Religion has had it's time.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Out of being curious, do yall have to pay for gas before pumping? We pump gas first, then go inside and pay for what we put in the tank. I had to stop in Toleto OH on my way up to the fest in MI to fill up and they made me pay in advance. I'm not used to that.

Dave I guess we do in the sense that our credit card goes in first then the pump will turn on.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by HarmanKardon

What is religion? It is the personal expression of something that is impersonal, Lao-Tsu called it "Tao". This Tao is a fact, but not comprehensible for most people. So some guys had been invented like God, Jesus, Shiva, Mohammed, Buddha, most of them at first representing at least partly the principles of Tao. But soon later assholes started to corrupt the thoughts and teachings of those old guys what created messy religions. As long as people cannot accept that after the last breath the show is definitely over, as long religions and their believers will exist.

There is the problem Chris because no one has ever come back and said it is true, or not true.

That sais I do think Rabbi Hillel summed it all up so beautifully when he wrote;

"That which is distasteful to you do not do unto others, that is the whole law all the rest is mere commentary".

I recently finished C.S. Lewis' book The Four Loves which was his commentary on the four words the Greeks have for what we call love.

Paleo or brotherly love as experienced between siblings and even between especially good friends.

Storge (the g is hard) the love between a parent and child, Lewis refers to this as need love. love that children need from parents, in my experience this is especially true of girls and their fathers because if they do not find it at home they will seek it elsewhere and there are predators out there,

Eros love between a husband and wife but in this day and age can simply be between a man and woman. The word erotic is derived from this an we have corrupted that today. Eros contains both a spiritual and a physical element, Lewis called the physical side Venus at her most mischievous but if you have never laughed when making love with your wife/lover you are missing something.

Agape to the Greeks this was the highest form a pure love given freely without condition. Latin speakers tended to translate this as charitable love and presumably why Paul's use of it in 1st Corinthians 13 had it come out as charity. Ovid wrote xenia in Baucis and Philemon.

Having been so fortunate as to have experienced both Eros and Agape with, and from, a goodhearted woman I have come to believe that the most powerful force on the face of the earth is love in all its forms.

So if a belief system teaches us to love one another that is good. It is when it gets corrupted into a control system that it is evil. To often men have used it to control women as in "serve and obey" or "wives submit yourselves to your husband". I rather prefer the old Jewish saying "God did not take woman from man's forehead that he should command her, neither from his foot that she should be his slave, rather from his side that she be close to his heart."

And thus endeth the lesson for today.

[HarmanKardon]

Thank you very much Rob.

I would like to mention a taoist point of view concerning eternal life. So, according to Lao-Tzu, Chuang-Tzu, also according to the old Zen masters like Yuan Wu et al. our life does not begin with our birth and it does not end with our death. The whole universe, anything that is in it, is One and Now. So we are. We are in this universe and the universe is in us. But the short time we exist as human beings is the time when we are aware of it. Great nuclear and astro physicists like Heisenberg, Capra, Hawking appreciate this point of view.

Love by the way is an essential part of most of the asian philosophies and religions.

[JJIII]

Thanks for that post, Rob.

[JJIII]

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Rob, things must be very different where you live. It's nothing like that here. Elderly get the upmost respect here. You walk in a store, old or young and you'll hardly need to grab the door as someone will hold it open for you. That is no joke. And when I go to the store, it's hard to get out of there because the folks will talk your ears off. You pass a car on any country road out here and they'll wave at you, and only look at you puzzled if you pretentend you didn't see them or to good to say hi back. Out of honesty, I was thrown in culture shock when I drove up north to the fest. Had a pizza guy at a redlight scream shit at us when I didn't ''floor it'' soon as the light turned green. They had no respect for people finding their way through a place we were only traveling through. Stopped for gas and folks didn't speak, just walked past bumping shoulders like they had a chip on theirs. You will not find that in my area. And garages do not ask you to wait in no office. People bullshit with the mechanic's while the work is being done. There are stools and chairs ''in the mechanic area'' if you want to go watch. In fact, if a local was to be told to stay in the office, they'd feel they were going to get screwed and take it somewhere else.

You have described the way it is here too.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by JJIII

You have described the way it is here too.

I only know what Florence has experienced at the Giant. They don't misbehave too much if I am with her but I have had them push our cart out of the way and reach right in front of my face without an 'excuse me'. She says the behave better when she carries her cane, probably afraid she will use it.

Small town life was much better but then you probably know everyone, at least that was how it was where I grew up.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by JJIII

Thanks for that post, Rob.

Yeah every once in a while I drag out the soapbox, but what I wrote was what I had learned over a number of years. Considering how Florence and I met if there is not a higher power I have no idea what is going on then.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Rob, things must be very different where you live. It's nothing like that here. Elderly get the upmost respect here. You walk in a store, old or young and you'll hardly need to grab the door as someone will hold it open for you. That is no joke. And when I go to the store, it's hard to get out of there because the folks will talk your ears off. You pass a car on any country road out here and they'll wave at you, and only look at you puzzled if you pretentend you didn't see them or to good to say hi back. Out of honesty, I was thrown in culture shock when I drove up north to the fest. Had a pizza guy at a redlight scream shit at us when I didn't ''floor it'' soon as the light turned green. They had no respect for people finding their way through a place we were only traveling through. Stopped for gas and folks didn't speak, just walked past bumping shoulders like they had a chip on theirs. You will not find that in my area. And garages do not ask you to wait in no office. People bullshit with the mechanic's while the work is being done. There are stools and chairs ''in the mechanic area'' if you want to go watch. In fact, if a local was to be told to stay in the office, they'd feel they were going to get screwed and take it somewhere else.

Rural vs urban. There are just too many people around in the big city to say 'hi' to everyone. And all that implies.

But there are advantages to the city culture, of course. There are a lot more opportunities. And not only can you not find 'different' in a small burg, you may not be allowed to 'be' different.

Basically, it's good to have both, and the ability to move around.

[djv8ga]

Originally Posted by donquixote99

Rural vs urban. you may not be allowed to 'be' different.

Ridiculous.

[donquixote99]

Originally Posted by djv8ga

Ridiculous.

Have you lived in the rural 'Bible belt' recently? It all depends on what you want and need, of course. But if you want to have a position in the community, practice a profession, have customers for your business, be considered to 'fit in' at the job, or otherwise do things that depend in some measure on the good opinion of others, you'd best be in good standing at your 'church home.'