People sometimes say that they don't think that the Bible is applicable to modern day life, but I disagree. I'll give an example to try and show my point. In the New Testament is the story of the Good Samaritan. It's one of the more well-known parables, but I'll put it here anyway, just in case.
"A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and
departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going
down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the
same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed
by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came
where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to
him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his
own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the
next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, and gave them to
the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond
that, I will repay you when I return.' Now which of these three do you
think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?"
He said, "He who showed mercy on him."
Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
As you've probably heard before, the message gained from this parable is to treat others with kindness, as if they were your neighbor, even if they're someone you dislike. It's a message that fits even now, with modern society, because not enough people treat each other so kindly. Of course, that's always going to be a problem, but that's why this is still a good message.
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
The Qur'an and the New Testament
One thing I was surprised to learn while reading those bits of the Qur'an and the New Testament was that the Qur'an actually has Jesus in it. Although the Islamic version of Jesus isn't considered the son of God in Islam, outside of that, he's pretty similar in the Qur'an to the New Testament Jesus. Jesus is born to the virgin Mary just like he was in the Bible. He heals the sick and brings Lazarus back to life just like in the Bible.
But there are two big differences (besides the not being God's son part). First, rather than being born in a manger in a stable, Jesus is born in the middle of the desert and Mary brings him back to the town's temple, where he speaks to prove that Mary was blessed by Allah. And rather than Jesus dying on the cross as in the New Testament, the Qur'an says that Jesus instead rose to heaven to be with Allah, while the people on Earth believed he'd been crucified. This is what the Qur'an specifically says on the matter:
"That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;"
Interesting, right? I'd always heard Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were very similar, but I never really thought Jesus was in the Qur'an. I guess next I'll have to see if Judaism has a different interpretation of Jesus.
But there are two big differences (besides the not being God's son part). First, rather than being born in a manger in a stable, Jesus is born in the middle of the desert and Mary brings him back to the town's temple, where he speaks to prove that Mary was blessed by Allah. And rather than Jesus dying on the cross as in the New Testament, the Qur'an says that Jesus instead rose to heaven to be with Allah, while the people on Earth believed he'd been crucified. This is what the Qur'an specifically says on the matter:
"That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:- Nay, Allah raised him up unto Himself; and Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise;"
Interesting, right? I'd always heard Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were very similar, but I never really thought Jesus was in the Qur'an. I guess next I'll have to see if Judaism has a different interpretation of Jesus.
Friday, October 9, 2015
Presidential Candidates and Confucian Teachings
I don't know if you could say that any of the presidential candidates really lives up to Confucius' teachings. Just going by the 'think no evil' thing that he said, they've all probably thought something evil at some point in time. But I haven't been following the news about the presidential race as of late, so all I know is that Trump's been saying things that pissed a bunch of people off.
But back the them and Confucius' teachings- he stated in the Analects, "Do not do to others what you would not like done to yourself." And judging from previous presidential campaigns, I have a feeling that none of the current candidates are following that idea, either. It's a bit sad, because Confucius' teachings seem pretty reasonable to me- be respectful to others, think before you speak, exercise self-discipline, yet I don't think a lot of people would really live up to them (me included). I guess we let ourselves get caught up in our daily lives and relationships, and don't think enough about the way we act.
I know I've said this before, that the following statement will sound naive and childish (and it most likely is), but I wish people in politics realized that it's better to at least pretend you like the people running against you, because when you treat other people badly, everyone's going to see it and dislike you for it.
But back the them and Confucius' teachings- he stated in the Analects, "Do not do to others what you would not like done to yourself." And judging from previous presidential campaigns, I have a feeling that none of the current candidates are following that idea, either. It's a bit sad, because Confucius' teachings seem pretty reasonable to me- be respectful to others, think before you speak, exercise self-discipline, yet I don't think a lot of people would really live up to them (me included). I guess we let ourselves get caught up in our daily lives and relationships, and don't think enough about the way we act.
I know I've said this before, that the following statement will sound naive and childish (and it most likely is), but I wish people in politics realized that it's better to at least pretend you like the people running against you, because when you treat other people badly, everyone's going to see it and dislike you for it.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Souls
Souls are eternal.
At least that's what I think. Granted, I haven't been to church in years, so mine is probably headed right for you-know-where, but I think I'd rather think that what we are doesn't just fizzle into nothingness once we reach the end of the road, because then life would seem a bit pointless. We're born as these wildly different creatures from anything else on the planet and then everything that makes us the person we are just stops existing as quickly as we were born. It's pretty sad when you think about it. So, I'd like to think that what makes us... us lives on in some way, I suppose. Best case scenario, people's souls just get recycled or something and everyone gets unlimited tries at different lives or something like that.
I dunno, I've never really given much thought to it until now, if that wasn't immediately obvious.
At least that's what I think. Granted, I haven't been to church in years, so mine is probably headed right for you-know-where, but I think I'd rather think that what we are doesn't just fizzle into nothingness once we reach the end of the road, because then life would seem a bit pointless. We're born as these wildly different creatures from anything else on the planet and then everything that makes us the person we are just stops existing as quickly as we were born. It's pretty sad when you think about it. So, I'd like to think that what makes us... us lives on in some way, I suppose. Best case scenario, people's souls just get recycled or something and everyone gets unlimited tries at different lives or something like that.
I dunno, I've never really given much thought to it until now, if that wasn't immediately obvious.
Friday, October 2, 2015
The Justness of War
I'm not really a big fan of the idea of war.
A bunch of people killing each other because of previous killings or political disagreements or other things that are way too complex for my tiny brain to comprehend doesn't make sense to me.
When it comes to the whole Syrian war, I feel a bit mixed, though. See, I'm a simple girl. I like to have simple solutions for things. If there was a way to just go over there, help all the people that need help, and instantly fix the country to make everyone get along and work together, I'd say we should just do that. But, sadly, it's never that simple. And I'm sure our involvement has all kinds of ulterior motives to it that are not completely altruistic. So, in terms of justness, I don't think we're justified in going over there.
And man, I know this is going to sound really naive and silly, but I really wish everyone could just get along. But people are people, and even if there were only two people left on Earth, they probably wouldn't get along.
A bunch of people killing each other because of previous killings or political disagreements or other things that are way too complex for my tiny brain to comprehend doesn't make sense to me.
When it comes to the whole Syrian war, I feel a bit mixed, though. See, I'm a simple girl. I like to have simple solutions for things. If there was a way to just go over there, help all the people that need help, and instantly fix the country to make everyone get along and work together, I'd say we should just do that. But, sadly, it's never that simple. And I'm sure our involvement has all kinds of ulterior motives to it that are not completely altruistic. So, in terms of justness, I don't think we're justified in going over there.
And man, I know this is going to sound really naive and silly, but I really wish everyone could just get along. But people are people, and even if there were only two people left on Earth, they probably wouldn't get along.
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