Quote: (02-03-2018 03:55 AM)the1element Wrote:
I'm beginning to wonder if people cling to religion or go to religion because they want a "way to live" a rule book of how they should live (I'm mainly referring to Christianity here, I don't know much about the other religions beyond some Eastern Buddhism)
I look at my mom, who at the age of 60 became a full-blown Christian, she's super devoted. Visited Israel last year and got baptized in the dead sea. She has a lot of enthusiasm, which I admire but I wonder if religion is her way to deal with her own fucked up life. No husband, single, 2 sons she doesn't see too often and myself (I live with her) she's had 3 husbands and every single one failed.
She wants the answers and went the easiest route to get them, via Christianity.
Whereas, I would consider the "hard way" to be a lot of self-reflection and finding one's self through experience. Which even at the age of 60, she hasn't done. She may be old, but is still childish.
I also look at my brother who sort of needs the direction in his life, he needs a reason and wants to be told what to do he doesn't want to reflect deeply about his life, challenge himself and come out with answers that only pertain to him.
I've told him, that if you want answers you need to start with classic literature.
And yes, I know The Bible is one of the oldest books.
Ironically, as a Christian, he hasn't even read The Bible.
Instead he goes to church to be told how to be a Christian.
To me, this seems like a lack of creativity in one's own life. I'm not saying religion is bad, I am saying you shouldn't use religion as a crutch for your own laziness.
Earlier tonight, I was having a discussion with my mom and she told me
"Eastern philosophy is garbage, it's all trash"
I looked at her and said why do you say that?
"It's all based on doing, you do good deeds and karma comes and helps you out"
Now, I know even with my limited knowledge of Buddhism that this isn't entirely true.
So I asked her,
"How do you know that?"
Of course, she came back with
"I just know okay?"
So I replied with
"How can you judge another religion when you know maybe 1% about it?"
She said
"I don't have to know much about another religion, I know the foundation and that's good enough (I doubt she even knows the foundation to be honest)."
Then I said this,
"If you had an atheist in the room with you right now and they said Christianity is bullshit it's about some guy named Jesus who died and now we have to worship him. Clearly, this atheist knows nothing about actual Christianity..right? He thinks he knows what it is, but he knows nothing. So how can you say Eastern philosophy is garbage if you know nothing about it? How can you judge it, in fact why judge it in the first place? Your judgements are based on what you think the philosophies are, you never sat down and read The Tripitaka? No you haven't and for you to place criticism is the same as an atheist telling you that Christianity is garbage even though he's never actually read The Bible or took time to understand it."
After I said this, she got all defensive and told me that it's not the same and tried to rationalize her own lack of knowledge.
I don't understand why religious people (again I'm using Christians as an example because thats what I'm familiar with) think they know everything and act like they are better than all of the other religions. I don't understand that line of thinking, I think personally that all of the religions have merit and you can learn from each.
I even brought up to my mom about a Greek God called Dionysus who shares many similarities as that of Jesus, even rising from the dead.
She just said that's stupid and not correct.
I even tried to say to her,
"Isn't that atleast somewhat interesting? That Dionysus shares traits of Jesus and he was way before his time?"
She said
"Not really."
Why does religion blind some people, to the point they cannot see anything beyond their own religion and reject anything that doesn't fall into it's circumstances. Isn't that very definition, of shutting yourself from the world a form of death? You aren't growing if you only allow one thing to influence you.
These are just some interesting thoughts that came up after the debate with my mom. I tried sleeping and waking up tomorrow to write this but I felt I should do it now while everything is fresh.
What are your thoughts?
My one opinion, in summary, is that her identity was free for all those years not having "a purpose to believe in" and by believing in christianity hook, line & sinker she has now focused with the force of a 1,000 suns all that energy into her "movie" of what christianity is, to her. A movie she WANTS/NEEDS to have a happy storyline and ending to.
You coming along and making her THINK about it and QUESTION things tripped her up and her defenses came to the rescue of her poor triggered amygdala. Same shit happened to my mom, who along with my father raised me Catholic( the punitive/shame religion as I call it). To them it's all do as your told, and to question it, even if to ask why this or why that is completely foreign to them.
An automaton never questions the process, it just processes.