-10-17 08:36:40 · 16 answers · asked by Debra M. Wishing Peace To All 7 in Religion & Spirituality

The Pope makes a couple of comments that say the Muslim faith is a violent religion, and Muslims extremists were outraged and called for the assassination of the Pope. Doesn't that only confirm what the Pope said, and make it less offensive?

2006-10-17 08:36:12 · 5 answers · asked by Dano 3 in Religion & Spirituality

Why is there is difference between the religion (belief) and its practice ? We do something, where as our holy scriptures says something else. When we don’t abide by our religion, there’ a “guilty consciousness” is created, and our sense of guilty shows up.
We start blaming ourselves – “what the hell are you doing “ ? In spite of this, we do the same again. Why is this so ? The answer is :-
The body of human being is built by nature, controlled by nature, and its thought and feelings are natural. It is the aspect of body. There is a soul in the body also, which was completely a part of nature before. Now, it is going ahead in the direction of ‘conscious’, but till now it could develop itself to the consciousness only. It has not been released from natural wishes. It has not proved the real itself yet. Confusion is there in it, for it tries to press for autonomy sometimes, and comes under the custody of nature sometimes. And, as long as it doesn’t win over the nature, it can never get the autonomy. The nature will make it dance to its tune till then. The autonomy stage is a revolt against nature. It is trying to become a master to itself, because as long as remains under the rule of nature, its responsibility for both the grief and happiness in an equal proportion is a must. But, the “I” in their bodies is not accepting to it, doesn’t want the responsibility of grief, wants joy only.
Religion is the directive elements of pros and cons, which motivates us to become a self reliant “ I ”. Keeping the dignity of that “ I ” in mind. Religion is standing against the nature. It doesn’t want to bow against the nature. It doesn’t like the slavery under the nature, because it doesn’t want to be the part of miseries, whether or not is it deprived of the joy. For the greed of getting happiness, it doesn’t want to embrace the miseries. It doesn’t want to be the part of miseries, it doesn’t want to embrace the miseries. It doesn’t want the support of nature. It wants to be self reliant. When it is unable to become self reliant, it prays ‘god’. It is the experience of our religious personalities that only god is elf reliant and we have to take the shelter of God to relieve ourselves from the miseries.
The religion says – it is wicked to steal. Still you don’t hesitate to steal. The body (nature) motivates to steal but the religion for the satisfaction of “ I ” and for self dignity, prevents you to do so. Nature doesn’t want to spare the taste in the cream of stealing, it wants to enjoy every kind of taste. Where as the religion wants to lives on the ‘pure entity form’, where both joy and grief is missing. It is because, it doesn’t want canning for the result of the “ cream ”, derived from stealing. Thus, the kind of ‘coat’, the religion has stitched for the soul, doesn’t fit the body. The body has a different size, a different type of greed, and the soul is separating itself from this trouble. It is trying to made itself free from it, because the feeling of miseries has gone beyond tolerance.
There is a dual existence in every human being. One is “I” or soul, another is its body. Animals and other normal creatures have body only. They don’t feel get the dilemma. They live their life at ease. They enjoy both the feelings of happiness and grief in an equal way. But, where the “I” comes, there starts the dilemma. Like this the human being is in a big dilemma. It wants to get away from the body along with its all senses. The religion is made keeping the account, not the body. That is why, there is a difference between deeds and the speech. The body doesn’t listen to the soul. But, one day the soul will over the body, and will come to the neutral form. It will get away from the grief and joy and will become stoic. It is possible for the human being. In my view, effort is required beyond this also, to finish off that “I” That will be its prime stage. But, it is matter of controversy as- how far it is proper to discard happiness for the fear of the miseries. The decision is personal. I can’t impose your decision on others. Those who are of less soul and more body will have different one. Those, who are of less body and more soul will have different needs. And those, who neither have a soul and nor have a body, will have an unique decision quite different from others, because the needs of he body is different from that of a soul. And those, who neither have a soul nor have a body, do not have any ‘need’ It is a ‘zero’ stage, lack of joy- grief, dignity or indignity.
NOTE:- The soul has two parts. One is positive (+ve) another is negative(-ve) But, in totality the body is negative (Neutral). It is greedy of consuming everything. It carries no moral values. Therefore it is called negative.

2006-10-17 08:35:28 · 2 answers · asked by ibkhandel 2 in Religion & Spirituality

I was wondering do you see bi people as greedy people, they seem to get the best of both. Don't you think they should be made to choose one or the other. I just don't think its fair they get the best of both.
LOL

What do you think?

2006-10-17 08:33:22 · 11 answers · asked by Raziel 3 in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

When christians begin bashing Disney movies as having phallic symbols and such in them as hidden messages for our children, who thinks someone has way too much time on their hands? Come on people, I am a Christian and I am not that uptight or that overzealous? How do you get to be that narrow minded and still be Christian?

2006-10-17 08:32:11 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

Where is a better, perhaps more intertaining, destination for all those who are asking thoughtless questions to merely entertain themselves and their friends?

2006-10-17 08:30:19 · 1 answers · asked by george w 2 in Other - Society & Culture

I'm appearing in a prodcution of Raisin in the Sun which is being co-sponsored by a local black church and a large national bank. The church groups pastor is insisting that because we use their rehearsal space and performace space that all profanity (even mild things like hell and damn and GD be removed as well as the scene were Beneatha blasphemes that god doesn't exist and get's slapped by her mother and it's not the slap that bothers them. The N-word (which the actors, who are black if you didn't know, were asked about and supported it's usage) they don't have a problem with. It open to the general public and not exclusively for the congregation although they are obcviously a target market. I'd really like to hear from Southern Baptisis and Evangelicals to understand the thinking better. I can understand why they might object to taking the lords name in vain but the rest escapes me.

2006-10-17 08:27:42 · 3 answers · asked by Scott L 5 in Religion & Spirituality

Do u believe in this "unique" outlook on our creator?

For the record I believe in G-d.

2006-10-17 08:27:31 · 2 answers · asked by ? 4 in Religion & Spirituality