I was asking myself this while uploading pictures of "miscellaneous nature". I was pondering to myself, What do I consider Sacred? What would I consider Blasphemous?
The first thing that popped into my mind was Nature. I have a deep respect and connection to nature -I consider myself a part of it and it a creation of God. I've had people tell me they don't really care much about nature, and it hurts when I hear that. I would call nature sacred, but I would not call making jokes about it or mocking it blasphemous. I can hear jokes about someone sawing down trees. I don't take offense to hearing that people don't care about endangered species. The feeling that I get isn't that of offense, but instead pity. I pity people who don't respect things I have great reverence for. Like when I'm really excited about a movie or something and somebody else tells me the movie is crap. I pity and feel sorry for them the they cannot enjoy it the way I do. We can both witness and acknowledge something, but only one of us can enjoy it or hold deep respect for it.
Like a rose.
So when it comes to God, do I find Him sacred? I suppose I find the Divine sacred, and God sacred on some level.
Wikipedia says sacred is "Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy (perceived by religious individuals as associated with the divine) or sacred (considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or reverence among believers in a given set of spiritual ideas)."
So wouldn't it be redundant to say God is Sacred and Holy. If God is these things then it's like saying a Cat is a Feline. "Sacred" is religious jargon. Sacred is a term required for a religion or spirituality.
I suppose I find the Soul sacred. Compasion. Love. Peace. Living Beings.
But I don't take it personally when other people don't. In fact an atheist has made jokes about God before. He said the universes was created by a plate of Pizza that rolled a bunch of spaghetti into the universe giving birth to planets (meat balls). I thought it was funny. He was amusing. But he also had a lot of issues. And he smoked cigarettes. And he contemplated suicide. And he was depressed with no real plans for the future. I find jokes funny, but I find life often isn't. Which is why we make jokes, to make lighten the harshness reality can bring so we can think it is something sizable we can understand and overcome.
I pity people who make jokes about things I take seriously. Not initially of course, I find the jokes funny, unless they are blatantly offensive in which case I go strait to the pitying. It's sympathy. I wish people could appreciate the things that I do instead of writing them off. I feel the same for those who are judgmental. For those who write people off as if they have nothing to offer and are beyond compassion -I pity them.
I haven't heard anything blasphemous though, I don't think. I don't take people's opinions on various aspects of life personally. You can tell me you don't believe in ghosts and you think I'm crazy. It only hurts me to think that there's a truth I know that I cannot show to others because they have to see and experience it for themselves. I don't take offense when people speak poorly of Jesus -I don't enjoy there words by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't take it personally. I'll lead by example. Let no one be offended by the jokes I make and the opinions I share about life, and I'll be open to whatever words may be spoken or thoughts may be shared with me by others.
God doesn't get offended. He is infinite. He transcends everything. I'm pretty sure He doesn't take jokes personally and start moping around because somebody doesn't like Him or made fun of Him. God is patient and understanding. He Loves unconditionally and Forgives unconditionally. He only pities and sympathises for those who don't appreciate the blessings He he brought to their lives. If God created all life then any joke about life we made in some way is making fun of its Creator. God gave us humor to remember not to take life too seriously and to Enjoy and Share it with others like you would a good joke.
"God doesn't get offended." --- where did you draw this conclusion from? Did you ask Him?
ReplyDeleteGod is offended over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again by humankind.
The more you love or value something, the more offended you get when that something is not portrayed as you had wished.
I think you think that you are "above" offense, Jessica...as if to be offended by something, you are somehow not being mature.
In fact, if nothing offends you, then I'd contend that you don't really care for anything.
As I know that this isn't true, I really don't think you know what you're talking about here. No offense. (no pun intended, either).
God is offended over and over. Says so in the Bible when he Himself speaks about His feelings. But this offense is balanced off with infinite patience and infinite understanding.
All of our emotions, every single one of them, come from a source called God. We are made in His Image. So if we are capable of being offended, so is God. Our emotions don't come from a vacuum...there are from the Source.
12
Buddhism teaches that negative thoughts and emotions do not come from the Divine and are separate from out True Selves. When i imagine God overhearing someone insult Him, I think if He was hurt, it would be out of Empathy and Compassion -pity for the person giving the negative insult. The negativity weighs people down and divides them from their True Selves (soul). I think God being infinte and patient would not take what they said personally because it was not the offense of someone who knew Him If they had Known Him and respected Him they would not have insulted Him.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear jokes about God or religion I don't take them seriously unless serious offense was met. It's like an inside joke not meant to hurt anyone. I think god has enough reasoning and atempered enough nature to understand when a joke is meant to insult and when it is meant to be a shared enjoyment at no one's expense.
God has been around since before man. It's strange to think the adoration He recieves from millions could take a back seat to the few insults and harsh words spoken by those who are lost to Him.
