Another gray hair...
Aug. 7th, 2002 08:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
violachicA compelling and heartbreaking article
In the Comparative Religions class I took last year, our midterm paper/project was on the following topic: If all of the "Big Three" religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) were born under one ancestor (that is to say, Abraham), why do we all concentrate on what divides us, instead of what we have in common? In Jerusalem itself, Christians go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jews the Wailing Wall and Muslims the Temple on the Rock. Why does no one make a pilgrimage to the place where God revealed him/herself to Abraham, when that is the place common to all three? The Least Common Denominator, if you will.
Ok, that's kind of a paraphrase, but I think you know what I'm getting at. At the time I wrote my paper, I came up with several ideas. Most of them were common sense, almost cliched, although I like to think maybe I was trying to see them from different perspectives. But I came up with kind of a chilling thought tonight while pondering. I spend too much time pondering. That's a given. At any rate... It occured to me that maybe some people feel the need to defend their religion so viciously because thinking that they have it "right" and others have it "wrong" makes them feel superior. Know-it-all. Better than other people. And what's better for the ego than to be right all the time? Know what I mean, Vern?
Anyway, you don't have to answer this question; its 75% rhetorical. But if you're into deep thought and really want to give me feedback, I'm welcome to it. Sorry for the depressing thoughts. Sometimes I feel its a wonder that anybody who studies theology or the philosophy of religion ends up with any faith at all.
(I'm really not as depressed as this might make you think- I'm just thinking hard...)
In the Comparative Religions class I took last year, our midterm paper/project was on the following topic: If all of the "Big Three" religions (Christianity, Judaism and Islam) were born under one ancestor (that is to say, Abraham), why do we all concentrate on what divides us, instead of what we have in common? In Jerusalem itself, Christians go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jews the Wailing Wall and Muslims the Temple on the Rock. Why does no one make a pilgrimage to the place where God revealed him/herself to Abraham, when that is the place common to all three? The Least Common Denominator, if you will.
Ok, that's kind of a paraphrase, but I think you know what I'm getting at. At the time I wrote my paper, I came up with several ideas. Most of them were common sense, almost cliched, although I like to think maybe I was trying to see them from different perspectives. But I came up with kind of a chilling thought tonight while pondering. I spend too much time pondering. That's a given. At any rate... It occured to me that maybe some people feel the need to defend their religion so viciously because thinking that they have it "right" and others have it "wrong" makes them feel superior. Know-it-all. Better than other people. And what's better for the ego than to be right all the time? Know what I mean, Vern?
Anyway, you don't have to answer this question; its 75% rhetorical. But if you're into deep thought and really want to give me feedback, I'm welcome to it. Sorry for the depressing thoughts. Sometimes I feel its a wonder that anybody who studies theology or the philosophy of religion ends up with any faith at all.
(I'm really not as depressed as this might make you think- I'm just thinking hard...)
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Re:
Date: 2002-08-07 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-08-07 08:35 pm (UTC)you do know that the implication of that comment is that you were NOT interested in what I had to say.....
I'm going to go on the assumption that that is NOT true, and that you DO value my input.
Re:
Date: 2002-08-07 09:14 pm (UTC)You're a brat, you know that, right? :P~~~
no subject
Date: 2002-08-07 09:26 pm (UTC)How sad.
hehe
Date: 2002-08-07 10:34 pm (UTC)Re: hehe
Date: 2002-08-07 10:47 pm (UTC)Goodnight, dear.
Re: hehe
Date: 2002-08-10 02:42 pm (UTC)