No 1575 of Living Life Series 1
They must be able to understand the aspirations and practices of other religions and cultures and be at home and ever be one with those in other religions and cultures.
They must accept that others are different and yet share the innate wish for peace and goodness among men and nations.
They must respect others for what they are and not impose their values and cultural bias on others.
This is common sense and the logical approach.
Common sense must prevail. This truth is simple but many blinded by self righteousness think they know better and others should do and think what they do.
They forget that others may be right in what they do in the context of their culture and society.
There is the underlying basic need to be good in all nations, cultures and religions.
Bo Tien 武天 refers to this as the Inner Truth which is not new and always there from time immemorial. Common sense is what we need in life and in religion.
But there are those who because of religion forget even about common sense. They say that God has decided. What is there to think about? Just believe and not question why.
But is this what God wants? Perhaps this is just what some unkind men says in the name of God?
Thus Bo Tien 武天 says that all must go to the bottom line - the belief in basic goodness which he refers to as Inner Truth.
Do not forgo common sense in the name of God. That which is not logical and consistent with common sense has nothing to do with the Word of God.
Without common sense, many will lose touch with reality. In fact many are so involved and plugged into the narrow world they create out of religion that they are not in touch with reality of the wider world.
Religion is about reality of life and the world. Religion is about reality and logical thinking. Common sense is needed. We do not even need to dwell in philosophy.
Let there be the humanistic approach to religion. Religion must be based on common sense.
This approach has gained more emphasis and will continue to do so in Asian and Chinese society like Taiwan.
Long time ago, among Chinese, it was the thinking that educated and literate people should not take up religion and should look up to Confucius.
Only the illiterate and more so the ladies who did not learn to read and write should look up to the traditional religious practices and the gods.
When I was but a young child, I used to be told this by my granny. In a Chinese primary school, I remembered clearly my first day at school was to bow down in respect to Confucius and every year, my late mother would bring me to a temple to altar of Confucius to be like him
With passing of centuries and time, all are educated and literate. But when they take up religion, many somehow tend to not to think and not be logical in what they do and believe in religion.
How this is still the case and will still be so is due to ignorance even in the educated. Wouldn't they be better at thinking if they are educated?
Is common sense absent even if people are not literate and educated?
The age old saga between science and religion has nothing to do with science or religion but is about why people cannot even have common sense thinking in religion.
It is not that science is against religion or religion against science.
It is all about why there is lack of common sense when it comes to religion.
Some may refer to this as instinctive and when this takes precedence, common sense is absent.
We are not even talking about philosophy or scientific thinking or analysis. We are talking about simple logic or common sense.
Common sense must prevail in life and in religion. Religion must be based on common sense.
Thus Bo Tien 武天 says that all must go to the bottom line - the belief in basic goodness which he refers to as Inner Truth.
Do not forgo common sense in the name of God. That which is not logical and consistent with common sense has nothing to do with the Word of God.
Without common sense, many will lose touch with reality. In fact many are so involved and plugged into the narrow world they create out of religion that they are not in touch with reality of the wider world.
Religion is about reality of life and the world. Religion is about reality and logical thinking. Common sense is needed. We do not even need to dwell in philosophy.
Let there be the humanistic approach to religion. Religion must be based on common sense.
This approach has gained more emphasis and will continue to do so in Asian and Chinese society like Taiwan.
Long time ago, among Chinese, it was the thinking that educated and literate people should not take up religion and should look up to Confucius.
Only the illiterate and more so the ladies who did not learn to read and write should look up to the traditional religious practices and the gods.
With passing of centuries and time, all are educated and literate. But when they take up religion, many somehow tend to not to think and not be logical in what they do and believe in religion.
How this is still the case and will still be so is due to ignorance even in the educated. Wouldn't they be better at thinking if they are educated?
Is common sense absent even if people are not literate and educated?
The age old saga between science and religion has nothing to do with science or religion but is about why people cannot even have common sense thinking in religion.
It is not that science is against religion or religion against science.
It is all about why there is lack of common sense when it comes to religion.
Some may refer to this as instinctive and when this takes precedence, common sense is absent.
We are not even talking about philosophy or scientific thinking or analysis. We are talking about simple logic or common sense.
Common sense must prevail in life and in religion. Religion must be based on common sense.
