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The Failures of the Modern Christian
The Failures of the Modern Christian
By Durgadas, AYT, Ved Kovid
(c) Arogya Ayurvedic Health Ltd.
All Rights Reserved
There is a tendency today by Christians to criticise people and become overly condescending in nature, often due to their own lack of education, social values and also their lower socioeconomic demographics. So also, the Hindu attitude of conservatism does also not conduce to traditional values in which the dress-codes of ancient India were different from today's "Islamic conservative" dogmas that have entered and permeated Hindu dharma, as also the prudish nature of celibacy and sexuality in general - the result of allowing uneducated shudra and vaishya classes to dominate the scriptures and take to quasi-Islamic ideals and interpolate the Puranas rather than to expose traditional values as in Brahmanical shastras.
It is the case of the wicked demon of the Superiority complex generated from an underlying inferiority complex in such people that is daring to raise it's head and form a part of either the elite Brahman community (or to be seen as a better representative then them in the new socialist regime) or to deny one's past and become an heir-apparent in the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha! As is the old story, "a leopard never changes its spots".
It is the case of the wicked demon of the Superiority complex generated from an underlying inferiority complex in such people that is daring to raise it's head and form a part of either the elite Brahman community (or to be seen as a better representative then them in the new socialist regime) or to deny one's past and become an heir-apparent in the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha! As is the old story, "a leopard never changes its spots".
What has come to represent a Christian today then, is not the ideal Christian (neo-Samaritanism), but the self-proclaimed "born again (atheist)" that wishes to superimpose their own personal ideals upon the world under the banner of or using the vehicle of "Christianity". Such people are not even true Christians for their knowledge of (a) history (b) linguistics and (c) comparative philosophy is lacking. Logic and reason that we saw with some of the early Christians has also gone out the window in favour of blind faith-based hyperbolised gibberish than an actual study, dedication or system of learning or even deriving from a mainstream Christian lineage itself!
This system on belief originates with the illogical (Roman-inspired) notion that God is come kind of 'Cosmic Magician' that is not to be explained nor validated by other systems, especially relative to creation - though it appears early Christian sects such as the Gnostics like the Jains and Buddhists of Asia along with the Hindus with their Nyaya-Vaisheshika (Logic and Physics) schools as also the Kashmiri Spanda system, Samkhya (cosmology) to the fact diseases were studied not according to the Christian ideal of "demonic possession" (relative to psychology), but rather, explained as chemical mental imbalances, to the Hindu studies in the fields of genetics, micribiology and surgery etc., would disagree with the juvenile Christian notion and is where science and metaphysics combined harmoniously and still do!
This system on belief originates with the illogical (Roman-inspired) notion that God is come kind of 'Cosmic Magician' that is not to be explained nor validated by other systems, especially relative to creation - though it appears early Christian sects such as the Gnostics like the Jains and Buddhists of Asia along with the Hindus with their Nyaya-Vaisheshika (Logic and Physics) schools as also the Kashmiri Spanda system, Samkhya (cosmology) to the fact diseases were studied not according to the Christian ideal of "demonic possession" (relative to psychology), but rather, explained as chemical mental imbalances, to the Hindu studies in the fields of genetics, micribiology and surgery etc., would disagree with the juvenile Christian notion and is where science and metaphysics combined harmoniously and still do!
Religion has become today, whether Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist or Christian, a system by which one can veil their own lack of knowledge and insecurities behind and attack from the other side from the aspect of ignorance, firing the proverbial astra at people that it (personally) does not agree with or, most often, cannot accept ignorance of in various topics. The reaction here becomes to attack the opponent and bring them down in condescending and often hypocritical tones, forgetting the Christian value of "not casting the first stone"! It is all about people in glasshouses...
What we are left with is the barking dog in the wind that seeks to make a noise, simply as it has heard a sound or another dog. This is not intelligence but rather, the base or primal and vital impulse that raises its head and regurgitates the age-old stream of venomous insults, as if to paralyse the enemy! Of course, such Christian techniques quite clearly fail and indeed, are not actually 'Christian' at all, but the work of some underlying devil complex within many Christians who have opened themselves up to chameleon-style influences of their peers, Pastors and "scientific validation" of their faith, based on someone's random views on a blogsite or hearsay!
The modern Christian lives in the age of excuses and the belief that personal referencing (albeit scanty and unscholarly, even within the confines of The Church validates any argument, as does ignorance and hence the maxims "We don't need to know", "God alone knows" etc. of which even modern science has become proficient in imbibing through the terms unknown / paranormal / unidentified which the (wiser) Church Fathers and Hindu Rishi alike would probe deep into the philosophical and scientific realms for such to become known / explained / identified.
