Is the golden rule common to many philosophies and religions?

Question

For my money, it's the only redeeming quality of the Christian doctrine. I'm curious as to if other belief systems share this moral precept in common with Christianity.
Thanks

I'm sorry, but "turn the other cheek" just seems hopelessly naive to me. People are going to take advantage of you when you show submission. It's synonymous with being a doormat, and in a less civilized world, carried out to it's logical conclusion, would just be passive suicide. At some point, you have to stand up for yourself, and at that point, you render the precept meaningless.

Answer 1

Yeah, it is...you'll find it worded in various ways but the whole "do unto others..." idea wasn't exclusive to xianity...I'm not xian myself, but I do believe following that "rule" is a fine way to live. ☺

"The ethic of reciprocity or "The Golden Rule" is a fundamental moral principle found in virtually all major religions and cultures, which simply means "treat others as you would like to be treated." It is arguably the most essential basis for the modern concept of human rights. Principal philosophers and religious figures have stated it in different ways,

"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the LORD." — Torah Leviticus 19:18
"When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God." — Torah Leviticus 19:33-34
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." — Jesus (c. 5 BCE—33 CE) in the Gospels, Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31, Luke 10:27
"None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." — Muhammad (c. 571 – 632 CE) in a Hadith.
"This is the sum of duty; do naught unto others what you would not have them do unto you." — Mahabharata (5:15:17) (c. 500 BCE)
"What you do not wish upon yourself, extend not to others." — Confucius (ca. 551–479 BCE)
"What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man." — Hillel (ca. 50 BCE-10 CE) "

Answer 2

Mack Darling... You are trying to look at something spiritual from a human perspective.

Turning the other cheek... is SUPPOSED to get your other one smacked too...

Therefore teaching by example how man is a temporary body, suffering physical ailments and the stupidity of others but only for a time... Because spirit is eternal and does not fall under the limitations of the flesh.

By turning the other cheek you are showing a strength of will and a strength of soul over body...

The body can withstand anything that the mind allows it to transcend... Pain, limitation, suffering. embarrassment, slavery, torment and torture of all sorts are tools of the enemy to cause humanity to believe in the physical being as the end of everything...

By the submission of the other cheek after one has already been hit... It is showing a strength of another kind. A strength of will that supersedes physical limitations and transcends us to our soul force, which respects nothing of the fear and trepidation, pain and prejudice that exists in the realm of the physical.

By offering the other cheek... we are showing the hand that decides to strike it, that we are better than it's best attempts at conquering what man cannot destroy.

Answer 3

It's a very common idea, which is why it saddens me how completely wrong it is. It's well-intentioned. But it just doesn't work for two reasons which should be pretty obvious:

The first is the assumption that someone else likes what you like. Which is just clearly not so. For example, some people really enjoy having discussions about their own particular religion... so, following the Golden Rule, they should therefore talk about their religion to everyone else as often as possible. I know any number of people who would find this to be nothing less than odious. And that's leaving aside all the truly bizarre things that some people like.

The other problem is parasites. I tend to agree that a community is more effective at solving problems than a bunch of individuals, so that working with others and being generous with them is a good idea. But - almost as if by magic - any time someone tries to practice altruism you end up with a bunch of parasites more than happy to consume and not produce. These are opposing forces. If you can't trust other people, it's very difficult to work with them on any level. If you blindly trust them, then much of your efforts will be wasted.

So the Golden Rule is bad: it encourages incorrect and wasteful application of efforts. Most people who do well with it do so by interpreting it so liberally that they could be accurately said to be not following it at all. They do unto others in proportion to how others have done unto them (reciprocal instead of unlimited altruism). Or they do unto others as others would like to have done unto them (giving people what THEY want instead of what YOU want).

Or... hopefully... they do both!

Answer 4

I apologize if my answers isn't as lengthy as the others, but if everybody had the same belief as you, (Golden Rule is useless) then of course it won't work! But if more people start to believe in the Golden Rule, and participate in religious groups, or any group in general who share the same belief, the benefits will be tremendous.

PS. Sorry, not going to happen

Answer 5

There are many other 'redeeming' qualities of Christian doctrine, such as Love thy Neighbor, or Turn the Other Cheek (which breaks the cycle of revenge); or Christ's sermon on the mount, or the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer 6

The Golden Rule or the ethic of reciprocity is found in the scriptures of nearly every religion.

It is often regarded as the most concise and general principle of ethics.

Christian faith:
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

Not one of you is a believer until he loves
for his brother what he loves for himself.


Jewish faith:
What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow men.

That is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary.


Muslim faith:
No one of you is a believer until he desires
for his brother that which he desires for himself.


Bahá'í faith:
And if thine eyes be turned towards justice,
choose thou for thy neighbour that which thou choosest for thyself.


Hindu faith:
This is the sum of duty: do naught to others which if done to thee would cause thee pain.


Zoroastrian faith:
Whatever is disagreeable to yourself do not do unto others.


Buddhist faith:
Compare oneself to others in such terms as, just as I am, so are they, just as they are, so am I .


Wiccan Rede:
An it harm none, do what thou wilt.


Confucianism:

Tzu-kung asked,

'Is there a single word which can be a guide to conduct throughout one's life?'

The Master answered,
'It is shu - reciprocity: Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you.'


Jainism:
A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself would be treated.


African Traditional Religion of the Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria):
One going to take a pointed stick to poke a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.

Answer 7

Yes, it is. The idea is found in Christianity and Judaism, among other religions.