Asceticism & False Religion
So why isn’t asceticism effective? You’d think that if you had so much self-control you could control yourself in all things. But the bible’s right. "If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh." (Col 2:20-23) Why?
Why is it easier for people to sacrifice, say, their child or their balls, than to do what’s right? This is of utmost strangeness to me. What the hell’s going on here?
What am I to make of these ascetics who espouse extremity, but teach love? (Rabia Basri, a Sufi, for just one example. Anna and John the Baptist for Jewish/Christian examples) If asceticism does no good in conquering the flesh, why are so many holy ones ascetics? And doesn't Christianity also teach mortification, which I think must have a purpose and I sense that it makes sense, though I'm far from understanding it. (see also Theology > Sacrifice & Mortification)
What's the truth behind idol worship and what's its significance? I can't understand why idol worship is so pervasive, even though it makes absolutely no sense.
Really, what is this tendency of mankind's toward idolatry? The Catholics, the Orthodox, even the Buddhists (who are atheists), these have gone back to idolatry.
Why is it that people are not naturally monotheistic, when in fact, this is the most logical of conceptions of God, and why do so many peoples who do have a supreme God choose to worship and appease other gods, even evil spirits? And I see this also in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, where people choose to pray to a saint instead of God, some patron saint, as if this saint were an "expert" on their particular problem, and God isn't.
And here's what's really strange -- it appears to me that although people are naturally polytheistic and idolatrous, as soon as a non-polytheistic religion comes along, they will rightly choose to forsake their gods, as if they could see the natural logic in this. (An exception to this would be India. This in itself deserves an explanation.) So then if they realize this later, why not sooner?
Why did the Israelites continually go after idols if idol worship was no easier, in fact, I'd say harder, than worshiping the one true God? God never asked them to sacrifice their children or cut themselves, and expressly forbade it, but these people wander off and put themselves through all kinds of misery for a fake god. Why? And people still do this to this day. How can their devotion to a false god be so great that they would even sacrifice their children?
How does the inability to think rationally and the worship of many gods and idols relate to its modern opposite -- materialism and atheism? Might they in fact be 2 sides of the same coin?
Elaboration needed
Why is the greatest commandment in PC cultures the exaltation of the minority, which really means, all that’s evil and bad in the society? (Note: Don't misunderstand; I'm not saying minorities are evil and bad, but that that's what PC cultures, ironically, believe and teach. Please continue reading for further elaboration.) And the only sin that one can possibly commit is pointing this out? (must see also the “peasantness” question, under Communism)
Just as the peasants in communist China somehow internalized all their problems and faults and fell into some sort of pathological guilt (that is, self-hatred) because of this, then projected this onto society at large and got everyone to pay homage to them (with the help and at the instigation of the intellectuals of course), so has the same happened in the PC cultures of the West. In the US it’s the minorities (mainly racial or homosexual), in Europe it’s the immigrants (cultural and religious). In communism it’s purely socioeconomic.
The minorities were OK at the beginning. Although yes, they could see they were lagging behind, they didn’t suffer from any kind of neurosis. Then the intellectuals told them that it was society’s fault that they were having it bad. A lot of them listened because it made them feel better. The rest of society followed suit. The most important thing to remember in all this is that this was all guilt driven, both in the minorities and the majority. Even though the minorities were blaming the whites/rich/etc for their problems, underneath it all they still felt guilty for having more problems than the rest of society.
This is what I mean by “all that’s evil and bad in the society”. The minority, with society’s agreement, has somehow internalized the belief that they are the representation of all the problems and flaws of the greater society (inwardly), but outwardly say the exact opposite (the projection). Thus, the guilt and then the denial. In this bizarre set-up, the minority masochistically volunteers to be society’s scapegoat. Society agrees. The minorities attempt to get rid of their “sin” (all the vices and problems, not only theirs but everybody’s) by lashing out and whipping at their own inadequacies by blaming (projecting) this on everyone else instead, instead of properly taking responsibility, admitting the problem and honestly seeking answers.
So how is this also “exalting” “all that’s evil and bad in the society”? Because the culture of the minorities that propagates their failures, and the minorities as the representation and scapegoat of all the vice and flaws, is exalted. They are exalted. Everyone else is put down.
