"dan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:I am unable to make claim to an established understanding of any
religion, but I am not without scars from the one I was born into.
It seems to me that we almost all tend to follow the belief of our
parents and so if I was born in this or that area of the globe, then I
quite possibly follow this or that spiritual teaching. It may also be
that I believe I am right in my spiritual conviction.
Yet it cannot be that God/Allah/the all powerful One, in all his
greatness is so petty as to condemn those who by fate were born of
this parent or that and hence a differing faith.I notice that many of the religious dress in headwear and special
robes at variance with others. The Buddhist monks shave their heads;
the Christian women are instructed to cover their hair at worship
services; the Hindu teachers wear varying robes; the Jewish men put on
a form of skull cap and the Muslim women cover themselves at least
with a head scarf. Most seem to have some dress code or another.
But when? And at what times of the day or night?
Presumably the shaven head of a monk remains so throughout the day.
Does the Hindu priest wear his garb all day? Does the Jew wear his
skull cap at home, in bed? Does the Muslim woman wear a veil when
taking a shower? Surely the perspective of any instruction is
critical, the when and the where such garments are to be worn.Again many spiritual leaders dress themselves very differently to the
general populace; perhaps with garments of black, white, purple or
some other colouring. Others wear a special head dress. Where are the
instructions to do so? And if there are commands to do so, when are
they to be worn and where?Once more I find myself asking: if an all powerful God is so trivial
as to condemn a soul for making an error of dress, then that God must
be, not great, but petty.
Surely an omnipotent God is far more concerned as to whether I am a
caring individual, a forgiving person, someone who shares and is
concerned for fellow human beings - whatever their belief.But it appears in this day and age that we want to harm one another in
the name of our respective faiths. Those who attend worship service
essentially on a Friday are at discord with those who attend on
Saturdays, who are in contention with those who attend on a Sunday and
so on. It is all somewhat strange and surely not the purpose of an
Almighty.Assuming life after death, I would prefer to be with loving people and
perhaps the way to be amongst them is for myself to be loving in the
here and now. That way I might recognise them in the hereafter. I do
not believe that my daily clothing is as important as being loving in
all that I do; not being in conflict with my fellow human beings. But
then that's a judgement! And 'yes', I still go to bed in similar night
attire to the custom of my parents' teaching.