The modern Christian lives in the age of excuses and the belief that personal referencing (albeit scanty and unscholarly, even within the confines of The Church validates any argument, as does ignorance and hence the maxims "We don't need to know", "God alone knows" etc. of which even modern science has become proficient in imbibing through the terms unknown / paranormal / unidentified which the (wiser) Church Fathers and Hindu Rishi alike would probe deep into the philosophical and scientific realms for such to become known / explained / identified.
Academia however of either the traditional or modern variety requires evidence via classical references, history and other forms of substantiation, not mere tidbit quotations that are reformulated and (seemingly) re-validated to suit one's own personal fancy at a point and time. It is not based on mere conjecture, hearsay, emotionalism confused with some 'Divine Intervention / Influence' nor other faith-based nonsense so typical of the European peasantry classes the Catholic Church subjugated! Sadly, genetics speak for themselves here; if one does not change their tunes from upbringing, then the likelihood of such traits will come out in the future generations.
We must also debate what exactly 'God' (remembering here, this is a Germanic term) is. It is not simply equating the term with the negative 'Old Man in Heaven' construct that has come to epitomise Godhead and thereby rejected by the scientific world as a fallacy, but rather understanding in philosophical terms, what is implied here, whether consciousness / sentience , intelligence etc. and the views and experiences of the ancient philosophers, not of the modern array of neurotic ideals inspired by the delusions of the modern "Faith-based" world!
Any tradition historically, whether Hindu, Buddhist or Christian had their own theologians who would debate with other denominations and (originally) would also discuss science etc., often themselves in the ancient world, becoming lecturers in educational establishments as we saw with the Brahmins, Buddhist Monks etc. of Nalanda and Takshashila. It was their timeless and methodical approach which today lends us the authority, findings, research and thus writings that have come down to us or handed down in oral tradition and commentaries by which we can substantiate our own claims, understand the original views of our doctrines and so forth.
In the East, as even Ayurveda classics, many of these are in the form of debate and discussion employing the four pramanas of pratyaksha (direct perception), anumana (inference), upamana (comparison) and shabda (speech which includes shastra - traditional quotes, bhashya, traditional commentaries and atithya or historical accounts of examples), not mere statements alone unsubstantiated by fact or by "faith" alone. Since "faith" is subject to change and alteration in the mind itself, even of the Saints in the Catholic tradition who could be influenced by the Devil or in the more enlightened eastern approach in which various gunas or attributes of the natural world, food, diets, genetic traits, karma and personal activity could create deviations in the mind apart from the truth. A true Christian then, is one who would gather all such evidence to form a valid conclusion, not merely the "layman's" approach of hear it and believe it!
We must also debate what exactly 'God' (remembering here, this is a Germanic term) is. It is not simply equating the term with the negative 'Old Man in Heaven' construct that has come to epitomise Godhead and thereby rejected by the scientific world as a fallacy, but rather understanding in philosophical terms, what is implied here, whether consciousness / sentience , intelligence etc. and the views and experiences of the ancient philosophers, not of the modern array of neurotic ideals inspired by the delusions of the modern "Faith-based" world!
Any tradition historically, whether Hindu, Buddhist or Christian had their own theologians who would debate with other denominations and (originally) would also discuss science etc., often themselves in the ancient world, becoming lecturers in educational establishments as we saw with the Brahmins, Buddhist Monks etc. of Nalanda and Takshashila. It was their timeless and methodical approach which today lends us the authority, findings, research and thus writings that have come down to us or handed down in oral tradition and commentaries by which we can substantiate our own claims, understand the original views of our doctrines and so forth.
In the East, as even Ayurveda classics, many of these are in the form of debate and discussion employing the four pramanas of pratyaksha (direct perception), anumana (inference), upamana (comparison) and shabda (speech which includes shastra - traditional quotes, bhashya, traditional commentaries and atithya or historical accounts of examples), not mere statements alone unsubstantiated by fact or by "faith" alone. Since "faith" is subject to change and alteration in the mind itself, even of the Saints in the Catholic tradition who could be influenced by the Devil or in the more enlightened eastern approach in which various gunas or attributes of the natural world, food, diets, genetic traits, karma and personal activity could create deviations in the mind apart from the truth. A true Christian then, is one who would gather all such evidence to form a valid conclusion, not merely the "layman's" approach of hear it and believe it!
