tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post463327646387714570..comments2024-03-26T14:20:38.103-04:00Comments on The Thought Criminal: Applied Science Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-4451696663372368702018-04-04T11:00:04.360-04:002018-04-04T11:00:04.360-04:00The difference between the pagan view of the world...The difference between the pagan view of the world in the 1st century, and the Christian kerygma.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-30740854500615480812018-04-04T09:03:33.780-04:002018-04-04T09:03:33.780-04:00I recently heard an interview with Rupert Sheldrak...I recently heard an interview with Rupert Sheldrake talking about when he was a conventional atheist and a young biology researcher.<br />I then took a job in India,. In 1974 I became the principal plant physiologist at the International Crops Research Institute in Hyderabad in India.<br /><br />So, I lived in India for about seven years, partly because I was so intrigued by oriental philosophy, and the last thing I expected was being drawn back towards a Christian path, I thought I’d left that far behind me. But the longer I was in India, the more I realized that a great deal about my own nature and being was shaped by my Christian background.<br /><br />For example, I had a conversation with one of my Hindu colleagues, this was in the evening after work and he said, “Why do you do what you do?” and I said, “Well, I want to help poor farmers and I want to help poor people lead a better life by improving cropping systems and breeding better crops,” and I said, “What about you?” He said, “For me it’s a job, it’s a good job.” I said, “But what about helping people?” He said, “If people are poor, that is their problem, it is their karma, that is from their previous life. That is not your problem. Your problem is to look after your own spiritual development,” he said.<br /><br />Then, I realized so much of Southern Buddhism, Theravada Buddhism and Hinduism is about following your spiritual path that basically leads to vertical takeoff for those who follow it. The rest of the world is a hopeless place with waves of reincarnation and samsara and karmic bondage, things are basically getting worse, according to their world view and will continue to do so, and the only thing an individual can do is get off.<br /><br />Then, I realized that in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions, there’s a very different dimension, it’s much more about community, about, we’re in this together, and this very strong sense of interlinking with a community, rather than just an individual quest. It made me realize I was much deeper in the Christian tradition than I’d thought . . .<br />The Thought Criminalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01381376556757084468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4764506766343254616.post-69900755546367926632018-04-04T08:10:24.689-04:002018-04-04T08:10:24.689-04:00Your obligation is to improve the state of your so...Your obligation is to improve the state of your soul.<br /><br />My obligation is to see that you do so.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.com