Does wearing a suit and living in the US make you sophisticated?

[wundermonk]

Brit Hume is a political commentator on Fox News.

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ9Ek3OKk9Q) is a video from some time ago.

THE DOUCHEBAG ADVISES TIGER WOODS TO TURN TO CHRISTIANITY AND DROP BUDDHISM.

Why are the other sheep in the video not pushing back against him and calling him out for a hatemonger that he is?

What lessons are there for Hindus from this video?

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: Actually I found it hilarious. Like Tiger (or anyone else with a head on their shoulders) listens to these guys. :rolleyes:

But I do hate suits. Its a good thing both my parents are now deceased because even out of some sense of respect, I'll never wear one again. Stupidest most uncomfortable piece of clothing ever invented!!:Cool:

Aum Namasivaya

[Friend from the West]

Hari Om

Namaste Wondermonk and to all,

As an aside: I frequently must go to Washington D.C. I put on suit for what must do. Look in the mirror and laugh at vison of what is derogatorily called a river rat or hilljack from where live, in suit. See so many Portions there looking like they are so comfortable in suits, and this seems so foreign to what We Are. The persona is sadly transparent in most. Get a head, get a head....

To second question posed, have no answers, only questions. Not to offend any Portion, but subjectively, by what observed today on dear HDF, response perceived as shrill, fear, hateful, disrespectful, loses effectiveness, and seen as voice of impotence. Subjectively, does not seem like a good approach on many fronts. Some fronts, extremely important.

For me, Wondermonk, even though not directly connected to your second question, continually go back to issue here: http://www.hindudharmaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1181&highlight=Intellectual

Wondermonk, wish like a real yearning, had tangible answer.

Peace to you.

Jai Jai Shri HanumanJi

FFTW

[sanjaya]

Brit Hume is a political commentator on Fox News.

This (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZ9Ek3OKk9Q) is a video from some time ago.

THE DOUCHEBAG ADVISES TIGER WOODS TO TURN TO CHRISTIANITY AND DROP BUDDHISM.

Why are the other sheep in the video not pushing back against him and calling him out for a hatemonger that he is?

What lessons are there for Hindus from this video?

If Tiger Woods should drop Buddhism and turn to Christianity, should Ted Haggard drop Christianity and turn to Buddha? There's only one lesson Hindus should learn from this: don't treat Christianity like a legitimate religion. We're talking about a religion that sends missionaries to take people away from their cultural faiths and teaches that Hindus will burn in an eternal hell just for being Hindu. Brit Hume may have told Tiger Woods to turn to Jesus, but implicit is the teaching that he will burn in hell unless he converts. I've said this before, Christianity should not be seen in a positive light, and the apostles weren't Western Sadhus or Rishis. Rather, Christianity - specifically evangelical Christianity - should be viewed the same way we view cocaine, pedophilia, the KKK (which is Christian, by the way), or other social evil of your choice, i.e. it's the kind of thing you don't expose your kids to.

[wundermonk]

I've said this before, Christianity should not be seen in a positive light, and the apostles weren't Western Sadhus or Rishis. Rather, Christianity - specifically evangelical Christianity - should be viewed the same way we view cocaine, pedophilia, the KKK (which is Christian, by the way), or other social evil of your choice, i.e. it's the kind of thing you don't expose your kids to.

Dear sanjaya:

Shhhhh....

HDF is going through a self-loathing phase. "Ekam Sad Vipra Bahuda Vadanti" and "Vasudaiva Kutumbakam" I am told.

How can we evil Hindus even pass moral judgement on Islam and Xity? They are just as valid as Hinduism.

It is perfectly ok for Xians and Mohammedans to say that Hindus are going to burn in hell. That is their birth right. They are after all monotheistic. We Hindus, being polytheistic, we can always consider Jesus or Mo or Allah to be a valid pathway to Moksha.

We are the greatest practitioners of Jesus' message. Non-Hindus pretty much get to slap us around and, we, like sheep, always manage to show the other cheek. :)

[dustyroad]

If Tiger Woods should drop Buddhism and turn to Christianity, should Ted Haggard drop Christianity and turn to Buddha? There's only one lesson Hindus should learn from this: don't treat Christianity like a legitimate religion. We're talking about a religion that sends missionaries to take people away from their cultural faiths and teaches that Hindus will burn in an eternal hell just for being Hindu. Brit Hume may have told Tiger Woods to turn to Jesus, but implicit is the teaching that he will burn in hell unless he converts. I've said this before, Christianity should not be seen in a positive light, and the apostles weren't Western Sadhus or Rishis. Rather, Christianity - specifically evangelical Christianity - should be viewed the same way we view cocaine, pedophilia, the KKK (which is Christian, by the way), or other social evil of your choice, i.e. it's the kind of thing you don't expose your kids to.