The irony with many Christians is that they remain largely uneducated in their own faith and are blissfully ignorant of the Jewish from whence it came. There is no reference to Jesus in the Old Testament, despite the petty arguments which remain unscholarly as also, defying logic and reason itself (prophecy itself is a fallacy). In the Old Testament also, Satan can be taken as a common rather than a proper noun, simply meaning "an adversary" - often other non-Jewish Kings etc. let alone it'w own differentiation within Judaism [#1] (Satan is more a force or angel directed by and controlled by God, willed to tempt man, not a nefarious entity with his own plan, power or authority or even opposed to the 'Divine Law'), as also the concepts such as original sin and eternal hell that find no place in Judaism! Likewise, the Old Testament, often quoted by Christians relative to practices such as homosexuality also forbids the consummation of pork; Christians however ignore the "old law" - again, when they feel it applies alone, not rigidly and thus creating massive contradiction in their beliefs (MatthewVines). [#2]
While we can sit back and argue that such is trivial, we must understand that this is the very foundations of anti-Semiticism that exists today in mainstream America and that also fueled Nazi Germany! The Romans with their original ideal that the Jews killed Jesus has been a long-standing accusation and one that we cannot simply shine away as having played no place in history nor added fire to anti-Semitic views in the Christian world in the past two millennia! (see the research of A. Roy Eckardt) [#3]
The demographics taking up mainstream Christianity, as with mainstream bhakti or devotional Hinduism however are largely centered upon one or two central texts or Gospels alone as per their intellects. They cannot comprehend others, nor even correlate the systems, such as for example within the vaster sphere of the Hindu doctrine, medicine, surgery, chemistry, physics, astronomy etc. all go hand in hand as complimentary sciences, just as mathematics becomes an integral part of physics and astronomy, which goes without saying! Few however take to or are even interested in these fields and how all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together and instead redefine by their own 'modernist heretic' traditions, their own interpretations as it suits their personal lifestyle, traits etc., which of course commences with venomous criticism of anyone else, their success or failure, their personal tastes in vehicles, furniture, career etc., except when it applies to their own! In a sense it is siphoning validation and seeking to be the God of one's peers that is the exact opposite of what true Christianity as also native Yogic traditions stand for, which require the giving up or offering of the ahankara (ego), not its magnification through self-aggrandisement !
In conclusion, if Christians wish to be seen as good and proper Christians, they should take the example of the sacrifice of their saviour and also the symbolic rite of Communion also and what it means. They should also take the scholarly approach that has been of the original Church Fathers, Saints, Jewish Rabbis and Hindu Rishis to ascertain the truth beyond the spheres of hearsay of neophyte 'armchair philosophers' and become more enlightened as well as develop their own logic which - they should pray for, since Jesus himself, whether fact or fiction, embodied the talents of thinking and developing independent thoughts that were not merely satisfied with the status quo!
References:
1. 'The Myth and Reality of Judaism: 82 Misconceptions to Set Straight' by Simon Glustrom states:
"Nowhere in Judaism is Satan pictured as the creator of evil, or as possessing power over death. Most significant, Satan has no power over the soul of man, no ability to deprive him of his freedom" (Basic Beliefs, 23)
2. Michael Vines on the Old Testament:
Ref. http://www.upworthy.com/there-are-6-scriptures-about-homosexuality-in-the-bible-heres-what-they-really-say?c=ufb4
3. Quoting the New York Times (May 09, 1998):
1. 'The Myth and Reality of Judaism: 82 Misconceptions to Set Straight' by Simon Glustrom states:
"Nowhere in Judaism is Satan pictured as the creator of evil, or as possessing power over death. Most significant, Satan has no power over the soul of man, no ability to deprive him of his freedom" (Basic Beliefs, 23)
2. Michael Vines on the Old Testament:
Ref. http://www.upworthy.com/there-are-6-scriptures-about-homosexuality-in-the-bible-heres-what-they-really-say?c=ufb4
3. Quoting the New York Times (May 09, 1998):
"In frequent letters to newspaper opinion pages, Dr. Eckardt spoke out against Christian teachings that he found anti-Semitic, and in 1989 he and his wife criticized Pope John Paul II for what they said were ''anti-Judaic'' doctrines voiced outside the presence of Jews. That complaint was challenged by a Roman Catholic leader of Catholic-Jewish relations."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/09/arts/roy-eckardt-79-a-pioneer-in-christian-jewish-relations.html
Arogya Ayurvedic Health
72 Isleworth Road
Bishopdale
Christchurch, Canterbury 8053
New Zealand
ph: +64 3 359 6015
arogyayu