[116] in Discussion of MIT-community interests
Theism != Abrahamic beliefs
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Arun A Tharuvai)
Fri Apr 20 13:47:05 2001
Message-Id: <200104201745.NAA15724@DORM.mit.edu>
To: Benazeer Noorani <benazeer@MIT.EDU>
cc: mit-talk@MIT.EDU
From: Arun A Tharuvai <aatharuv@MIT.EDU>
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 13:45:33 -0400
------- Forwarded Message
Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 11:14:08 -0400
From: Benazeer Noorani <benazeer@MIT.EDU>
>How then, do you explain those theists who don't expect their religion to
>increase their happiness in the afterlife? I grew up in a Muslim home. The
>way I was taught the Koran, there was no guarantee whatsoever that Allah
>was going to help you in any way. You live your life following a set of
>extraordinarily strict and apparently arbitrary rules., and hope you've
>done it well enough to get to paradise and haven't inadvertently done
>anything to make Allah smite you and send you straight to hell. If people
>only chose religion based on what's going to increase their happiness, I
>would argue we should all be Hindus, because with reincarnation you get an
>infinite number of chances to get your life right.
>My point here is, most theists would say they act consistently with a set
>of morals because they believe their religion is true. The increase of
>happiness in the afterlife is only secondary to this.
I believe that most people on the list are restricting the term
"theism" to a Judeo-Christian-Islamic sense of an Almighty God, who human
beings are commanded to obey. In Hinduism, and Buddhism, the choice of
how you worship god, and what path you take to reach him is up to you.
Buddhism and Hinduism coexisted in India for a very long period of time,
and in modern day Japan, one can be a believer of both Shinto and Buddhism
at the same time. Hinduism only asks that people do their duties faithfully,
honestly, and that they do not needlessly commit harm. Other things,
including dietary restrictions, come from culture and tradition. I was a
strict vegetarian at first because my parents were vegetarians, but stayed
one later on, because I felt that killing of animals for food is wrong when it
is possible to have a perfectly healthy diet without meat. I am a theist
following these restrictions not because a higher being told me to do so,
but because I thought about it, and added it to my own belief structure.
I also take exception to your comment that with reincarnation, you get an
infinite number of chances to get your life right. Though it technically may
be true, those Hindus who believe in reincarnation generally agree that
the bad things that you have done will be counted against the good, and
thus it becomes increasingly difficult to escape an earthly existence. I
don't know about this myself.
>At least the average theist is placing a bet. If you sit on the sidelines,
>there's zero chance that you'll win.
I act the way do because it fits my own moral beliefs, which I have thought
out for myself. If God created a set of initial conditions during the Big Bang
such that a rational race called human beings would evolve, then I would assume
that God will reward those who think rationally and doing so create a set of
beliefs that they feel comfortable with, and act on them, regardless of their
feelings towards God.
>sitting on the fence. Of course, I have equally little respect for anyone
>who blindly follows the religion of their parents without really examining
>whether they believe it to be true or not.
I agree with you whole heartedly.
Arun A Tharuvai
