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NAVIGATION
HOMEFAQ BLOG (kinda) LINKS - HELP » THE OLD RELIGION??? »"WITCH" DEFINED » MATRIARCHY MYTH » BURNING TIMES BULL » SALEM WITCH TRIALS » JOAN OF ARC A WITCH?? » GOOD WITCH"S BIBLE??? » "CHRISTIAN" WICCA » WICCA ISN'T SATANISM » HUMAN SCARFICIES??? » NEOPAGAN HOLI-DAZE » DRUIDS » COMPARITIVE MORALITY » FAMOUS OCCULTISTS » SANTERIA » VOODOO » "HELP! I'M CURSED!" » THE GOLDEN DAWN »FREEMASONRY » ROSICRUCIANS » SATANISM FACTS » ENOCHIAN MAGIC » ALEISTER CROWLEY » NECRONOMICON » OCCULT CRIMES #1 » OCCULT CRIMES #2 » OCCULT CRIMES #3 » GNOSTICS » CABALA DEBUNKED » ISLAM » THEOSOPHY » SCIENTOLOGY » PSYCHIC SCAMS » MORMONISM » HITLER A CHRISTIAN ??? » DAVINCI DECODED » TWO BABYLONS BULL » BIBLE ERRORS ??? » THOSE AWFUL "XTIANS" » EVOLUTION IS O.K.! » KING JESUS » HEAVEN AND HELL » DEMONOLOGY » CELTIC CHRISTIANTY » MIRACLES   |
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An infrequent
blog, news snippets, et cetera.
JANUARY 8th 2010
Welcome
to another year of de-mystifying the occult. 2009 was a lousy year for
most of us, let's all pray 2010 is better. I like to say it like it is.
BUDDHISM, SEX and GOLF Recently Fox News talking head Brit Hume upset many Buddhists when he suggested last weekend that Tiger Woods turn to Jesus Christ to deal with his sins. In the past Woods credited his mother and her Thai Buddhism with giving him the focus needed on the golf course and throughout his life. Hume said only Christianity can offer Woods forgiveness and redemption. Here's a transcript of what he said: "Tiger Woods will recover as a golfer. Whether he can recover as a person, I think is a very open question, and it’s a tragic situation with him. He’s lost his family, it’s not clear to me whether he’ll be able to have a relationship with his children, but the Tiger Woods that emerges once the news value dies out of this scandal, the extgent to which he can recover, it seems to me, depends on his faith. He’s said to be a Buddhist, I don’t think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith, so my message to Tiger would be “Tiger, turn to the Christian faith, and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world." Some critics say Hume misunderstands the point of the 2,500-year-old Eastern faith, which emphasizes the deeds and actions of the person. However, I know many people who have a liberal "Do What Thou Wilt" version of Buddhism which isn't anything what Buddha envisioned. I know of a young lady in her 20's who considers herself a Buddhist, and yet is "shacked up" with her boyfriend...something unheard of in Asian countries. While this young lady considers herself a "good Buddhist", Asian Buddhists would find such a lifestyle scandalous, jist as Americans...religious or not... would have found it 50 years ago. I've gotten emails from people claiming to be Buddhist, trying to explain to me that Buddhism is actually somehow morally liberal, and they usually cite Tibetan Buddhism...the equivalent to the "Jehovah's Witnesses" of Buddhism...as though somehow one oddball sect speaks for the whole religion...AND which really isn't as liberal as most Westerners think anyway! I've traveled to Vietnam, which has some of the oldest Buddhist sects on the planet, and spent several weeks there; Walking the streets of Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat, visiting Buddhist Temples and Shrines, and talking with Buddhists. I've also gotten to meet Chinese Buddhists, Korean Buddhists, Thai Buddhists, etc. I know about Buddhism. The kind of Buddhism practiced by Western American Buddhists is really a liberalized, feel-good Buddhism which bears little resemblance to the original Buddhism practiced in Asian countries. Most American Buddhists would be quite shocked to discover how conservative morally Buddhists are, with the exception of Japan, which has been westernized. For instance, in Southeast Asia you would never see a girl wearing "short shorts". Buddhists girls dress modestly, and usually wear pants or dresses that are cut no higher than their shins. When they go swimming, they usually wear shorts that go to their knees. Sex before marriage is unheard of. Men and women dream of the day they will be married, and many young people save for years for a wedding. Love American style where people simply "shack up" would be found repugnant to Asian Buddhists. Also disapproved of: homosexuality. While in Vietnam in 2000, I commented to my future sister in laws that I knew a gay man in America who was a Buddhist. They were shocked, and said "He couldn't possibly be a Buddhist! Buddha did not approve of homosexuality!" The idea that somehow Christianity is out of step with the rest of the world on the subject simply isn't so! And of course, Adultery is a sin as well. Now that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen among Asian Buddhists, because it happens as it does all over the world. But in Buddhism, as in all the World's religions, Adultery is considered a sin. Oddly enough, these same liberal Buddhist types who will point out the similarities between Jesus and Buddha fail to realize similarities such as both taught homosexuality, adultery, lying, fornication, drunkenness, and stealing, were all sins. When Westerners turn to Eastern religions, it's usually because they feel the Judeo-Christian religion has too many "hang-ups". Some Buddhists online have pointed out that if Tiger Woods had been living as a Buddhist should live, he wouldn’t have gotten in all this trouble, that’s true. Well, that is true, but it may be that Mr. Woods was living the liberalized American New Age-y Buddhism that many American Buddhists practice. Some Westerners also tend to believe Buddhism to be more "scientific". Again, that's because thyey've created a Buddhism that fits their idea of Buddhism, but doesn't really exist. Buddhists...and