So if somebody derides your religion and leaves you seething in righteous anger, there is no point in further trampling upon your own religion and lending it an abominable status. Don't you think it would be wiser to either prove the perpetrators wrong by taking the high road and maintaining a dignified stance or by totally ignoring their demeaning portrayal of your faith. If your faith is strong enough, no power on earth will be able to sway you. If you feel threatened in any way, then don't you think you should first approach God and talk it out with Him. He is real to you right, He has to be if some inconsequential film/cartoon strip/inflammatory speech can drive you insane with wrath and vengeance. If you wanna make a point regarding your faith, don't you think you should uphold it in a way that pleases your God or is your God happy to see you blowing up your life along with his other innocent children.
Don't you think it would speak volumes about your religion, if you are able to bring across your point without vandalising public property and creating a nuisance of yourself. Isn't religion supposed to turn you into a better human being, make you capable of discerning what is wrong and right. If you are going to take off like a person possessed at the slightest provocation then be sure that it is not religion you are concerned with but your own self righteousness. And when you start bursting with self righteous indignation your carnal nature takes over and turns you into a beast, the most fearful of all beasts. Beasts that have started wars and wiped out races in the name of religion. Isn't religion supposed to enlighten you and set you free, why then do you make the fatal mistake of letting it enslave you and turn you into a raving fanatic.The power of your religion should reflect in your thoughts, words and deeds.
Don't you think the best way to defend your religion is by living a good meaningful life instead of developing a detrimental attitude and disgracing your whole community in the process. Faith should be strong enough to move mountains, not dumb enough to erect barriers and dig graves. Fight for your religion, fight for your faith, fight for your freedom, fight for your dignity in a way that demands respect and brings you closer to understanding yourself in the process. Learn to think, to rationalise, before joining mass opinion and creating pandemonium in the streets. Know that religion is supposed to propagate hope, peace, forgiveness, brotherhood, love and joy. Any religion that does not strive to uphold these basic humane qualities cannot be good for you and you should be smart enough to know that. Learn to be tolerant of other faiths, know that the conviction of your faith is supposed to shine through during times of crisis. That's how you make an impact and leave an impression on those who have no idea what you stand for. Loads of ideas and theories will come tumbling out of the myriad races that populate this planet, you cannot go around waging wars and denouncing every single ideology. Stick to what you believe in and don't force your belief on others. Be the best that you can, and leave it up to God to set things right.
Don't you think the best way to defend your religion is by living a good meaningful life instead of developing a detrimental attitude and disgracing your whole community in the process. Faith should be strong enough to move mountains, not dumb enough to erect barriers and dig graves. Fight for your religion, fight for your faith, fight for your freedom, fight for your dignity in a way that demands respect and brings you closer to understanding yourself in the process. Learn to think, to rationalise, before joining mass opinion and creating pandemonium in the streets. Know that religion is supposed to propagate hope, peace, forgiveness, brotherhood, love and joy. Any religion that does not strive to uphold these basic humane qualities cannot be good for you and you should be smart enough to know that. Learn to be tolerant of other faiths, know that the conviction of your faith is supposed to shine through during times of crisis. That's how you make an impact and leave an impression on those who have no idea what you stand for. Loads of ideas and theories will come tumbling out of the myriad races that populate this planet, you cannot go around waging wars and denouncing every single ideology. Stick to what you believe in and don't force your belief on others. Be the best that you can, and leave it up to God to set things right.
Comments
That is what is happening all over the globe as of date.
What a pity.
More people have died in the name of religion than by any war, famine or illness.
This is how the world is as long as blind followers exisit - opportunistic leaders will continue to spread havoc!
There are answers counter arguments for all these, they are highly available across the world. The problem is the fundamentalists will not look at the "other side of the story".
Be it any religion (Including Budhism), the fundamentalists can (AND will always)only try to "Defend" their faith (aka religion?), the quotes from their holy books etc. However, the truth had been and will always be UGLY.
Reforms are only possible via education and quite frankly, when the entire society throws of all these rubbish.
There is a famous quote from a German philosopher:
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people"
Otherwise, all your thoughts and questions are valid and there is more for us to explore in this space. The rationale what we find can only lead to the betterment.
Thanks
Krishnakumar Subramanian