@FunCartel
Return 2
2:9 “The blasphemy of them, I know, who say they are Jedi. Jedi they are not. Sith they are. Hrrrrm.”
—Yoda
Then we are in agreement.
Rainbow Jesus with a tight bear-hug!
She's gonna tap!!!
We have a new champion!!
You guys!!! @chococuddles @FunCartel @hogboblin
Jesus, Buddha, Yoda... are ideals. And they're like Baskin Robbins. No flavor is meant for everyone. Give someone vanilla and they're gonna want mint or chocolate. Give them chocolate or mint and they're going to want cookie dough. Give them Jesus and someone's gonna want Zeus. Gimme Zeus and I can guarantee I'll want Thor. But I digress.
The OP's post and picture reminded me of a mindfulness post on hugging I came across:
"Hugging is a deep practice; you need to be totally present to do it correctly. When I drink a glass of water, I invest one hundred percent of myself in drinking it. You can train yourself to live every moment of your daily life like that. Before hugging, stand facing each other as you follow your breathing and establish your true presence. Then open your arms and hug your loved one. During the first in-breath and out-breath, become aware that you and your beloved are both alive; with the second in-breath and out-breath, think of where you will both be three hundred years from now; and with the third in-breath and out-breath, be aware of how precious it is that you are both still alive. When you hug this way, the other person becomes real and alive. You don’t need to wait until one of you is ready to depart for a trip; you may hug right now and receive the warmth and stability of your friend in the present moment."
"Hugging is a deep practice; you need to be totally present to do it correctly. When I drink a glass of water, I invest one hundred percent of myself in drinking it. You can train yourself to live every moment of your daily life like that.
Before hugging, stand facing each other as you follow your breathing and establish your true presence. Then open your arms and hug your loved one. During the first in-breath and out-breath, become aware that you and your beloved are both alive; with the second in-breath and out-breath, think of where you will both be three hundred years from now; and with the third in-breath and out-breath, be aware of how precious it is that you are both still alive.
When you hug this way, the other person becomes real and alive. You don’t need to wait until one of you is ready to depart for a trip; you may hug right now and receive the warmth and stability of your friend in the present moment."
from the interwebs here.
-Sid
My inspiration for this post was a seasonal (Easter) reminder that cuddling can be historic and spiritual (as well as metaphoric) as well as importantly physical. The clinical dissection it has received appears to me to indicate that it was erroneous received more with the head than the heart...by most of it's readers.
It is only from the heart if you are true believer in the scriptures you put out there. You are making a lot of assumptions. Many are repulsed by the pedophilia, misogyny, and conflict that organized religion has produced. That is historical as well.
@FunCartel Just a thought that many people are also repulsed by the same things in modern media, like the not-so-subtle misogyny in Tarantino's films... or, I dunno, the kiss between an 11-year-old Kirsten Dunst and Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire, Nabokov's book Lolita and the films that followed it... I know the concepts of pedophilia, misogyny etc. certainly bother me, but there is such a thing as context and I still love the aforementioned things because they are pleasing works of expression. There is a lot that happens in the Bible that isn't pretty and many of us who aren't fanatical are willing to admit that. Partaking in the study or pray-reading of scripture doesn't mean somebody endorses the harrowing things that go on in it necessarily.
@Catloaf
I’m pretty sure that very few people would condemn a person to eternal agony for disliking Interview with a Vampire.
Maybe I’m wrong. Perhaps a ton of people see Anne Rice’s books as non-fiction, as guides to live one’s life by. Critically, if those people do exist, they are not in a position of power. Interview with a Vampire has not been used as a tool to impose suffering upon people for millennia.
“But fanatics have gotten it wrong! I know there’s bad bits! I only do the good bits!”
Cherry-picking isn’t overly impressive. And it doesn’t change history.
No matter its source, mystical thinking poisons everything.
@Catloaf When talking to the public at-large the general rule of thumb is to talk about anything except religion and politics. This old rule of thumb is sage if you are trying to keep things civil because those things elicit strong emotions in many people. So, if you start a thread connecting cuddling to religion on a public forum like this you have to expect people will feel a certain way, and to sit there and say someone is mistaken in their belief against it because you meant it metaphorically or because you choose to cherry pick as @hogboblin accurately put it, you are making my point about religion and why I do not like it—there is that element of you are either with me or against me. I care not a wit if you like the Bible or not, that is your choice, but you should respect mine and others who find it detestable.
My last post on this issue, because I do believe that it's gone woefully astray at this point from its original intention and as of last week was well on its way to debate status...
My point of bringing up those forms of media has nothing to do with how the Bible is often treated as a doctrine by which to live. Of course nobody is living by Anne Rice's novel. My point was that despite atrocious things taking place in said forms of media, one is still able to enjoy them without endorsing the unwholesome principles found throughout. They are simply happenstance that take part in the story, or the whole picture. The same can be said of the Word. Enjoying certain parts of the Bible while still believing that others are in need of reform does not equate to cherry picking. "Oh this is good...oh...dear...they killed a guy...welp, I'm just not going to read over that, I'll pretend it isn't there" would be cherry picking.
LONG RANT INCOMING!
