Beyond Our Differences

[Moksha]

This seems to be a website well worth looking at:

Beyond our Differences

After the intro and the trailer, there are so many insights to be gained by clicking on the pictures of the participants at the bottom. You might want to start with the Dalai Lama.

What are your thoughts on this?

[dazed-and-confused]

Sounds good, but when i tried to get in all i got was a black page....will try something else.

[dazed-and-confused]

OK.....went to browser and came up with LOTS of good stuff......thanks moksha.

[Maxel]

Things like this are absolutely wonderful if one has a firm faith in their own belief system. I find, however, that learning about the actual doctrine before hearing from members of other religions is beneficial because I am better equipped to learn where they're coming from.

Also- if one is constantly belitting and/or neglecting one's own belief system, things like this will probably serve to further sever the individual from his/her faith until the person is left believing that tolerance and acceptance of diversity is the ultimate in righteous living- which is, frankly, a false idea.

We need more tolerance of diversity in this world, but what we need more than that is a belief in general absolute values of right and wrong- values that accurately reflect the basic truths about life.

[dazed-and-confused]

I think Maxel has some valid points. I also think that if one DOES have a solid faith, and can also see the similarities between so many faiths of the world, they may better understand whats trying to be done here. I come from a "varied" relgious background and I have seen so many overlapping truths in so many of the faiths I've studied.......imho, iff you are are looking for truth, you will find it......if you look for dissention, you will find that as well. One of the worst things I've found in ALL of what I've studied is the missbelief, again, imho, that because there is one ultimate truth, it exists ONLY in one religion. I find that very sad.

[Vort]

This seems to be a website well worth looking at:

Beyond our Differences

After the intro and the trailer, there are so many insights to be gained by clicking on the pictures of the participants at the bottom. You might want to start with the Dalai Lama.

What are your thoughts on this?

Typical anti-religious propaganda in sheep's clothing, made by those who secretly hate religion and accepted by the sincere but gullible religious dupes who don't have the background to recognize antireligionism when it's spoon-fed to them. Consider these words of wisdom from Deepak Chopra:

(While "War" - "Division" - "Pain" scroll across the screen) The most fervent believers are Fundamentalists, and look what they've done to the world. (Yes, of course. Heaven forbid anyone actually believe what his religion teaches. We all know that "fundamentalists" are those people whom the media so labels.)

Here's another gem by Mr. Chopra:

There's an expression that God gave humans the truth, and then the Devil said, "Let's organize it, we'll call it religion". So as soon as you take that experience and you create an institution around it, then coming with the institution are other things: power-mongering, croneyism, influence-peddling, ultimately corruption.

In my opinion, no sincere and honest believer of any established religious tradition will give any credence to such nonsense.

Edited July 3, 2009 by Vort

[Traveler]

I have been lucky to have traveled and visited many societies of this world. I have discovered that devout people of faith have more in common regardless of their religion or faith. I have also experienced and seen prejudice both towards me and my faith and others and their faith.

In every case that I have encountered prejudice and hatred I have also encountered ignorance and that the prejudice and hatred is based on misinformation and lies. Sometimes there is an enjoyment of hatred and lies – I do not understand this.

But we do not have to travel far to encounter how ignorance and foster hate. Sometimes such things find its way into our homes and families. Sometimes families that began with love and compassion are torn apart with misunderstandings, jalousies, and a desire to inflect pain rather than end it. And so we live is a society more torn apart than willing to mend.

I would like to say it is all someone else’s fault but I have been a part of not knowing others better and thus not really caring that much. But I have a feeling that the greatest blessing of the last days is that in order to survive we must build bridges and open doors and not walls and locked doors.

The Traveler

[Moksha]

Consider these words of wisdom from Deepak Chopra:

(While "War" - "Division" - "Pain" scroll across the screen) The most fervent believers are Fundamentalists, and look what they've done to the world. (Yes, of course. Heaven forbid anyone actually believe what his religion teaches. We all know that "fundamentalists" are those people whom the media so labels.)

Would it be better if the media referred to them as "those fun loving down-to-basics guys with a bomb strapped to them?

Here's another gem by Mr. Chopra:

There's an expression that God gave humans the truth, and then the Devil said, "Let's organize it, we'll call it religion". So as soon as you take that experience and you create an institution around it, then coming with the institution are other things: power-mongering, croneyism, influence-peddling, ultimately corruption.

In my opinion, no sincere and honest believer of any established religious tradition will give any credence to such nonsense.

Bet if we substitued the word politics for religion, you might agree.

Beyond Chopra, there were many religious believers who affirmed the goodness of religion. In gaining an understanding of others, we cannot ignore the many folks who regard religion in the same way that Chopra does, even if we can relate more closely with those who affirm and celebrate religious beliefs.

:)