Monday, January 19, 2009

thought of the day.186

Happy MLK Day!

“There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Posted by at

15 comments:

homesicksooner said...

Amen!

A wonderful, Christian man whose faith fueled his work for equality.

January 20, 2009 at 8:57 AM
john evans said...

Too bad Mr King had to do so much on his own. Too bad the Christian church mostly stood idly by, happy to keep things as they had been for centuries. It isof course to the apathetic church and its clergy he directs his famous letter from the birmingham jail.

http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html

January 20, 2009 at 9:22 AM
homesicksooner said...

SOME church's stood by with idle hands indeed. But not all my friend.

Every organization has it's apathetic leaders. Is the church to be excluded from Mr. King's claim? I think not, nor would any Christian.

There were many leaders in the church who agreed wholeheartedly with Mr. King.

Mr. Kings statement is true indeed. For EVERYONE, even the church.

January 20, 2009 at 10:03 AM
john evans said...

Very true!

January 20, 2009 at 10:35 AM
Janet Greene said...

MLK is one of the very few christians that I admire greatly, and try to model my life after. I find it incredible that he was able to blend his christianity with such a powerful vision for civil rights. There is virtually no precedent for this - you don't see a lot of christians in history who were civil rights leaders. However, my understanding is that MLK followed the teachings of Ghandi, who was the poster-person for non-violent but persistent protest. So he was one of those christians who was willing to look beyond just the bible for his inspiration. Unfortunately, a lot of christians I know ONLY follow the teachings of the bible or other fundamentalist writers. For example, my parents have only religious reading material in their home, other than Readers Digest.

I think we all agree that MLK was a truly great man - one of those people that make the hair on the back of my neck stand up when he speaks. I didn't experience that again until...the night Obama won the election, actually. I think we are so fortunate that we are being given another chance to get it right (politically, ethically, etc.) I was actually starting to believe that the United States would follow in the footsteps of Rome. I am so grateful that Americans voted in such an intelligent, thoughtful, educated, and wise man. And as a Canadian, I am also jealous! (Makes me wonder where all our leaders are - certainly don't seem to be in government!)

January 21, 2009 at 9:19 AM
homesicksooner said...

Well, I'm glad we all agree about Mr. King. It kinda shows how false Hitchens' premise is that "religion poisons EVERYTHING."

January 22, 2009 at 5:51 AM
john evans said...

I actually agree with Hitchen’s statement that religion poisons everything. That is if we define religion as the belief in a god or gods. The idea of hell cannot help but poison life at some hidden level at all times. Unless one is a psychopath I suppose. And believing a Cosmic Judge is ever-watching induces unwarranted fear and guilt at some level as well witch in turn poisons everything-even a nice game of checkers in the park.

January 22, 2009 at 6:45 AM
Janet Greene said...

Homesick, you are not going to like this. BUT. I found Hitchens' book did not go nearly far enough. He said in the title that "religion poisons everything", but did not actually follow through on this in the book. I liked the book, but expected more. I find that he focuses on minors - doesn't necessarily hit on the high points. For me, the damage of religion starts with the PSYCHOLOGICAL. Children who grow up with these beliefs start their lives with such a terrible foundation. Being innately sinful. Being encouraged to deceive their own sense of intelligence (no, really, Jonah was IN THE BIG FISH! Not a whale, silly. A big fish!). Very basic insecurity about a god who would test christian men by telling them to kill their children (I know of 2 such examples in the bible - I think this fear still scars me); the abuse that is encouraged through thinking that this is just our earthly bodies; it's only our "souls" that matter. The abandonment issues from fearing "the rapture" and being "left behind" (don't know how many times I was sure I was the only one left on earth - it was terrifying - this happened every time my parents were not home unexpectedly); being told that "god is love", then being told that it's unconditional love; unless you are not a christian, in which case you will burn and scream for death forever. God is love, and this is why there is so much suffering in the world (?? - didn't understand that one - something about god's perfect plan that we do not understand).

I could go on and on. This, to me, is foundationally why I do believe that religion poisons everything. And I have only scratched the surface.

January 22, 2009 at 1:41 PM
john evans said...

Amen, Janet! You nailed it. Because it poisons the mind itself it therefore poisons everything that is perceived by that mind.

January 22, 2009 at 4:25 PM
homesicksooner said...

Why did it not poisen eveything about Mr. King?

The premise of the book is false for religion does not poisen eveything.

January 22, 2009 at 5:06 PM
homesicksooner said...

Poison that is!

January 22, 2009 at 5:09 PM
john evans said...

never said it poisoned everything about a person. It poisons how we perceive the world...fallen, inherently wicked, worthy of damnation, etc, etc. Of course people can do wonderful things despite such thoughts poisoning their mind but I cannot imagine how any humane person can be truly at peace or truly joyful with the thought that they themselves, a loved one, a friend, or even complete stranger, may suffer torment for eternity.

January 22, 2009 at 7:26 PM
homesicksooner said...

So everything doesn't mean everything?

There are some exclusions? If there are some exclusions, "everything" is not a good choice of words.

The premise, "Religion poisons everything" is false and MLK is evidence that the premise is false.

January 22, 2009 at 8:49 PM
john evans said...

Got me!! No, religion doesn’t poison “everything”. it doesn’t poison the moon or the Mona Lisa or my pool. You seem to always want to win arguments by finding loopholes or undotted i’s rather than work to truly understand a point of view. but I’m sure I am guilty of that more often than I would care to admit as well.

Once again. Religious ideas such as the idea that all humans are inherently wicked and worthy of eternal torture or that a Cosmic Judge in the sky is taking notes on one’s every move and every thought work to inhibit free thought and induce unwarranted guilt and fear. Therefore all of life experienced through that lens can be said to be poisoned psychologically, though outward acts may be quite noble.

January 23, 2009 at 10:31 AM
homesicksooner said...

I just want people to say what they mean and mean what they say.

The premise is false and I think leads people astray. Some would say it's wicked, immoral or even evil to use such tactics.

The questions of innate evil/sin/wickedness or whatever you want to call it has been discussed by philosophers for hundreds and hundreds of years. It's not just a Bible thing.

January 23, 2009 at 5:31 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)