Also, I think it is worse to Praise God's name during violent acts and claim to do His bidding while hurting/harming people than to make a few jokes about God that were not intended to be taken seriously by anyone.
I think the worst insult or blasphemous act that can be done is not to make jokes about God -which few take seriously, but to take His words and twist them to justify wrongful actions of hate.
ReplyDeleteWell, frankly put, Buddhism is wrong here. =)
ReplyDeleteGod gets jealous.
He gets angry.
He gets wrathful.
He gets offended.
He gets sad.
He cries.
He desire revenge.
He hates.
I once spoke to a man who had a hard time believing in God for these very reasons. He said that a God who has "negative" emotions.
Well, the alternative is a God with no emotions...a divine robot.
Sorry, that's not the God described in the Bible.
Did you forget what you read in the Bible about Jesus being offended by the people selling and buying in the temple? He got so angry that he drove them all out with a whip.
Jesus = God, btw. You connect the dots.
I'm sure pity is involved, but there is also true anger here.
God takes EVERYTHING personally. To take something non-personally would be to distance oneself form a situation, to not love a person involved. God is very, very involved and very very close and very very loving.
God requests praise and respect for the things associated with Him, not jokes. You will never, ever find anybody in the Bible joking about God. You will never find Jesus making a joke about God, Himself, or the People of God.
If Jesus is our Example, we are to act like Jesus.
For God not to be angry about the insults and put down on him would, again, be a God of apathy. But that's not God.
Again, if you love something, you are open to being hurt by that something. That's why love is scary --- you open yourself up to it.
Surely you know this.
Now consider the fact that John says that God IS love...yes, He gets very hurt when we insult Him.
12
Even then, if God gets offended by insult, with Him so close and knowing people as much as or more than they know themselves -then God would know the difference between someone genuinely insulting Him and someone laughing at a joke about Him that they didn't take seriously and meant no offense by. God would see the difference in intent.
ReplyDeleteYou assume that a lack of negative emotions = apathy. But you can be Positive, Reflective, Open, Free, Connected, Loving, Compassionate, Forgiving, and Understanding -and none of those things are Ngative or Apathetic.
God would see the difference in someone joking about God in an offensive way and someone joking about God in a non-offensive way. Sure.
ReplyDeleteBut this is not what God asks of us. He doesn't want jokes. He wants praise, reverence, honor and glory. He wants us to do good to others. He wants our words to be encouraging, uplifting, speaking truth about Him.
Again, why are there zero jokes in the Bible about God? Why does Jesus NEVER joke about God? There are jokes about all kinds of other things in the Bible. But never about God. Ever.
Why do you NEED jokes about God? You can joke about everything else in the entire galaxy...why is there a necessity to joke about God? Why take the risk of blasphemy and impiety? Why walk down that road at all?
Is is NECESSARY for your life? lol
I don't *assume* that "negative" emotions means apathy. I KNOW it does.
You only cry and are sad if you care for something.
You are only jealous if you love something.
You are only angry if you care for something that has been damaged/tainted/attacked.
You only hate something if it is the opposite of something that you love.
Buddhism is wrong here...now I'm seeing why so many of these monks walk around looking and acting like robots with slits in their faces for smiles if they are trying to deaden what they call "negative" emotions, but in their attempt to deaden what they called "negative", they are also deadening the positive ones.
"Negative" emotions are only bad if they cause us to do sins as a result.
God and Jesus had all of these emotions yet did not sin as a result.
You completely avoid the fact that Jesus got offended and angry in the temple, which completely blows up the Buddhist argument.
Buddhism and Christianity are not 100% compatible. This is just one of many instances where you will see this. You need to choose one or the other, or make one primary, and the other secondary.
12
Buddhism deviates from christianity on this, yes. Buddhism teachs that Suffering is the cause of misery on Earth and it should be our mission to remove suffering from ourselves and others.
ReplyDeleteChristianity teaches us that Suffering is necessary and sacrificing your own wellbeing for the wellbeing of others is great. Buddhism can also say that sacrifice is great for the prevention of suffering in others -but ending suffering should be the main goal, where Chrisitanity teaches us to deal with it.
The solution is the same, either way. Compassionate Detachment. Being removed from worldly things while still acting compassionately towards it. Finding inner peace and grace through a connection to the Divine. Following the paths of guidance laid out to lead the best life to achieve the best afterlife and soul growth.
But I will say this... I've never heard of an angry Buddhist. I've never heard of Buddhists calling others immoral and telling them they're going to hell. I've never heard of Buddhists defending their acts of immorality by naming their religion as a good excuse. I suppose you can say the Christians who do all of these things aren't great models of Chrsitianhood -but in the end the notion still stands and it is one to be noted.
"I suppose you can say the Christians who do all of these things aren't great models of Chrsitianhood"
ReplyDelete---- booya. Nothing more to be said. These people are not Christians so no need to defend their actions. Anybody can act a fool.
12