Also to my beloved, and highly respected JW friend:
pps: This headline was profoundly insightful I found. I was a bit horrified that my own mind hadn't come up with this - lazy, distracted, slow:
Santorum wants to impose 'Judeo-Christian Sharia' CNN
Oh well.
Joe, I don't need for you to read on. This is really direct, and could be hurtful. It's up to you. But this is totally how I see it.
This is the best way I can share what's on my mind. Imagine that a human from the 1200's, educated, aware, courageous, sane... gets frozen in ice, scientists find her in 2012, thaw her out, and she's back to normal! She sees and hears an old victrola, record player, playing a beautiful symphony. 'OH MY GOODNESS,' SHE SHARES HER REVELATION, 'THIS DIVINE CREATION, THIS MACHINE, DESIGNED TO PLAY THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG. THIS IS THE SONG, THE MACHINE FROM GOD! THIS IS THE ONE TRUE MACHINE/MUSIC.
We are that machine, that victrola, our nervous system, our Head and Flesh is. And of course, she is wrong, obviously. She had the experience of seeing that machine play one particular record, but she assumed, she Believed, understandably, that the Machine was designed to play THAT EXACT PIECE - and therefore that was the one True Belief, from God, Divine.... We of course know that the record player can play an infinite variety of records.
We are that machine, from my perspective, since I was very young. A Muslim, and there are some of great Love, like you, is born seeing One record, Islam, playing on the machine, maybe making Divine music, and concludes, under considerable pressure, encouragement, example... from those around her, that THIS IS THE ONE TRUE RECORD / RELIGION!!!! And honestly, truly, from her being she believes! Uh, no, it is not. It is ONE of the religions that excites a capacity of our nervous system, giving a sense of order, peace, comfort, clarity, power, protection.... But there is nothing more true about it than Buddhism, JW, Christianity.....
With all due respect, I know that you could argue forever, on end, with every bit of your good being, that what you see, your understanding of JW, is clerly THE true religion, The true understanding. And you could be correct. But objectively, in any way that the responsible human nervous system is capable of, there is NOTHING more Objective, Truth Based, Factual... about your views, than that of the Good Muslim, Jew, Pagan.... In each one of them there is EXACTLY a 'Joe,' as articulate, as honest, as bright, as convinced, as well informed, as loving, as compassionate, as sure..... The Human nervous system has the ability to experience a religion as the one True religion, and to argue and fight to the death on that belief. That is for Certain. But that beyond that there is one iota of Truth to one Religion being more True in that sense than another is, absurd, Absurd. All evidence to the contrary. One religions' Sharia is the next religions absurd, hateful Terrorism.
This is so obvious to me. Yes, conceivably I'm wrong. No. There are two TYPES of religion - those that 'play' on the Head and Flesh - christianity, islam, jw, buddhism.... And those that play on the opposite part of our nervous system, the Heart - BY WHATEVER NAME, WITHOUT CREED, ANY MORE THAN THE EYES HAVE, NEED, OR WILL TOLERATE A CREED - Brotherhood, Universal Family, Universal Love, Insane Humanity.
xx sl
pps: This headline was profoundly insightful I found. I was a bit horrified that my own mind hadn't come up with this - lazy, distracted, slow:
Santorum wants to impose 'Judeo-Christian Sharia' CNN
Joe, I don't need for you to read on. This is really direct, and could be hurtful. It's up to you. But this is totally how I see it.
This is the best way I can share what's on my mind. Imagine that a human from the 1200's, educated, aware, courageous, sane... gets frozen in ice, scientists find her in 2012, thaw her out, and she's back to normal! She sees and hears an old victrola, record player, playing a beautiful symphony. 'OH MY GOODNESS,' SHE SHARES HER REVELATION, 'THIS DIVINE CREATION, THIS MACHINE, DESIGNED TO PLAY THIS BEAUTIFUL SONG. THIS IS THE SONG, THE MACHINE FROM GOD! THIS IS THE ONE TRUE MACHINE/MUSIC.
We are that machine, that victrola, our nervous system, our Head and Flesh is. And of course, she is wrong, obviously. She had the experience of seeing that machine play one particular record, but she assumed, she Believed, understandably, that the Machine was designed to play THAT EXACT PIECE - and therefore that was the one True Belief, from God, Divine.... We of course know that the record player can play an infinite variety of records.
We are that machine, from my perspective, since I was very young. A Muslim, and there are some of great Love, like you, is born seeing One record, Islam, playing on the machine, maybe making Divine music, and concludes, under considerable pressure, encouragement, example... from those around her, that THIS IS THE ONE TRUE RECORD / RELIGION!!!! And honestly, truly, from her being she believes! Uh, no, it is not. It is ONE of the religions that excites a capacity of our nervous system, giving a sense of order, peace, comfort, clarity, power, protection.... But there is nothing more true about it than Buddhism, JW, Christianity.....
With all due respect, I know that you could argue forever, on end, with every bit of your good being, that what you see, your understanding of JW, is clerly THE true religion, The true understanding. And you could be correct. But objectively, in any way that the responsible human nervous system is capable of, there is NOTHING more Objective, Truth Based, Factual... about your views, than that of the Good Muslim, Jew, Pagan.... In each one of them there is EXACTLY a 'Joe,' as articulate, as honest, as bright, as convinced, as well informed, as loving, as compassionate, as sure..... The Human nervous system has the ability to experience a religion as the one True religion, and to argue and fight to the death on that belief. That is for Certain. But that beyond that there is one iota of Truth to one Religion being more True in that sense than another is, absurd, Absurd. All evidence to the contrary. One religions' Sharia is the next religions absurd, hateful Terrorism.
This is so obvious to me. Yes, conceivably I'm wrong. No. There are two TYPES of religion - those that 'play' on the Head and Flesh - christianity, islam, jw, buddhism.... And those that play on the opposite part of our nervous system, the Heart - BY WHATEVER NAME, WITHOUT CREED, ANY MORE THAN THE EYES HAVE, NEED, OR WILL TOLERATE A CREED - Brotherhood, Universal Family, Universal Love, Insane Humanity.
xx sl
