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Tophat665 · 12-09-2003, 04:27 PM

OK, I was in a confrontational state of mind last night. Let me try to restate this with more emphasis on my point and less attempted cleverness.

Of all the main religious symbols, I picked the two that seem most opposed, the Buddha at meditation on the one hand, and Christ on the Cross on the other.

Let's start with the most similar thing about them: They're both men. Human and male. That they are both humans show that the religions are largely concerned with humanity. That they are both male I am mostly inclined to discount as indicative of the cultures in which they originated, where to be male and to be fully human meant pretty much the same thing.

The Buddha is at meditation. He is denying self, and thus connecting with the whole of the world. Christ is dying, his self is being denied him, and thus he is transcending the world.

Buddha is serene. Christ is in agony.

Now, there are much deeper levels to both of these, but most of humanity doesn't look any deeper than that.

So here's what really busts my nuggets:

The dying, pained, emaciated fellow, is being tortured for basically saying that folks ought to be nice to one another. The religion is ostensibly about love of all. (Another argument is how much this tortured symbol played into the obvious thirst for flame, blood, and pain in Christian history, but it is just that: another argument.)

The peacful, smiling, portly fellow is happy because he's figured out that none of this is real. It's a religion of detachment from all things. (This is a pretty highbrow concept, which probably explains why the most popular forms of Buddhism are those least like what Buddha preached. Again, not really part of this.)

So on the one hand, a religion of love that has a symbol of anguish, and on the other a religion of denial that has a symbol of joy.

One wonders why there are any Christians at all, or why they didn't come up with some other symbol. Check that, they did. Most popular cult in Catholicism is the cult of Mary. We all love mom (or, to be fair, wish we could).

Well, that petered out to not much. I hope it makes my earlier statement a little clearer, but I figure it doesn't. C'est la vie.

12-09-2003, 04:27 PM	#9 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	OK, I was in a confrontational state of mind last night. Let me try to restate this with more emphasis on my point and less attempted cleverness. Of all the main religious symbols, I picked the two that seem most opposed, the Buddha at meditation on the one hand, and Christ on the Cross on the other. Let's start with the most similar thing about them: They're both men. Human and male. That they are both humans show that the religions are largely concerned with humanity. That they are both male I am mostly inclined to discount as indicative of the cultures in which they originated, where to be male and to be fully human meant pretty much the same thing. The Buddha is at meditation. He is denying self, and thus connecting with the whole of the world. Christ is dying, his self is being denied him, and thus he is transcending the world. Buddha is serene. Christ is in agony. Now, there are much deeper levels to both of these, but most of humanity doesn't look any deeper than that. So here's what really busts my nuggets: The dying, pained, emaciated fellow, is being tortured for basically saying that folks ought to be nice to one another. The religion is ostensibly about love of all. (Another argument is how much this tortured symbol played into the obvious thirst for flame, blood, and pain in Christian history, but it is just that: another argument.) The peacful, smiling, portly fellow is happy because he's figured out that none of this is real. It's a religion of detachment from all things. (This is a pretty highbrow concept, which probably explains why the most popular forms of Buddhism are those least like what Buddha preached. Again, not really part of this.) So on the one hand, a religion of love that has a symbol of anguish, and on the other a religion of denial that has a symbol of joy. One wonders why there are any Christians at all, or why they didn't come up with some other symbol. Check that, they did. Most popular cult in Catholicism is the cult of Mary. We all love mom (or, to be fair, wish we could). Well, that petered out to not much. I hope it makes my earlier statement a little clearer, but I figure it doesn't. C'est la vie. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.