I want to give some examples of all this. Someone once pointed out to me that as a celebrity in Hollywood, you can beat your girlfriend or do a hit-and-run in a drunken rampage, but make one politically incorrect comment and your career is doomed. Even if you’re not formally taken out, everyone will shun you out of a fear of guilt-by-association, that it’s the same thing. The worst thing you can be in America is a racist. Nothing else comes close. Even people who really are racist are ashamed to voice their true beliefs. Everyone’s keeping everyone else in check. So you see, society says this political correctness is the greatest commandment, and the violation of this is the greatest sin, not murder, rape, or anything else you can think of.
This person said the problem is so bad, that at the high school where they taught, being white is a sin, just like in communism being from the aristocracy or educated class made you inherently sinful and deserving of punishment.
A little while ago (from the time I’m writing this), we all heard the story of the baby that was taken away from his parents because they named him Adolf Hitler. The American government insisted that this had nothing to do with their decision, but do you really believe that? After all, whatever the reason, the story made headlines because of the baby’s name. Even though I disagree with the parents’ neo-Nazism, it’s incredible to me that the government now feels compelled to act as thought police because of this new commandment. It’s really grown all out of proportion.
So back to my original question – how did it get like this? Why is it like this? Why would it be like this?
What do you think of this – that there’s people who deny themselves relief from an arduous task because they’re convinced they’re doing right, and there’s people who believe the same but lack the willpower and so give up, unwittingly choosing right by doing so. For example, a person who continues in a major or career out of obligation or whatever other false reason, and the person who believes they ought to continue but drops out (from, say, math) and moves into another field because they just can’t take it and in so doing, happens on their passion.
How can he live his religion when it’s so torturous, worshiping the sun for an hour by staring straight at it, repeating the same mantra over and over and over again? How can this make somebody happy? I’m totally confused. (referring to Death of a Guru, p 53) And likewise, “I was excited to have a whole herd of cows to worship.” (p 57)
What's the draw of idolatry? It makes no sense to me, and yet I can't deny that idolators have a love for their idols that I wish worshipers of the true God would have for theirs. (Jer 2:10-12)
Is ascetism related to idealism and its denial of the physical/flesh? Asceticism is natural to humans and their corruption of the spiritual. We see this in radical Islam (Wahabism/the Taliban), communism, and even in Calvin’s Protestantism, his “ideal society” in Geneva. But then, rather than “worshipping in spirit and truth”, they kill the spirit by ritualizing and legalizing their religion, and we know that the Law is physical and leads to death.
Why is it easier for people to sacrifice, say, their child or their balls, than to do what’s right? This is of utmost strangeness to me. What the hell’s going on here?
What am I to make of these ascetics who espouse extremity, but teach love? (Rabia Basri, a Sufi, for just one example. Anna and John the Baptist for Jewish/Christian examples) If asceticism does no good in conquering the flesh, why are so many holy ones ascetics? And doesn't Christianity also teach mortification, which I think must have a purpose and I sense that it makes sense, though I'm far from understanding it. (see also Theology > Sacrifice & Mortification)
What's the truth behind idol worship and what's its significance? I can't understand why idol worship is so pervasive, even though it makes absolutely no sense.
Really, what is this tendency of mankind's toward idolatry? The Catholics, the Orthodox, even the Buddhists (who are atheists), these have gone back to idolatry.
Why is it that people are not naturally monotheistic, when in fact, this is the most logical of conceptions of God, and why do so many peoples who do have a supreme God choose to worship and appease other gods, even evil spirits? And I see this also in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, where people choose to pray to a saint instead of God, some patron saint, as if this saint were an "expert" on their particular problem, and God isn't.
And here's what's really strange -- it appears to me that although people are naturally polytheistic and idolatrous, as soon as a non-polytheistic religion comes along, they will rightly choose to forsake their gods, as if they could see the natural logic in this. (An exception to this would be India. This in itself deserves an explanation.) So then if they realize this later, why not sooner?
Why did the Israelites continually go after idols if idol worship was no easier, in fact, I'd say harder, than worshiping the one true God? God never asked them to sacrifice their children or cut themselves, and expressly forbade it, but these people wander off and put themselves through all kinds of misery for a fake god. Why? And people still do this to this day. How can their devotion to a false god be so great that they would even sacrifice their children?
How does the inability to think rationally and the worship of many gods and idols relate to its modern opposite -- materialism and atheism? Might they in fact be 2 sides of the same coin?
