October 20, 2008
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Writers Choice Featured Questions Week 23
Now here’s something a little different. I’m kind of tired (I’ve been going since 6 AM), so I’m not going to look up old questions from the featured questions BB. These are my question(s) for you this week. It’s technically one question I suppose, but you can answer it in parts or in its entirety…
Many religions feel you should be willing to die for your faith. Some religions encourage or (in the past) have encouraged their believers to kill in the name of their faith. What do you think of this? Is it better to be willing to live for your faith, or die for it? Should you be willing to kill to defend your beliefs? Think of a scenario in which you’d have to live, die, or kill for your faith. Could you do it? Which one is harder? What do you think of people who would tell you that only if you can kill or die for your faith are you true to its tenets? Feel free to explore these questions from any angle I haven’t suggested if you can think of one.
Consider this: Among the Maya, there was/is a phrase: in la kesh. Roughly translated, it means, I am another you. Like the word Namaste, it is used as a salutation, giving respect to the one addressed. “I honor the divine in you;” “your spirit and my spirit are one.” In pondering the above questions, if it became necessary, would it be better to die for your beliefs or kill to protect them? Either way, a piece of the divine would be removed from the Earth. So could you justify killing to preserve yourself, assuming that you are better than the one who seeks your death? Would having to kill lower the value of your faith in your eyes?
I know, impossible questions, but great for speculation, I think.
Tattoothe webnovel so far…
Chapter 1: Blood is ThickerChapter 1.1 in which Glory is not mindful of the store
Chapter 1.2 in which Glory is made to do something she would really rather not
Chapter 1.3 in which Glory thinks she might be sick
Chapter 1.4 in which Aaron makes a mistake
Chapter 1.5 in which Glory is made to see the error of her ways
Chapter 1.6 in which the circle remains unbrokenChapter 2: A Farewell to ArmsChapter 2.1 in which Aaron makes another mistake
Chapter 2.2 in which Glory reflects on her path
Chapter 2.3 in which we learn Aaron is not really a nice boy
Chapter 2.4 in which Glory speculates on the holiness of salt
Chapter 2.5 in which Glory learns of the necessity for upper body strength, but makes do with what she has
Chapter 2.6 in which Aaron tries to make amends, but is still pretty much an assChapter 3: Small SacrificesChapter 3.1 in which Glory is spat on, twice
Chapter 3.2 in which a cop is threatened
Chapter 3.3 in which someone is crying
Chapter 3.4 in which there’s more to the moon than meets the eye
Chapter 3.5 in which Glory comes face to face with an loony environmentalist
Chapter 3.6 in which Glory gets turned around
Chapter 3.7 in which Glory is threatened
Chapter 4: The Shape of Things to ComeChapter 4.1 in which a doctor makes his rounds
Chapter 4.2 in which Glory is asked some awkward questions
Chapter 4.3 in which Glory adopts a pet
Chapter 4.4 in which Glory gets a surprise, but decides she should not have been surprised at all
Chapter 4.5 in which Glory explains why there are no debts where duty is concerned
Chapter 4.6 in which a shapeshifter is an enemy to no man
October 20th
The 4th day of Koiak is the Festivals of Sobek.
October 21st
This is the Mesopotamian festival of Ishhara, sometimes equated with Ishtar.
Hathor Goes Forth to Her people on the 5th day of Koiak.
October 22nd
Japan’s Hi Matsuri, “fire festival,” is celebrated at night in the village of Kurama near Kyoto. People carry flaming torches in a procession to purify their homes. The parade ends at a shrine at midnight where the gods are said to descend to earth.
The Orionids meteor show peaks on or around this date. It began on the second of October and will end on the seventh of November. It is associated with Halley’s Comet.
October 23rd
The 7th day of Koiak was a Ceremony in honor of Thoth, and also a Festival for Selket.
October 25th
The feast day of the Saints Crispin and Crispinian, twin patrons of shoemakers, is a continuation of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus.
Ocotber 26th
Aban Jashan is a Zoroastrian festival of water.
Sybil Leek died of cancer on this day in 1982.
October 27th
In Cornwall, unmarried men and women would traditionally buy highly polished apples called Allan Apples on this day and sleep with them under their pillows. Before dawn, they had to wake up and eat the fruit without sound, then go outside and sit under a tree. The first person that passed was their future spouse.
Owagit is a Native American holy day.
The 11th day of Koiak is a Feast of Osiris in Abydos.
Comments (4)
Wow. This sounds like a question I would give on one of my tests.
I’ll have to ruminate on it a bit before I answer.
What I think is that far, far, far too many have put their allegiance in “religion” as opposed to the Sacred spirituality within each living being. Therefore, I think that people will, as they have and will most likely continue to do so, kill in the name of an institution rather than live in spiritual peace.
“Religion” becomes an unconscious adherence to dogma and the interpretation thereof, consequently those within institutionalized religion do many an unconscious (and unconscionable) thing. This is not to say there are not many, many good people under the banner of religion, it is only to say that religion, itself, becomes the defining mark for too high a majority rather than spirituality, itself. Faith in religion, rather than faith in deeper spirituality and Source.
Blessings~
@madmorrigan - I couldn’t agree with you more. All “organized” religion boils down to is mob mentality. How much are you willing to conform and therefore what responsibility for your actions are you willing to forego to be part of that religion. Many people cannot make the break from what their religion tells them to what they personally believe and so they stay in a religion for years, decades, their entire lives without ever really believing, simply because they are afraid to stand alone on the basis of their own moral compass. In the end, organized religions are defined not by love, but by fear. And fear has often been the origin of violent acts.
You should check out Firecracker’s blog. I think he inadvertantly answered your question.