[cmoneyspinner]

like how the Masons use ceremonial aprons.

Ah! The Masons. What tickles me about the Masons is they are supposed to be so secretive but my late brother was a member. I was like: “I'm not supposed to know you're a member. Right?” Yet my other brothers were blabbing it out! They had special rings too as I recall.

[Jem Smith]

like how the Masons use ceremonial aprons.

Ah! The Masons. What tickles me about the Masons is they are supposed to be so secretive but my late brother was a member. I was like: “I'm not supposed to know you're a member. Right?” Yet my other brothers were blabbing it out! They had special rings too as I recall.

Yeah, it's not a secret who is a member (I mean, the meeting halls have signs on them saying what they are and you can see who goes in and out), just what they actually do, the ceremonies and stuff (though even that not so much any more).

[cmoneyspinner]

Yeah, it's not a secret who is a member (I mean, the meeting halls have signs on them saying what they are and you can see who goes in and out), just what they actually do, the ceremonies and stuff (though even that not so much any more).

I watched "Murdoch Mysteries". It's a Canadian TV show. In the police station - one guy is just a constable at the lowest level and the other is the police chief. But they are both masons and the guy who is the constable is a higher ranking than the police chief. I am curious as to what a secte.non-secret organization really does.

Here is some interesting trivia.

~ The Freemasons are the world's oldest fraternal organization, originating in Europe during the Middle Ages as a guild of stonemasons. The Illuminati was founded in 1776 in Bavaria, Germany.

~ The Illuminati recruited many members from Masonic lodges.

I got curious about the Illuminati because people said Beyonce And Jay-Z were members.

Another interesting historical group is the Knights Templar. I watched a documentary about them, and it seems they became wealthy, but they were loyal to the Catholic church. The king wanted their wealth, so he started persecuting them.

[eldavis]

I don't have any plans to change my religion right now and even in the future I won't be changing.

[Angie10]

I'm a non-practising Roman Catholic and never plan to change my religion. I don't like my church for all its abuses against innocent children, brushing all those incidents under the carpet etc. But I'm Roman Catholic and will remain so until my last breath. It's all I know.

[JASPREET]

I don't have any such plans or thinking to change my religion and I am completely satisfied and content with my religion

[Fergal]

I'm not down with a lot of Buddhist beliefs either

Jem Smith do you mind me asking which Buddhist beliefs you don't believe in?

[Kalayla]

I am not changing my religion anytime. Even my kids would be introduced to Christianity even though I don't take it to be such a thing.

[Jem Smith]

I'm not down with a lot of Buddhist beliefs either

Jem Smith do you mind me asking which Buddhist beliefs you don't believe in?

Karma. Some Buddhists are unsympathetic/unkind to people with disabilities (for example) because they believe they deserve their difficulties because of something they did in a past life.

And stuff like this (from an article about a Buddhist school)
'Nowhere was this more in evidence than in the ramifications of the belief in karma. At first glance, karma is a lovely idea which encourages people to be good even when nobody is watching for the sake of happiness in a future life. It's a bit carrot-and-stickish, but so are a lot of the ways in which we get people to not routinely beat us up and take our stuff. Where it gets insidious is in the pall that it casts over our failures in this life. I remember one student who was having problems memorising material for tests. Distraught, she went to the monks who explained to her that she was having such trouble now because, in a past life, she was a murderous dictator who burned books, and so now, in this life, she is doomed to forever be learning challenged.Not, "Oh, let's look at changing your study habits", but rather, "Oh, well, that's because you have the soul of a book-burning murderer."

To our ears, this sounds so over the top that it is almost amusing, but to a kid who earnestly believes that these monks have hidden knowledge of the karmic cycle, it is devastating. She was convinced that her soul was polluted and irretrievably flawed, and that nothing she could do would allow her to ever learn like the people around her...And this is the dark side of karma – instead of misfortunes in life being bad things that happen to you, they are manifestations of a deep and fundamental wrongness within you. Children have a hard enough time keeping up their self-esteem as it is without every botched homework being a sign of lurking inner evil.'

https://newhumanist.org.uk/articles/4021/the-dark-side-of-buddhism

And I have issue with the goal of life being to reject things of the world. I don't think earthly pleasures are a bad thing.

Also the hypocrisy of causing violence while preaching non violence (using hate speech against muslims).
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32929855

[Fergal]

Thanks Jem Smith, that is very interesting. I have learned a little bit about Buddhism over the years and that perspective is completely new to me, so thanks again for that. I suppose that there is good and bad in everything and most organizations and religions will have some elements that are not as good as they might appear at first glance.

[cmoneyspinner]

Some Buddhists are unsympathetic/unkind to people with disabilities (for example) because they believe they deserve their difficulties because of something they did in a past life.

How interesting. I have never heard of that. I always thought Karma was about something bad you did in this life and it came back to you in this life.

Another thing that's interesting. I started watching a Korean drama and they mentioned some scientist (I forgot the name) during Hitler's regime who deemed that children with disabilities were not worthy of life. It was that nonsense about creating the “perfect race”.

Anyway! I'm not splitting hairs. But people are always saying they believe in science and not religion. Seems to me both ways of thinking are SICK!

Just me thinking out loud.

[Jem Smith]

How interesting. I have never heard of that. I always thought Karma was about something bad you did in this life and it came back to you in this life.

That's a common misconception.

Anyway! I'm not splitting hairs. But people are always saying they believe in science and not religion. Seems to me both ways of thinking are SICK!
.

Science is quite different from religion. To 'believe in science' doesn't mean you accept a given set of beliefs without question. To believe in science is to believe in a method of testing things, to find out new things and continually interrogate older ideas.

Eugenics is nasty, but there's no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[cmoneyspinner]

To 'believe in science' doesn't mean you accept a given set of beliefs without question.

As a religious person, I can also tell you that religion is not about accepting a set of beliefs without question either. But that is where a lot of people go wrong and that's how a lot of folks get persuaded to join cults. The leader tells them to follow him or her blindly. And I don't know why but for some reason, they do!! By the time they realize they have gone down the wrong path, it's almost impossible for them to escape! The Jonestown Massacre is just one example. But there are plenty, all around the world. It's a universal occurrence.

[Jem Smith]

To 'believe in science' doesn't mean you accept a given set of beliefs without question.

As a religious person, I can also tell you that religion is not about accepting a set of beliefs without question either.

True. It doesn't have to be, and it shouldn't be, but unfortunately it often is. Not just in little sects or cults either. There are plenty of cases of people just going along with what their priest or minister said without question, doing things like ostracising family members for being gay or otherwise not fitting in.

[cmoneyspinner]

@Jem Smith - I have to live with myself, so I'm going to think for myself.

[Spontaneo]

The Roman Catholic Church has treated myself like dog do-do ever since I can remember. But I just cannot break with the faith as I cannot part with the Blessed Virgin Mary.