Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Religious Intolerance

If a Jihadist is trying to kill me -- I will not be tolerant of his/her religion!  If some loony right-wing Christian wants me to "kneel and pray with them" because the "end of the world is nigh" -- I will not be tolerant of his/her religion!

I consider myself to be spiritual -- to understand and believe in a power that is greater than me -- to be tolerant of others.  I see those elements most often in the saying and teachings of the Dalai Lama, above all other churches, religions, and religious leaders. My Buddhism is thus of the practical kind -- the kind that relates one human being to another.

I am comfortable with being called a Christian because like all Buddhists, I believe that Jesus was a great man, and perhaps more -- as I am free to believe. I do not know for sure that Jesus is God!  Why not? I do not trust the witnesses -- the books of the Bible, so errant/so selective/so misogynistic! I do not trust the "priests" and "reverends" who interpret the Bible, so self-serving/so selfish/so arrogant. I label myself a "ko-shinto buddhist" -- a buddhist not just intent on the "journey of life" but on all the influences and powers along the way.

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