Elaboration needed
Why is the greatest commandment in PC cultures the exaltation of the minority, which really means, all that’s evil and bad in the society? (Note: Don't misunderstand; I'm not saying minorities are evil and bad, but that that's what PC cultures, ironically, believe and teach. Please continue reading for further elaboration.) And the only sin that one can possibly commit is pointing this out? (must see also the “peasantness” question, under Communism)
Just as the peasants in communist China somehow internalized all their problems and faults and fell into some sort of pathological guilt (that is, self-hatred) because of this, then projected this onto society at large and got everyone to pay homage to them (with the help and at the instigation of the intellectuals of course), so has the same happened in the PC cultures of the West. In the US it’s the minorities (mainly racial or homosexual), in Europe it’s the immigrants (cultural and religious). In communism it’s purely socioeconomic.
The minorities were OK at the beginning. Although yes, they could see they were lagging behind, they didn’t suffer from any kind of neurosis. Then the intellectuals told them that it was society’s fault that they were having it bad. A lot of them listened because it made them feel better. The rest of society followed suit. The most important thing to remember in all this is that this was all guilt driven, both in the minorities and the majority. Even though the minorities were blaming the whites/rich/etc for their problems, underneath it all they still felt guilty for having more problems than the rest of society.
This is what I mean by “all that’s evil and bad in the society”. The minority, with society’s agreement, has somehow internalized the belief that they are the representation of all the problems and flaws of the greater society (inwardly), but outwardly say the exact opposite (the projection). Thus, the guilt and then the denial. In this bizarre set-up, the minority masochistically volunteers to be society’s scapegoat. Society agrees. The minorities attempt to get rid of their “sin” (all the vices and problems, not only theirs but everybody’s) by lashing out and whipping at their own inadequacies by blaming (projecting) this on everyone else instead, instead of properly taking responsibility, admitting the problem and honestly seeking answers.
So how is this also “exalting” “all that’s evil and bad in the society”? Because the culture of the minorities that propagates their failures, and the minorities as the representation and scapegoat of all the vice and flaws, is exalted. They are exalted. Everyone else is put down.
I want to give some examples of all this. Someone once pointed out to me that as a celebrity in Hollywood, you can beat your girlfriend or do a hit-and-run in a drunken rampage, but make one politically incorrect comment and your career is doomed. Even if you’re not formally taken out, everyone will shun you out of a fear of guilt-by-association, that it’s the same thing. The worst thing you can be in America is a racist. Nothing else comes close. Even people who really are racist are ashamed to voice their true beliefs. Everyone’s keeping everyone else in check. So you see, society says this political correctness is the greatest commandment, and the violation of this is the greatest sin, not murder, rape, or anything else you can think of.
This person said the problem is so bad, that at the high school where they taught, being white is a sin, just like in communism being from the aristocracy or educated class made you inherently sinful and deserving of punishment.
A little while ago (from the time I’m writing this), we all heard the story of the baby that was taken away from his parents because they named him Adolf Hitler. The American government insisted that this had nothing to do with their decision, but do you really believe that? After all, whatever the reason, the story made headlines because of the baby’s name. Even though I disagree with the parents’ neo-Nazism, it’s incredible to me that the government now feels compelled to act as thought police because of this new commandment. It’s really grown all out of proportion.
So back to my original question – how did it get like this? Why is it like this? Why would it be like this?
What do you think of this – that there’s people who deny themselves relief from an arduous task because they’re convinced they’re doing right, and there’s people who believe the same but lack the willpower and so give up, unwittingly choosing right by doing so. For example, a person who continues in a major or career out of obligation or whatever other false reason, and the person who believes they ought to continue but drops out (from, say, math) and moves into another field because they just can’t take it and in so doing, happens on their passion.
How can he live his religion when it’s so torturous, worshiping the sun for an hour by staring straight at it, repeating the same mantra over and over and over again? How can this make somebody happy? I’m totally confused. (referring to Death of a Guru, p 53) And likewise, “I was excited to have a whole herd of cows to worship.” (p 57)
What's the draw of idolatry? It makes no sense to me, and yet I can't deny that idolators have a love for their idols that I wish worshipers of the true God would have for theirs. (Jer 2:10-12)
Is ascetism related to idealism and its denial of the physical/flesh? Asceticism is natural to humans and their corruption of the spiritual. We see this in radical Islam (Wahabism/the Taliban), communism, and even in Calvin’s Protestantism, his “ideal society” in Geneva. But then, rather than “worshipping in spirit and truth”, they kill the spirit by ritualizing and legalizing their religion, and we know that the Law is physical and leads to death.