Are religious folk renown for practicing what they preach? :lol:
So the question becomes, what is the cornerstone of religion? — praxis
If "praxis is the cornerstone", then why many, actually most, e.g. Christians do not 'act Christ-like' very often (i.e. live Christ-like lives) and haven't done so throughout history? — 180 Proof
Religion as such makes far more hypocrites than it "makes us better" people. Read Dante. Read Erasmus. Read Spinoza. Read Paine. Read Nietzsche. It's an archaic, though somewhat still effective, system of control. Nothing more. It's intelligible content is mostly nil. "WWJD" is merely a punchline or tattoo. No longer even "Platonism of the masses" ... — 180 Proof
Hypocrisy is the best we can hope for. In hypocrisy people acknowledge something is nice and pretend to be that. — Joe Wong (comedian)
All I will say is that I know some believers who do manage mostly to practice what's been preached to them. Being a secular absurdist freethinker, my ethical struggles just don't include hypocrisy as par for course the way it is practiced, sometimes ethusiastically, by so-called "religious" folks. Yeah, I fail occasionally to live-up to being better than I was yesterday but that's the (any) discipline – striving to overcome myself (which, you're right, is difficult as hell to do daily) – and not a profession of "grace" or "faith" in some messiah / prophet / guru. Anyway, the only advice I'd take from a "hypocrite", if I was interested, is 'how to be one and make it work for me somehow'. :smirk: — 180 Proof
praxis is the cornerstone of religions. The proof of the pudding is in the eating!
— TheMadFool
Are religious folk renown for practicing what they preach? :lol:
So the question becomes, what is the cornerstone of religion? — praxis
Another point worth noting is the Buddha was reluctant to discuss metaphysical issues and avoided discussing such matters, instead adopting a noncommital stance on all such questions - Noble Silence. — TheMadFool
Just because most people are hypocrites doesn't mean this doesn't hold true for those whose practices are authentic. — Pantagruel
If you meet the Buddha on the road kill him. — Pantagruel
Are religious folk renown for practicing what they preach? :lol: — praxis
What is important is to constantly educate ourselves and surround ourselves with people who have liberal educations because our social nature brings out the best or worse in us depending on the people we associate with. That is where religious people have a distinct advantage- they congregate regularly and intentionally focus their minds above their bases instincts. — Athena
They intentionally develop themselves and support each other in this endeavor. — Athena
he American Association for the Advancement of Science describes a liberal education in this way: "Ideally, a liberal education produces persons who are open-minded and free from provincialism, dogma, preconception, and ideology; conscious of their opinions and judgments; reflective of their actions; and aware of their place in the social and natural worlds." Liberally educated people are skeptical of their own traditions; they are trained to think for themselves rather than conform to higher authorities. So your advice here is rather contradictory, to pursue a liberal education which tends to erode 'traditional' views, yet you praise traditional views and conformity to 'higher authorities'.
Incidentally, studies from the Pew Research Center indicate that Liberals are about half as religious as Conservatives (those who uphold traditional values and norms). — praxis
They are strongly bonded, sharing traditional values, norms, rituals, etc., and that bond is the essential purpose, to be a unified tribe. Self-development is entirely beside the point, or intentionally suppressed, because self-development leads to self-determination. — praxis
I believe that it was Plato who spoke of the higher self, as the daimon. I think philosophy, including the Greek ideas is extremely important, and it is a way of making sense of both religion and science. Definitely, religious views are focused on being saved and, of course, haunted with the threat of eternal damnation. This the reason why I really wanted to think my way out of a religious point of view, and, on top of the idea of hell, it is frequently suggested that people should not question. Ideas are meant to be accepted through blind faith. — Jack Cummins
They are "suppressed and hidden" by whom and why?... the whole history of esoteric traditions ... I think that these thinkers are often suppressed and hidden from mainstream religion, but from philosophy too. — Jack Cummins
I had the view that the early gnostics were most like the Indian yogis and sages who had appeared and taught in the West, but that they had been suppressed by the mainstream Church. And this was for the political reason, that belief is a much easier thing to control than knowledge — Wayfarer
Speaking for myself, not Jack, the common denominator (besides them all being more or less patriarchal males) seems to be that they each promise in his own way that 'personal salvation from self-immiseration is possible' (in effect) after death. Holy Hustle, Batman! :yikes:1. Siddhartha Gautama (Buddhism)
2. Mahavira (Jainism)
3. Moses (Judaism)
4. Jesus (Christianity)
5. Mohammed (Islam)
6. Zarathustra (Zoroastrainism) — Agent Smith
personal salvation from self-immiseration is possible — 180 Proof
Christianity 2.382 billion 31.11%
Islam 1.907 billion 24.9%
Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.193 billion 15.58%
Hinduism 1.161 billion 15.16%
Buddhism 506 million 5.06%
Chinese traditional religion[c] 394 million 5%
Ethnic religions excluding some in separate categories 300 million 3%
African traditional religions 100 million 1.2%
…
— “From Wikipedia on Religious Membership”
Today, philosophy of religion is one of the most vibrant areas of philosophy. . . .What accounts for this vibrancy? Consider four possible reasons.
First: The religious nature of the world population. Most social research on religion supports the view that the majority of the world’s population is either part of a religion or influenced by religion (see the Pew Research Center online). To engage in philosophy of religion is therefore to engage in a subject that affects actual people, rather than only tangentially touching on matters of present social concern. Perhaps one of the reasons why philosophy of religion is often the first topic in textbook introductions to philosophy is that this is one way to propose to readers that philosophical study can impact what large numbers of people actually think about life and value. . .
Second: Philosophy of religion as a field may be popular because of the overlapping interests found in both religious and philosophical traditions. Both religious and philosophical thinking raise many of the same, fascinating questions and possibilities about the nature of reality, the limits of reason, the meaning of life, and so on. . . .
Third, studying the history of philosophy provides ample reasons to have some expertise in philosophy of religion. In the West, the majority of ancient, medieval, and modern philosophers philosophically reflected on matters of religious significance. . . .
In Chinese and Indian philosophy there is an even greater challenge than in the West to distinguish important philosophical and religious sources of philosophy of religion. It would be difficult to classify Nagarjuna (150–250 CE) or Adi Shankara (788–820 CE) as exclusively philosophical or religious thinkers. Their work seems as equally important philosophically as it is religiously (see Ranganathan 2018).
Fourth, a comprehensive study of theology or religious studies also provides good reasons to have expertise in philosophy of religion. As just observed, Asian philosophy and religious thought are intertwined and so the questions engaged in philosophy of religion seem relevant: what is space and time? . . .
— “Excerpt from SEP on Philosophy of Religion”
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