[top-politics] Re: Truth

Mark Rosst — 2006-09-17 00:54:30+0200

> > >L: So? I’m not sure what it means to be “Abrahamic.” > > > >-M: Someone who venerates the line of phrophets which extend from > >Abraham.

>L: “Venerates?” That smacks of worship…. “Respects” does not.

-M: ‘Respect’, in the context of religious authority, I would call ‘veneration’.

Read more… / Lire plus…

> >This includes Jews, Christians, Muslims(and maybe even Bahaii). > >They largely differ over where this line stops.

>L: Indeed. Christians and Jews-and-Muslims — the latter being quite > close — have differing definitions of prophethood. The Baha’i > introduce a whole new concept which is in my opinion alien to Islam, > but not so alien to Christianity. (The Baha’i consider the Prophets > to be the “Manifestation” of God, which gets very close to the > Christian concept of the Incarnation. Jesus himself, of course, was a > Jew, and quite a good one at that.) But, again, this has to do with TOP?

-M: We are nailing down our worldviews – this enhances communication.

>L: There is a connection, but it is getting pretty thin. The connection > is my claim that people can come to agreement much more than is often > thought, if they can take the time and have the space in which to > examine what they believe deeply, rather than merely noting surface > appearances and differences. > > >-M: Our Shiva is the same as “God” and “Allah”. > >I am a monotheist. The other dieties are just personifications of > >aspects of one Godhead. And your quote there is considered authoritative in my tradition.

>L: It ought to be. That’s where I got it (or, more accurately, from the > synthetic Vedanta tradition,…

-M: My tradition is based more on Trika Shaivism than Vedanta, but there are much more similarities than not. (Laksman Joo cataloged only five significant differences.)

>L: the Sanskrit begins “ekam sat vipra bahudra vedanti sarvam khalvidam buddham tat tvam asi….” If I remember it correctly.)

-M: Fun stuff, eh? :-)

>L: But I could also state it from my personal experience. Truth is one. > People call it various names. But all agree [where the conditions > permit it]….

-M: :-)

shanti
Mark, Seattle WA USA