(here we go again) Texas may ban "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian" history books

Both, spirits, fate all kinds of philosophical and ethereal horsecrap that has nothing to do with the practice of yoga. Just that person's personal superstitions and beliefs on life.

 

um, yes they kinda do.

 

Unless it can help me do this.



I'm not interested.

 

I guess I would have to see exactly what was being taught in the classes you are complaining about but things like Chakras and energy flow are essential to understanding Yoga.

On a related note in Judo we will talk about Chi, or in Japanese "Ki", flow and while it sounds spiritual what we are really talking about is things like balance and force transfer. For example we might say "you have to draw the chi from the ground" which really means that to be able to effectively apply a force to push someone you have to also apply a force to the ground with your feet to have proper leverage. So while the terms may sound like spiritual mumbo jumbo they are talking about very material things.

 

These were very immaterial things.

 

Its too bad since the class you walked out of they were going to cover that the next week.

 

I'm not going to derail this thread any further, but I'd recommend reading up on the practice of Yog. You're associating the postures (Aasanas) with Yoga, when in reality, that's just one of 8 different parts.

 

If you want to split hairs, then fine, it's not a yoga class (or at least not Ashtanga). It's stretching-in-your-underwear-while-breathing-slow class. But somebody brought their yoga into my stretching-in-your-underwear-while-breathing-slow class, and I don't appreciate it.

 

Not to nitpick, but it's not your class. It's the class you chose to attend. Then you stopped going. It seems like nothing bad happened, except that it was more spiritual than you would like it to be.

You seem pissed that this is ever done in fitness clubs. It may be just a matter of taste.

 

Where I practice, the instructors are not supposed to venture into that territory. I ordered Heineken and I got Budweiser.

 

Heineken and Bud are owned by the same company.

 

You are the perpetual answer to a question that no one asked.

 

I like to think of myself as the Lisa Simpson of CF.net.

This will probably come back to haunt me.

 

It can, but you're doing it wrong.

 

I tried really hard to find a screen cap of Flanders flipping out Diddly.

 

Religion is not all bad man, there is a lot of good in it such as the belief in God, if of course you believe God is good. If you think God is an asshat, then, well, you got me. I'm not particularly a fan of organized faith, and I am of the notion that organized religion causes a lot of problems, always has and always will. However, I think you have to recognize that America was built by people of faith. America is a predominantly Christian nation, which means the greatest country the world has ever known was built upon Judeo-Christian values. Therefore, how can you completely dismiss the power of religion when the very foundation of the freedoms you enjoy are derived from a people of faith?

 

Not just Texas...

 

Why is belief in God "good"?

 

For a lot of people it is good because it prevents them from living like they are certain that whatever bad things they do will have no negative consequences for them in afterlife for "eternity". If believing in God (or fearing God/the devil/whatever) makes them act like better people on earth, I'm all for it.

 

I know why you think it's good. But you don't believe in religion, so you're position is that it's SOMETIMES good because for a portion of the people who follow it, they believe in a fantasy that keeps them under control while they're alive.

That's not the same as saintcougar, who does believe in God and does believe in religion (except organized religion), and says that believing in God is "good". That's just strange, I don't understand it.

Imagine this conversation:

Mathloom: Hey, why do you believe in God?

Saintcougar: Because it's good. Plus, if you are very selective with America's history, you can find a period in time where Christianity was a strong part of the lives of a portion of the people who built America a long time ago, after the founders, and before tons of other people who helped build it up. So it's good.


Here are some more things I don't get:

- Let's assume America is the greatest country EVER. It's unusual to give Christiniaty credit for that, especially given that you would not remove any credit if in the future America ceased to be 'the greatest country ever'.

- There are many more countries in the world built far more on Jedeo-Christian values, and by saintcougar's analysis, they should then be even better than America? Yes? No?

- Saying freedoms are derived from people of faith. I think it's been said many times that this is not completely true. Some of the American founding fathers were not religious, some religious, some skeptical, etc. It played a part, but I'm sure atheism also played a part.

- America is a predominantly Christian nation - so? This is a temporary situation, and from all accounts, it will not be the case for too much longer. When America stops being predominantly Christian, why don't you blame the religion instead of the individuals? America is Christian = great religion.. America is less Christian = people are brainwashed. It doesn't make sense.

It seems odd to me that these things be taken into consideration when discussing faith. I know from speaking to a few Christians that Christianity is about a completely different set of things - none of which have anything to do with building a dominant nation on a land ripped from the hands of natives and sustained through violent millitary and financial actions. In fact, I don't think Jesus PBUH would even want there to be borders between countries.

It is a dangerous way to think, and very similar to that of OBL - let's not forget that his NUMBER ONE gripe is the presence of the US millitary in the holy nation (Saudi), allegedly given to Arabs indirectly by God. He essentially says that it violates the sovereignty of a great nation whose potential glory is being supressed by western powers. Let me illustrate:

Anyways, I've ranted too much. I just thought it was odd. Perhaps I misunderstood the post, in which case I seriously overreacted lol.