DiZZY
Atheist! As I wrote several weeks ago, the A-word makes some Goan RCs swoon and last Sunday we witnessed a full display .... This is a common ailment of Christians - their attachment and identification with words. We are all aware of the historical precedent with its great psychological implications: the Roman Catholic and the Protestant Churchs' interpretation of the word 'rock' - a war of words which not even God can settle! For Children of the East religion is not about words. Ask a Christian a question and you will most likely be told to open the Bible to a certain page, chapter, and verse. They argue like lawyers! For Children of the East, religion is the experience of truth, a matter of consciousness. Ask a Hindu a question related to his religion and though he might refer you to the Gita or the Upanishas or some other religious texts it is still about individual religious experience. If you have a different opinion or interpretation of the experience he will not go berserk. The Upanishadic seer spoke from a very high level of consciousness and although it was his level of consciousness and understanding, the same cannot necessarily be expected of the listener. As a result, there are commentaries and commentaries and commentaries over hundreds and thousands of years. Can we compare this attitude with the fanatical attitude of the Christian, Roman Catholic or Protestant? For Children of the East either you know or don't know what truth is! Argumentation is fine, no problem but of secondary importance! Other names for commentaries are philosophy, theology. What did the wagsss from Ponda say about the philosopher and theologian? The philosopher, he said, is someone looking for a black cat in a dark room and the theologian is the guy who will find it. Good fun, eh? Anyway, do atheists swoon when they hear the word God? Why not? Why don't Children of the East, Buddhists and Hindus and others swoon over the interpretation of a single word or phrase as do the Roman Catholics and Protestants? Why is it so with Christians? Maybe the scientists on Goanet might want to engage in a lively debate on the topic? What happens in the brain of a believer when s/he hears the A-word? Btw, what did Francis say about the Goans, if anything? As usual, have fun - it's Sunday. Joao