Karen Armstrong on Compassion …

Nov 1, 2009 No Comments

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by Dan Ho

I think having a charter is a step in the right direction of helping religions re-focus on their faith. As Karen Armstrong mentioned, a main problem with religion is that today, their leaders miss the golden rule of “do unto others as you would have done unto you”.

At about 18:40 into the video, Armstrong says something I do not agree with, and I hope it is just a simple oversight

… guidelines as to how to interpret scriptures, Jews and Christians and Muslims working together to create a document which we hope will be signed by a thousand at least of major religious leaders from all the traditions of the world.

What I do not agree in that quote, is that she only mentions Jews, Christians and Muslims creating a charter for essentially the rest of the world.

The idea of a compassionate Charter of Compassion would include all of the world’s religions to create that Charter not exclude them.

I assume it’s a minor oversight in her speech, as Christians, Jews and Muslims are the ones battling it out at the moment.

 

Does religion make people generous?

Oct 2, 2008 No Comments

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by Dan Ho

Evidence from self-reports suggests that devout people may be more altruistic than non-believers – but it could be that they care more about appearing to be selfless.

In some experimental situations, religious people also act more charitably and are more trusting of others. For instance, in an economic game where a “trustee” gives money to an “investor” who makes and divides a profit, religious pairs earned more money, presumably because of mutual trust. On the other hand, a “Good Samaritan” experiment found that religious people were no more likely to help a man lying on the sidewalk than non-believers.

Does religion make people generous? – Short Sharp Science – New Scientist.

I have said before that, while some religious people can be selfless, people who do things through a belief of religion aren’t necessarily so.

The reason for this: religious people do charitable deeds on earth so they can have a better afterlife.

Therefore, they are doing things for selfish gains.

 

Does the future belong to Islam?

Jun 3, 2008 No Comments

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by Dan Ho

Is anyone following the BC Human Rights Tribunal case? It has to do with an article by Mark Steyn entitled The Future Belongs to Islam. I think the case in itself is evidence for why the future could belong to Islam.

The Muslim world has youth, numbers and global ambitions.

The West is growing old and enfeebled, and lacks the will to rebuff those who would supplant it.

It’s the end of the world as we’ve known it.

An excerpt from ‘America Alone’.

I do not agree with the use of the words “rebuffing those who would supplant it”. I would say it is kinda harsh.

However, the fact is, in the western world, we could take this to court and non-muslim and muslim alike have an equal chance of representation and debate this. While in the Islamic world, which is mostly ruled by fundamentalists, non-mulsims do not get that voice.

In that sense, the article’s message is amplified.

Granted, Islam is a peaceful religion and the argument is right that you have to distinguish between fundamentalists and peaceful muslims. There is no doubt about that. Also, the Christian world is not without its crusades, inquisitions and other attrocities of past. The question is, do we want another crusade/jihad/inquisition? Two (or more) wrongs don’t make a right.

Yet, if on one hand, you have to give the opposing faction a “fighting chance”, but on the other side of the coin, all opposition is crushed, then that’s a much higher chance for one faction. Can there ever be equality if we kept the western world “free”, but let the rest of the world be dominated by any one faction (be it muslim, christianity .. or maybe even a non-religious ideology .. communism, facisim, etc)?

Really, it’s a debate of free world vs. fundamentalists. Not really western vs. muslims. It just happens that the current fundamentalists are muslims.

What are your thought on this?

 

Religious Boxing

May 21, 2008 1 Comment

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by Dan Ho
HUF Boxing

Buddhism has it’s Shaolin kung fu. Taoism has it’s Wudang school of martial arts. Sikhs have their Gatka. Christians … have boxing.

Apparently this school teaches boxing as a way to strenghten their faith. The topic of religious combatives always intrigues me.