Tag: Doctrine & Practice

From a Buddhist perspective, I could keep this short and sweet, and regurgitate the words that “righteous anger” is part of the “three poisons” in Buddhism — greed, hatred, and ignorance —end of conversation.

Tibetan Buddhist nuns from Sravasti Abbey, the Buddhist monastery outside of Newport, will begin a new series of meditation classes at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Spokane, beginning Aug. 12

Classes will be weekly on Mondays from 6:30-8:00 p.m through Sept. 16.

Luke 11:1-13 invites us to reflect on our mental image of God. A mental image is an internal representation of the world. We form these internal representations over time based upon our perceptions and experiences. For example, we all have mental images of "summer" and "winter," formed over many years of experiences of the naturally occurring patterns in the weather.

The first issue is "which god did you have in mind"?  If it is a Pascal's Wager choice between only one contender and nothing, that is a somewhat simpler issue. But the truth is that there are not only a variety of competing tables even at the Christian Casino, there are also many other religion casinos just down the block, all operating with their own proprietary (and generally conflicting) house rules.

Did you ever believe in a god, and if so, why did you change your mind?  What hope do you have when you and your loved ones die and why are you OK with that?

Every religion has its dark corners, its shameful episodes in the past — or present  — that its members find embarrassing at best, faith-shattering at worst. Mormonism is no different.

A recent New York Times article featured Hans Mattsson, a high-ranking leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Sweden, whose faith was shaken when he learned about some aspects of our history that troubled him...

A great many Jews, religious and secular alike, feel inspired by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam: our collective duty to help heal the world. Like many other progressive concepts, tikkun olam can easily be caricatured as a “nice” thing to do rather than a good thing. Awww, those B’nai Mitzvah students are picking up litter in the park — isn’t that nice! In this formulation, “nice” is code for gestural, temporary and ultimately ineffectual.