Dear Canem Malum,

Harsh as it may sound, it is not for me or you to pick and choose how God should be. The ultimate reality is God, not humanity - humanity is not divine and God is not there to represent humanity any more than He is there to represent buffalo-ism.

The Queen is indeed great, but even Her we did not get to choose, how more so God.

One more thought:
The Queen is so great because She does not intervene in our lives - She needs not do anything, just to be there, sitting calmly on Her throne, then people look up to Her and improve their ways. In that sense one could say that the Queen represents God, but certainly not the other way round.

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Dear David (VK3AUU),

You say "Don't forget" as if you were present at the time - were you?

Posted by Yuyutsu, Thursday, 26 May 2022 4:52:00 PM: "Nirvana and union with God are one and the same, they just view the same ultimate human goal from different perspectives."

Unfortunately it can be asserted with equal authority that black is white when viewed from a different perspective, with the latter having far more support from the sciences than your nirvana/god opinion. Ecumenism has become childish in a society so much better educated than it was a millennium ago. Mahayana buddhism's purpose in deifying Buddha and easing the entry to nirvana has all the characteristics of a marketing ploy to attract followers. In similar fashion was "born again" contrived by the christians. How do you reconcile the trinity claims in christianity with Sidartha Gautama's personal embedding himself in humankind, repudiating divine origins, promoting self-abnegation, humility, respect for all life and ultimate union with the life-force? Buddha shares much more than you and your ilk will admit with Albert Einstein and perhaps with Baruch Spinoza, Kung fu Tze (Confucius of the Romans) and the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu than with christianity, hinduism etc.

"Most religious people accept that account too." Considering the bloody, brutal disgusting behaviour that besmirched their path to scientific truth, I would be highly timorous in claiming credit of any kind for religious people.

Yuyutsu said- "Dear Canem Malum,

Harsh as it may sound, it is not for me or you to pick and choose how God should be. The ultimate reality is God, not humanity - humanity is not divine and God is not there to represent humanity..."

Answer- With the greatest of respect Yuyutsu I suspect that the Anglo and European understanding of God is very different from yours- certainly very different than mine and the view of my family and extended family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuyutsu

"Yuyutsu in the Hindu epic Mahabharata was a son of Dhritarashtra with Gandhari's maid- The word yuyutsu is an adjective formed from the desiderative stem of the verb root "yudh" (fight, wage war), meaning "wishing to fight, bellicose.""

Given that you have taken the name Yuyutsu it suggests that you may descend from the Hindu diaspora- I apologize in advance if you aren't. Anyway Hindu Gods appear to have views similar to the ones that you expressed. I've read about them but consider them very much in conflict with the views that have come through my descendants.

Perhaps there could be some remote links between Hindu gods and Norse, Greek, and Roman gods- but factoring in the realities of their environment over thousands of years and hundreds of generations.

As you said- "Harsh as it may sound"- I believe that some cultural values can't be reconciled but that doesn't mean that I don't wish you a happy life in your context

We need to be careful of ethno-morphising (cw anthropomorphise) concepts from another cultural ethnicity as the principles may apply in a different context and perspective.

Pogi said "Buddha shares much more than you and your ilk will admit with Albert Einstein and perhaps with Baruch Spinoza, Kung fu Tze (Confucius of the Romans) and the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu than with christianity, hinduism etc."

Answer- Thanks Pogi for your intelligent comment.

I suppose you would expect that Judaism (Einstein/ Spinoza) would be closer to the Chinese (Buddhism (originally from India), Taoism (Tao Te Ching), Confucism) than the Western Traditions (Greek, Roman, Nordic, Anglo). Judea is located between China and the West even though theoretically Christianity is part of the Judean Tradition.

Dear Pogi,

My statement which you quoted does not speak about either Buddhism or Christianity.

There is the reality of that state of being which Buddhists refer to as "Nirvana" and there is the reality of that state of being which Christians refer to as "Union with God".

That reality, that ultimate state of being is one and the same. It includes the end of suffering as well as eternal joy.

Further, that state would still exist and remain the same regardless whether Buddhism or Christianity were ever invented.
What else Buddhists and Christians believe in or not, is completely besides the point.

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Dear Canem Malum,

«the Anglo and European understanding of God is very different from yours»

Perhaps, but this does not change the reality of God. Picking and choosing how God should be does not change that reality.

«The word yuyutsu is an adjective formed from the desiderative stem of the verb root "yudh" (fight, wage war), meaning "wishing to fight, bellicose."»

What is most important about the Mahabharata character of Yuyutsu, is that though he was born to the blind King Dhritarashtra, thus automatically posted to fight along his evil sons on the side of evil, just when the big battle was about to begin, he defected and crossed over to the opposite camp of the righteous Pandavas. No matter where one was born and into what circumstances and family traditions, one can always turn their back to unwholesome upbringing and kins, choosing the good instead.

There are no "Hindu Gods". There is only God. What Westerners wrongly refer to as "Hindu gods" is best translated to English as "angels".

«some cultural values can't be reconciled»

Possibly, but I was referring to reality itself, not to cultures.