I disagree. Humans are violent when raised in violent surroundings. When varied ancient tribes sacrificed and ate their victims for ritualistic purposes, they were not "evil" or "bad" people. You or I would have likely done the same without ever questioning our own scruples if born in such a setting. There have been both extremely violent and extremely passive and peaceful tribes throughout the North Americas (and elsewhere in the world), pointing us towards the fact that humans are not violent by nature, but taught to accept it.


Precisely so, and I'm not arguing against that fact. Be that as it may, however, there is something about the Christian faith, whether it's the mythology and storyline behind it, or its history, something about Christianity has always had a tendancy to lure violent people more so than a multitude of other religions. Again, I point you towards Buddhism. Name me one violent Buddhist leader or even a single war waged in the name of Buddhism. Now after you've accomplished naming me even one (which that alone is nigh impossible) I'll point you towards, literally, a thousand fold Christian despots and cutthroats.

It isn't about "humans are cruel by nature". The simple fact is there is something about the Christian relgion which acts as a magnet for violence and butchery; there is something about the Buddhist religion which acts as a magnet for compassion and understanding. This is a matter of irrifutible fact, not opinion.

You're a well versed man, Russ. I give you a lot of credit for the energy you put into not only your posts but your research. However, I think you could stand to gain from studying and absorbing, really absorbing, something besides the Bible. Spend even an hour investigating into the life of Siddhartha Guatama and the 4 Noble Truths, reading it with a bird's eye view, separated just for a moment from your current belief system, and you might find yourself completely blown away with what you read.


There is no way I can buy into this statement. That's like saying caffeine leads to cigarattes, cigarettes lead to marijuana, marijuana leads to cocaine. While it may in some people, that doesn't mean that all possess either the propensity for such actions or so much as the desire to do so, let alone the will within them to ever do it. Because, frankly, if I saw some adolescent punk run out the doors to a behemothic monopoly giant like, say, the Gap, stealing some of their clothes, I'd be applauding him, yet I don't have a violent bone in my body. But that's because I'm a revolutionary who is only too happy to see crooked and corrupt monopoly giants fall.


I think if you read even a smattering about Buddhism (not that I'm trying to convert you since, a) I am not a practicing Buddhist and b) Buddhism does not have the violent reputation for forced conversion that monotheistic religions do), you would realize the mistake in your above statement. Your quote above implies that acts such as meditation, lucid dreaming, tantric and yogic practices are unnatural and wrong. If you know anything about these practices, you'd probably realize that this couldn't be further from the truth. It's like saying humans are unnatural because we build dams or because we wear clothes when animals don't do these things. The aforementioned practices can and do improve our lives. I'd be careful about treading into what, for you, appears to be uncharted territory, until you've spent some time to gain an understanding about them. You also might find that engrossing yourself in such subjects would coincide quite nicely with your current faith, rather than contradict it.