FSTDT Forums
Community => Religion and Philosophy => Topic started by: R. U. Sirius on August 15, 2012, 02:06:27 pm
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Well, we've got the other thread, so I figured this would be a good one as well, considering I've seen a few posts here about this very topic, scattered in other threads.
So, let's have it. Even if you don't like religion in general, what are some religious quotes, teachings, parables and proverbs that you find meaningful or inspirational?
I'll start:
"I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation any one who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to him." -St. Peter, Acts 10:34-35
"Do not speak, unless it improves on silence." -Buddhist proverb
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"The fool believes everything. The sensible watches his step." Proverb 14:16.
"They criticize the quiet ones.
They criticize the talkative ones.
They criticize the moderate ones.
There is no one in this world that can escape criticism."
(from the Dhamapada."
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"By deception you shall wage your war" (Proverbs 24:6)
"You shall live by the laws, but not die by them." (Talmudic principle)
"Let all who are hungry come and eat" (Passover blessing)
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I actually really like Psalm 23. It's very soothing, especially when set to music.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIDxoOqQxwI
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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- some ancient jewish dude
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'An so it harm none, do as thou wilt'.
Also, 'vive noctis'.
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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- some ancient jewish dude
Rabbi Hillel
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There's an ad by the Mormon Church on Youtube- it plays before some videos I like. It's a guy who's a biker and a family man, and he seems... remarkably badass. He's incredibly friendly, and mentions that he values having friends of other faiths. There are certain things about it that bug me (for instance, he mentions that he can't find part of the Bible that says he can't love motorcycles, and all I can think is "Why the shit would there be?"), but overall he seems like a damn decent guy, and it's nice to see that faith doesn't have to turn you into a fundie.
As for actual phrases-
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"God loves you just the way you are."- Said by Mr. Fred Rogers (yes, THE Mr. Rogers) , a devout Christian, to a group of gay people when a nearby heckler demanded he condemn them.
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Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
- some ancient jewish dude
Rabbi Hillel
Fuck Yeah for you, my friend.
Anyway, it's not really a saying or a phrase or anything of the sort, but I just realised that the soundtrack for Railroad Tycoon 3 includes what I can only describe as a bluegrass instrumental cover of Amazing Grace. I know it's difficult to imagine, but it's actually quite a pleasant sound, particularly when you're trying to find that perfect route through some rather difficult terrain.
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Hillel was a fairly awesome guy. Oh, and he invented the sandwich 2000 years before the Earl of Sandwich. So really, that's a peanut butter and jelly hillel you're eating there.
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I saw this on the sign of a church years ago;
"The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints."
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Bumper sticker I saw once: "God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts."
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The one in my signature.
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"Be excellent to each other" -Keanu Reeves
"Less good there lies | than most believe
In ale for mortal men;
For the more he drinks | the less does man
Of his mind the mastery hold." -Poetic Edda
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"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us." from the Lord's Prayer. I just wish more Christians would actually be forgiving.
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"Let there be no compulsion in religion"
- The Qur'an
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My favorite religious word is "Goodbye."
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My favorite religious word is "Goodbye."
How about "Congratulations, you've been excommunicated!"
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My favorite religious word is "Goodbye."
How about "Congratulations, you've been excommunicated!"
I have something in a similar vein, though I'm not sure if it belongs in this thread exactly. The king of England( I don't remember which one) did something the Pope didn't like so the Pope told him he was excommunicated. The King's response to the Pope was something to the effect of, " No, you're excommunicated!"
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I have something in a similar vein, though I'm not sure if it belongs in this thread exactly. The king of England( I don't remember which one) did something the Pope didn't like so the Pope told him he was excommunicated. The King's response to the Pope was something to the effect of, " No, your excommunicated!"
Wow, the Pope's very own excommunicated? How generous of him.
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I have something in a similar vein, though I'm not sure if it belongs in this thread exactly. The king of England( I don't remember which one) did something the Pope didn't like so the Pope told him he was excommunicated. The King's response to the Pope was something to the effect of, " No, your excommunicated!"
Wow, the Pope's very own excommunicated? How generous of him.
The post has been edited.
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"A little less love and a little more common decency" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Well, I wish it were a religious phrase at any rate.
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"A little less love and a little more common decency" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Well, I wish it were a religious phrase at any rate.
Less love? Why less?