I agree mostly, but the apostles were good people. So were early Christians who established communes and lived away from the material world. It's the rich and powerful evangelical Christians who are a problem.

[heather.s]

There are good and bad to EVERY person and every religion. There are some Christians who try to shove their beliefs down your throat then there are those who could really care less what you believe.

Some with Hindus. I've met Hindus who think they're above everyone cause they're Hindu, which isn't ok, and some who embrace difference.

The biggest stereotype and misunderstanding of religion right now is prolly Islam. Some Muslims think that terrorism is the answer to God's plan. Others are appalled at their brothers' and sisters' actions.

We all have good and bad in us. It's a balance. The trick is to show the good more than the bad. No one is right. If there was a "right" way to worship God, then there wouldn't be so many religions. We'd all think the exact same thing or be atheist.

[sanjaya]

Dear sanjaya:

Shhhhh....

HDF is going through a self-loathing phase. "Ekam Sad Vipra Bahuda Vadanti" and "Vasudaiva Kutumbakam" I am told.

How can we evil Hindus even pass moral judgement on Islam and Xity? They are just as valid as Hinduism.

It is perfectly ok for Xians and Mohammedans to say that Hindus are going to burn in hell. That is their birth right. They are after all monotheistic. We Hindus, being polytheistic, we can always consider Jesus or Mo or Allah to be a valid pathway to Moksha.

We are the greatest practitioners of Jesus' message. Non-Hindus pretty much get to slap us around and, we, like sheep, always manage to show the other cheek. :)

Actually I have to deal with this kind of thing all the time. In my parents' God's room back home, my dad went and put a Bible right next to all the Scriptures. So obviously I don't hate the universalists or anything, but I do think they're deeply wrong in a way that will ultimately undermine Hinduism.

[sanjaya]

There are good and bad to EVERY person and every religion. There are some Christians who try to shove their beliefs down your throat then there are those who could really care less what you believe.

Some with Hindus. I've met Hindus who think they're above everyone cause they're Hindu, which isn't ok, and some who embrace difference.

The biggest stereotype and misunderstanding of religion right now is prolly Islam. Some Muslims think that terrorism is the answer to God's plan. Others are appalled at their brothers' and sisters' actions.

We all have good and bad in us. It's a balance. The trick is to show the good more than the bad. No one is right. If there was a "right" way to worship God, then there wouldn't be so many religions. We'd all think the exact same thing or be atheist.


I agree mostly, but the apostles were good people. So were early Christians who established communes and lived away from the material world. It's the rich and powerful evangelical Christians who are a problem.

Whether even the apostles were good people is another discussion (one I'd be happy to have in a different thread). I do feel I should say that I don't think most Christians are bad people. I think their religion is bad, and that it motivates them to do bad things like proselytize. Go ask your average evangelical what he thinks about his unbelieving friends burning in an eternal hell and he'll give you the standard party line about a holy God, sinful man, Romans 3:something, and so forth. But if you really get into it and make him face the truth of what it means to burn in an eternal hell, I think even he will be disturbed. The reason Christians try to soften the doctrine of hell by saying it's "separation from God," when it is really active torture, goes to show that the doctrine is counter to human conscience.

Heather, just some food for thought: if no religion is completely true and the onus is on the devotee to determine right from wrong, then how do you make this distinction? I.e., what is the criterion you use to decide if a religious teaching is morally right or not. In some cases it's easy to apply common sense; most people would say that the teaching about worldly attachment is true and the teaching about caste is false (even though both were taught by Sri Krishna in the same speech). But what about vegetarianism, or asceticsm, or interpretation of arcane verses in the Vedas? It can get dicey, and I think the purpose of Hindu religion is that we can simply surrender to God without having to try and figure these things out for ourselves. Now, I'm all for viewing Hinduism with a somewhat critical eye, and not just blindly applying every teaching to our lives without some careful scrutiny. But when we say that all religions have some truth and some falsehood, this is effectively moral relativism.

One thing I will say though: in evangelical Christianity you would be excommunicated for saying things like this. While some on this board may disagree with your beliefs, no one here is going to condemn you for them. In Hinduism we are free to explore ideas such as yours and come to our own rational conclusions. I don't mean to sound elitist, but I think this really speaks to the superiority of Hinduism over Christianity.

[heather.s]

I see what you're saying. That if you don't have a path to follow, then what? But I know people who have different morals and a different path than me. Does that make them wrong? No. It makes them different.

I think that's where faith comes in. You have faith enough to hand yourself over to God in a certain light and accept that form of teaching. I have faith that I myself am right in following the Hindu "version" of God. I have Jewish friends who have their beliefs and Christians friends who have theirs. It's all different paths to the same idea really. How to live your life in a just way and achieve a close relationship with God.