Does the Quran support Theocracy?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

This is mainly about this photographic memory of mine. I tend to remember images especially when they are shocking and/or interesting. So here is an image from the late 90’s:



And a more recent one:



As a spiritual person I don’t really make a distinction between right wing nationalism of any kind and the middle-eastern style religious fanaticism.
 
Technically it’s exactly the same thing. The ego likes to associate with a larger type of ego in a cult like situation. Psychologists refer to this as enmeshment. So just like when it’s integrated in a cult. It simply likes to be integrated in this greater “I” and that’s the main thing that makes things like fascism work actually.
 
So back to sailors: We don’t really like that. Whiter you are a Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian (I mean truly spiritual people), we don’t the idea of us or anyone else harming himself / herself in that manner.
 
The Quran calls this “torturing your own ego / being harmful to your own self”. It’s one of the greater sins that requires us to repent actually

You’re like a pizza cutter, you are.

Boru

[Nay_Sayer]

This is mainly about this photographic memory of mine. I tend to remember images especially when they are shocking and/or interesting. So here is an image from the late 90’s:



And a more recent one:



As a spiritual person I don’t really make a distinction between right wing nationalism of any kind and the middle-eastern style religious fanaticism.
 
Technically it’s exactly the same thing. The ego likes to associate with a larger type of ego in a cult like situation. Psychologists refer to this as enmeshment. So just like when it’s integrated in a cult. It simply likes to be integrated in this greater “I” and that’s the main thing that makes things like fascism work actually.
 
So back to sailors: We don’t really like that. Whiter you are a Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian (I mean truly spiritual people), we don’t the idea of us or anyone else harming himself / herself in that manner.
 
The Quran calls this “torturing your own ego / being harmful to your own self”. It’s one of the greater sins that requires us to repent actually

You’re like a pizza cutter, you are.

Boru

So, minimally useful and has no point?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

You’re like a pizza cutter, you are.

Boru

So, minimally useful and has no point?

Close - ‘all edge, no point’.

Boru

[Ferrocyanide]

[Ferrocyanide]

It's Leo - doing what Leo does.

I still don't understand the whole sailor and elephants post.  Even with pictures.  Maybe hand puppets and crayons would help.

I come from a family of sailors and still can't work out what the hell post #33 was supposed to be about.

He is saying that ISIS, Al-Nusra, Al-Quada, Taliban, Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen are not true muslims.

My comment: This is the no true Scotsman fallacy.

He says that putting on a captain suit doesn’t make you suddenly into a captain. It takes years of practice, making mistakes, learning from your mistakes.

My comment: Violent behavior has been part of all flavors of the jewish religions. It is not a case of suddenly deciding to be a muslim and then making mistakes. Violent behavior, misogyny, possibly racism has been going on since the inception of islam. BTW, it is crystal clear that judaism and christianity contain racism. I am not familiar with every page of Islam so I can’t say much about it.

I guess the line about the elephants is just a light hearted joke.

[awty]

It's Leo - doing what Leo does.

I still don't understand the whole sailor and elephants post.  Even with pictures.  Maybe hand puppets and crayons would help.

I come from a family of sailors and still can't work out what the hell post #33 was supposed to be about.

He is saying that ISIS, Al-Nusra, Al-Quada, Taliban, Jama’at Nusrat al Islam wal Muslimeen are not true muslims.

My comment: This is the no true Scotsman fallacy.

He says that putting on a captain suit doesn’t make you suddenly into a captain. It takes years of practice, making mistakes, learning from your mistakes.

My comment: Violent behavior has been part of all flavors of the jewish religions. It is not a case of suddenly deciding to be a muslim and then making mistakes. Violent behavior, misogyny, possibly racism has been going on since the inception of islam. BTW, it is crystal clear that judaism and christianity contain racism. I am not familiar with every page of Islam so I can’t say much about it.

I guess the line about the elephants is just a light hearted joke.

Mansplaining not needed nor appreciated.

[Leonardo17]

[Leonardo17]

I mean: “Lean back” (not “lie back” – Sorry for the mistake): We can simply lean back on the driver’s seat and simply enjoy the ride.

In fact, just being able to do that is seen as a huge step in most spiritual teachings.

To stop worrying, to stop being neurotic, to stop willing to always be in control, the learn to just let life do whatever it’s there to do to us (or do through us).

There is this depth in spirituality and all I am saying is, someone who seemingly has some amount of religious or spiritual knowledge may actually be the most ignorant of us all. So if there is one thing that I am saying here than this is it.

I believe that spirituality that is based on the indoctrination of a person at a very young age can be (in many cases) the worst type of spirituality that is available on the market.


We'll talk about this further in the future

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

^Philosophy, Art, and literature were not responsible for germ theory, aero/astronautics, agronomy, sanitation, vaccines, food preservation, gene mapping, birth control, or whatever device you’re currently using to bitch about science.

Boru

[Leonardo17]

^Philosophy, Art, and literature were not responsible for germ theory, aero/astronautics, agronomy, sanitation, vaccines, food preservation, gene mapping, birth control, or whatever device you’re currently using to bitch about science.

Boru

   What about the threat of nuclear annihilation, global warming, brainwashing techniques used by oppressive regimes, disinformation campaigns that are being carried out by the authoritarian block of countries (China + Iran + Russia), the corruption of our food supply, the pollution of space, the risk of war in space, 1 in 8 people being hungry in the world although we have enough food to feed 16 billion people if we want to…
 
   Don’t get me wrong. Science is a wonderful thing. But in spirituality the Mind (the Buddhi which is the main instrument of modern science) is seen as a dissection instrument. It helps us to dissect everything (in the same way we dissected frogs and cockroaches in junior high). We went as far as dividing atoms in order to understand it. Yet, (and I am asking this as a historian of some sort) do you believe we are happier or even better than ancient Egyptians for instance?
 
In most developed countries suicide is the second cause of death among young people (the first cause is traffic accidents). I just saw a documentary on the migrants drowning in the Rio Grande being unable to cross into Texas illegally. So you would probably agree that not everything that we observe in this world of science and technology is working for the good of us all right?
 
So if science (or politics) doesn’t solve this then how would you solve it (meaning all of those existential threats we are facing right now) if we were to throw away all forms of religion and spirituality today?