I don't disrespect difference of opinion, at all, and am not sure where I ever did in this thread. If anything, I can challenge it, but that does not necessarily mean that I will change minds... I am more in support of those who have the conviction to not blindly accept something, especially without examining its flaws. I think that the picking apart of someone else's thread which was created to connect to others of faith is disrespectful. This debate and examining of the posted verses was not asked for - but then again, you're correct @FunCartel...we are on a public forum, and religion is a sensitive subject and its mention does not strike a peaceful chord with all people, plus all people have the right to comment. I think this will be the last time I comment on such a thread, and I hope @HappinessHenry might refrain from similarly styled ones to avoid them being used as soapboxes for the crowd of which they will not be well received. As said, I was once atheist, eventually agnostic (maybe more on the mystic side of that - believing for myself that there is something out there bigger than the universe itself at the hand of all this, but humanity is too small to understand it). I get this line of thought that the Bible is not this perfect book exempt of all flaws, because it is full of them (mainly in the form of contradictions), and yet, I also find bits of wisdom and examples to apply to my life throughout. Does this mean I ignore the atrocities which occur? Not at all. To ignore it would be to deny that there are any atrocities at all, which I have not done.
I don't deny anywhere that organised religion has persecuted peoples for millenia; in fact, that's still going on as we're all obviously aware. The biggest example in my opinion being the shunning of the LGBTQ+, and yet, nothing is explicitly stated in the Word that shuns it... it is horribly fanatical priests, ministers and teachers who drive these messages home. The most misinterpreted part of the book to this end occurs in Leviticus with the issue of Sodom and Gomorrah. Sexual orientation was not even something that was understood or even fully understood in the days the Bible was written - the best education systems update their curriculums with the times... Christianity has had a reform before, but I do believe that along with it, all religion is still in need of examining. As long as religion stays unreformed (in my opinion), it will continue to allow the room for incorrect interpretation to take place, and thus more injustices against people who do not deserve it. My point all along was just that - people misnterpret it quite often. That isn't to say that I disrespect a person's right to difference of opinion of course. Acknowledging that something is misinterpreted is not the same as stating "you are not with me/you are against me". That's painting something rather black-and-white.
As for cherry picking... When you go on the hunt for fruit, would you take a fruit which gives you life, or the rotten fruit which has hung on the branch too long and makes you sick? I'll take the fruit that gives me life, while still acknowledging that the fruit tree is lovely, and yet it has some rotten bearings which should be trimmed or picked off... The ministers whose material I am reading teach the very same thing - even if something is reported as "good", do not do it for the sake of it being the rule, or being "good". Examine it within yourself and decide if it gives you life to follow it. To me, that is what Christianity is. But that is not what Christianity is to everyone else, unfortunately, and I'm alright with that.
All this mythological nonsense.
@Oink I am with you.
@Oink and @FunCartel Game of Thrones is mythological nonesense, Harry Potter is mythological nonesense, Lord of the Rings is mythological nonesense. Most Westerns are mythological nonesense. And before you can deliberately misunderstand me I don't necessarily like or believe in any or all of these forms any more than I believe in a lot of the myths of Christianity. But this does not make them invalid as stories. And, in fact they are all very popular. I am not arguing for Christianity over any other mythological belief. And I am certainly NOT arguing FOR paedophilia under any circumstances!!! I am merely trying to express the fact that cuddling has historic and spiritual aspects. Capiche? For Christ's sake!
@HappinessHenry: Oh, I like it. Let me see whether I've properly grasped the spirit of this....
Peter Pettigrew was a cuddler!
@HappinessHenry Get over yourself. Not everything is about you. When you broach a subject that has strong emotions attached to it such as religion you should be prepared for disagreement. Somehow, this has been twisted by you into us “deliberately misunderstand me.” No one said poor egg shell Henry is mythological nonsense—those of us who spoke up and disagreed with the subject reject Christianity outright and accept what good points the Bible makes as common sense to a human with any dose of empathy—do not kill, do not covet etc etc. It was not a Henry conspiracy. I am beginning to see that you are a legend in your own mind which does constitute mythological nonsense though.
Besides, how are YOU being misunderstood? You posted a picture in the initial post followed by several posts of nothing but scripture. Nothing you did was you being misunderstood because nothing was an original thought from you. It was not a misunderstanding because the Bible is taken any millions of different ways depending on the person. You took offense because we did not submit to Henry’s world view and/or interpretation of the Bible. Capiche?
@HappinessHenry
“I am merely trying to express the fact that cuddling has historic and spiritual aspects.”
The “history” you chose necessitates a belief in many, many things that can’t be verified. Faith is critical for your history—not fact, not evidence, not conforming with the rules of the universe as we know them. While this is undoubtedly fine for those who share your faith, it really shouldn’t be a surprise when some people take issue with it.
I, for one, also take issue with the spiritual/mystic/transcendent. But I’m not going to get into that.
Also, +1 to everything @FunCartel said.
250 people murdered (including lots of children) and 500 injured in Sri Lanka. All organized by a radical preacher and his followers. Religion doing its work again.
@UKGuy
Oh, no, you see...that guy was doing it wrong.
Ah, yes. Looks like this particular discussion turned into quite the religious debate. Naturally, it appears to have run it's course. 28 APR 2019 19:49 EDT. Closed.