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"Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded." - Muhammad
"You can educate a fool, but you cannot make him think." - The Talmud
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"A little less love and a little more common decency" - Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Well, I wish it were a religious phrase at any rate.
Less love? Why less?
Sorry - just noticed this. Not that he wanted less love, but that a lot of the religious types who claim to "L-O-V-E" everyone (even strangers) do not treat everyone well. If they would instead just promise to treat people nicely (common decency) they can keep their universal love.
I don't love everyone. I love a very select group of people. But I try to show common decency to all.
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Lord, make me a channel of thy peace,
that where there is hatred, I may bring love;
that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;
that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;
that where there is error, I may bring truth;
that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;
that where there is despair, I may bring hope;
that where there are shadows, I may bring light;
that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.
Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted;
to understand, than to be understood;
to love, than to be loved.
For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.
It is by forgiving that one is forgiven.
It is by dying that one awakens to Eternal Life.
-St. Francis of Assissi
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St. Francis was awesome. There's a reason why, as a Pagan, I still bought a statue of him when I was in Assisi.
"If that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without."
--From the Wiccan Charge of the Goddess
"As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool returns to his folly." Proverbs 26:11
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St. Francis was awesome. There's a reason why, as a Pagan, I still bought a statue of him when I was in Assisi.
"If that which you seek, you find not within yourself, you will never find it without."
--From the Wiccan Charge of the Goddess
"As a dog returns to its vomit, so also a fool returns to his folly." Proverbs 26:11
Agreed on all counts. As an atheist, Pagans, Wiccans and Bhuddists are my favourite people in that their beliefs are honest and open.
Christianity is a belief that was forced upon us on a "believe or die horribly" basis.
Virtually ALL of the female saints were originally Pagan deities (Virgin Mary being one of them) adopted by the Church to persuade the Celts to join the flock.
The Holy Lamb of God goes well with Mint Sauce.
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These aren't so much religious phrases but quotes from a solitary druid.
I thought they provided some good insight into his thought processes, as well as something that, as a budding druid myself, would be worth meditating on.
Any emphasis is mine.
One can make the sun into a symbol, or the water into a symbol, or just about any tree, bird, and plant into a representation of some human experience, but concordances which seek to place all of nature within a human framework (this tree represents this emotion, or that god is good for this human activity) are little different than a Catholic concordance of saints. Plus, they can trick the city-dwelling Pagan into thinking that the natural world is only metaphor for the inner human world.
It’s more than that.
The tree doesn’t always need to represent something. It can simply be alive, and beautiful.
All things have their place, and there is certainly a place for the warm and fuzzy in Paganism. But I think it’s also necessary to remember that there are parts of nature, and aspects of the Kindred we worship, that can be violently cold, fiercely wild, and terribly awe inspiring.
I hear many people frame the human condition as being either a decision to live in Fear or to live in Love, capitals emphasizing the notion that these states of being are not simply human emotions, but rather that they are cosmic in some way. I like to think that things are more complicated and nuanced than that.
Even death, in its inevitability, is more complicated and nuanced than that.
Sometimes I think there’s a good reason for blind faith, religious ignorance, unwavering piety. Sometimes those seem like a much easier choices than being inquisitive, being contemplative, being patient with your own uncertainty.
The dialogue around the last post extended deep into the theoretical as well as the practical, even spawning an interesting offshoot post on ecological polytheism, and a resurgence of questions about an American goddess named Columbia.
The explosion of ideas did a number on me. I didn’t realize that it had until I tried to approach my shrine this morning and perform my daily ritual. I couldn’t turn my brain off, and I kept wondering — But who am I making these offerings to, exactly? What is the point of this thing that I’m doing?
This quick-shift back to a state of doubt and questioning might come off to some as a sign of an adolescent faith. But if that’s true, what’s the alternative? A religious practice or paradigm that is no longer close-examined? A fixed piety? If that’s the case, then perhaps the people who are unwilling to engage in a discussion about the nature of the gods (or God, if that be their god), the origin of divinity, or any other such complicated subject simply have it easier. Their religious tradition can grow without the tampering of every little question, every “wait but....”
Clearly, though, I cannot be comfortable with such a religious tradition.
I question. I always have. If there’s anything about me that’s fixed, perhaps it’s that.
If you want to read more:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bishopinthegrove/
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Memento Mori in regards to death.