Important Note On a Sunday

Think about it.

We can do this.

Einstein, Spinoza and Me

 When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the question students asked him most was: Do you believe in God? And he always answered: I believe in the God of Spinoza.

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

According to Spinoza, God would say: “Stop praying. I want you to go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you."

“Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you."

“Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything that others made you believe."

“Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes—you will find me in no book!"

“Stop asking me, ‘Will you tell me how to do my job?’ Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry or bothered. I am pure love."

“Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you, I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies, and best of all, free will. Why would I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How could I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?"

“Respect your peers, and don't give what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life—alertness is your guide."

“My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, not a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now—and it is all you need."

“I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record. You are absolutely free to create in your life. It’s you who creates heaven or hell."

“Live as if there is nothing beyond this life, as if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist. Then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is an afterlife, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask, ‘Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?’

“Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea."

“Stop praising me. What kind of egomaniac God do you think I am? I'm bored with being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me."

“Stop complicating things and repeating as a parrot what you've been taught about me. Why do you need more miracles? So many explanations?"

“The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.”

Now. Go. Have a nice day.

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

"Because morality is a social necessity, the moment faith in god is banished, man's gaze turns from god to man and he becomes socially conscious. Religious belief prevented the growth of a sense of realism. But atheism at once makes man realistic and alive to the needs of morality." 

--Gora

Quote of the Day -- Sunday Edition

“Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spiritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity.

If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism."

--Albert Einstein

Links:

Buddhism

Basics of Buddhism

A Basic Buddhism Guide: Buddhism and the God-idea

Albert Einstein

A thought

Buddha
Jesus
Mohammed
Ghandi
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
etc.

"Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet."

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Muslims--and the world--need to make clear this is not acceptable

From the Star today:

Bangladeshi Muslims torch Buddhist temples, homes

Check this out:

Thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims set fire to at least 10 Buddhist temples and 40 homes in anger over a Facebook photo of a burned Quran before authorities restored order.

So let's get this straight.

Thousands--thousands--of people set fire to Buddhist religious buildings--their temples--and homes because there was a picture on Facebook of a burned book.

Right. Got it.

That's logical, right?

Heck no.

All peaceful and peace-loving Muslims, Islamists and followers of their leader, Mohammed, as well as the world, need to make clear to the rest of the world that torching other people's homes and religious buildings and even the murders which have taken place are not acceptable or an option, in any situation.

On the contrary, it's insane. It's psychotic.

If the point is that only 10 to 15 percent of the Muslim world are terrorists, fine but then the rest of the Muslims of the world need to make crystal clear to these lunatics that this is not acceptable and not what Mohammed would have them do.

To remain silent gives these people consent to continue this insanity.

Link: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/09/30/3840857/bangladesh-muslims-torch-buddhist.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy

Quote of the day--on religion

"I knew I should have gone to work today There is no God there was no Moses your are no longer 5 There was no jesus mohammed was an opportunistic soldier that used peoples gullibility and fear of the people to do his bidding there is no satan there is no hell there is only this natural world that is explainable through a fundamental understanding of the laws which govern its behavior if it is so easy for you to accept supernatural reasons for everything then perhaps you can accept that this sentence is punctuated perfectly...why...because the pink invisible unicorn seated to your right says so"

--on a friend's Facebook page, yesterday

What all media 'round the world should have done, long ago

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
South Park Death Threats
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

I said a long time ago, all the media, 'round the world, should run a cartoon of Mohammed on their op/ed page, all on the same day so we can all move past this. Matt Stone and Trey Parker are the only ones, apparently, who have the cajone's to stand up to this neanderthal, 2nd century way of thinking.