I dearly love them, because they are very polite, moral people...are some of the most superstitous people I've ever met. You've never known superstition until you've encountered it Asian style. Whistling in a house draws snakes, "ghost money" (what we'd call "play money") is burned to appease ghosts...the list goes on and on. As far as "enlightening" people, I fail to see how Buddhism is effective at that. But I digress. Back to morality. Morality isn't about "hang-ups", it serves a two fold purpose. One, it put the individual in the right relationship with God and himself, and two, morals transcend the individual and benefit society as a whole. Everyone benefits from the concepts of "Don't Kill, Don't Steal, Don't Bear false Witness", etc., The individual when left to his own devices would simply invent a "moral code" that amounted to doing whatever he or she wanted...not unlike "Do What Thou Wilt". Moral boundaries must apply to society as a whole, or else they are of no value. For instance, pedophiles honestly think they do no harm to their victims, which is why society as a whole must agree pedophilia is wrong, not pedophiles. As for Hume's statement that Tiger Wood's should seek Jesus for forgiveness, he's absolutely right. Only Jesus can help someone turn their lives around. Sorry, but Buddhism just doesn't do that. I've seen it turn lives around. No one stops being a drunk by becoming a Buddhist. As one ex-Buddhist said, the difference between Jesus and Buddha is like this: If you were drowning and Buddha saw you while on the river bank, he would give you instructions on how to swim. If you were drowning and Jesus saw you while on the river bank, he would jump in and save you. That's the difference between Buddha and Jesus. Jesus has the power to save and forgive, Buddha simply tells you to try harder. That isn't to say that Christians don't try to live moral lives, because they do. But the reasons Christians live moral lives because it's the right thing to do, rather than out of fear of "Karma". One person in the blogosphere wrote of the situation " On its face, Hume’s remarks do seem to suggest that Christianity is superior to Buddhism, and the idea that someone should abandon their own faith for yours does reek of arrogance...I’d lay good money that even casual Christians would be offended by such a proposition. It’s one thing to extol the virtues of your own faith, but quite another to denigrate someone else’s." First, if people belonging to a religion...including Buddhists...didn't tell people about their faith and extol its virtues over others, no religion would ever grow. Yes, even Buddhists sent missionaries into other countries to tell people why Buddhism is better than other religions, which is why it spread outside the boundaries of India (and yes, wars were fought in the name of Buddhism, and Buddhists have persecuted minority religions, but that's another story). I had someone try to convert me to Buddhism many years ago (I wasn't a Christian at the time). Well, they weren't successful, and I think they were a little mad that I didn't seek out enlightenment by chanting at a Buddhist altar and such as they had. Was I offended this person tried to convert me? Not at all. Should I have been? It all boils down to this: every person who belongs to a religion (and yes, even Tiger Woods) believes it is the best religion. If they didn't believe this, why would they belong to an inferior religion? So Mr. Hume has every right to offer his advice to a troubled Tiger Woods, and Mr. Woods has every right to accept or reject that advice. I doubt Mr. Woods was offended by it. If others were offended by it, well, we have these things called freedom of religion and freedom of speech, and Mr. Hume was exercising his rights. Is it really “tolerant” to wish people wouldn’t exercise these rights...or worse still, should be stopped from excersing these rights? There are people who practically have steam coming out of their ears over what Brit Hume said, and I could not help but think about some of the things people have said to me in emails...all written by people who were about as civil as a badger with hemmeroids. They all tell me how should stop what I'm doing, how I have to give them equal time, and they always feel the need to get the last word in so they'll feel like they've "won" just because I get tired of answering their nonsense. The worst ones are a string of explitives or have veiled threats, the most amusing ones are "curses". No, Brit Hume should continue to speak his mind as all free citizens should. People can listen to what he says, or choose not to. And likewise I will continue to write the things I write. Wether you accept them or not is your business...but don't think you have the right to stop me. PRAY FOR... This ministry. For an end to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and that are troops will come home safely. For me and my family. Older Blogs : Nov. 2009 Dec. 2009 Advent2009 Some of the materials on this web site are copyrighted by others, and are made available here for non-profit educational purposes such as teaching, scholarship, and research. Title 17, Ch. 1, Sec. 107 of the US Copyright law states that such Fair Use "is not an infringement of copyright"(click here to read it all). Uncommon Sense Ministries, Inc. is not a church, and is not affiliated with any other organizations. It has no commercial interests and does not solicit donations or contributions. Links to external web sites do not necessarily constitute endorsements, but are provided as aids to research. NONE OF THESE MATERIALS ARE TO BE SOLD. All HTML is Copyrighted by Uncommon Sense Ministries. Permission is freely given to use it by others SO LONG AS IT AS NOT USED FOR PURPOSES PROMOTING ANY FORM OF OCCULTISM OR CULTS. |
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