[continued from previous message]   
      
   In Judaism, and in Christianity, the woman was considered the equivalent of a   
   particularly valuable chattel in the house of a man. Hence, there was   
   generally a dowry which had to be paid to the woman's father, or brother,   
   before a man was permitted to    
   marry her; and, for the same reason, the final decision regarding whether or   
   not the marriage could take place was in the hands of the intended woman's   
   male guardian. [292] Similarly, any mistreatment of a woman was punishable   
   only so far as it adversely    
   affected the dignity or economic position of the man. [293] Paul said nothing   
   new when he declared that women were created for the pleasure of men. [294]   
   This was implicit in all of the teachings of both Moses and Jesus. A woman's   
   pleasure and pain, her    
   desire to live, her affectionate family and community life – all were plainly   
   without value in the scales of Judaeo-Christian pseudo-humanism.   
      
   Women’s Liberation   
   All over the world today, the status of women must be elevated. This is not   
   just a question of framing some good and attractive laws, nor is it a question   
   of electing or selecting a few women as ministers or members of parliament.   
   The upliftment of women    
   in society is neither so easy nor so cheap. [295] The real problem is not so   
   much restoration of women's rights, but rather something much more fundamental   
   – the real problem is the recognition of women's rights. The recognition of   
   rights must be based    
   on a progressive change in the collective psychology, not on a mere   
   modification of law. Change the laws without changing the collective   
   psychology, and not a single new law will be enforced. But change the   
   collective psychology and automatically right    
   laws will come into being, and they will be accepted and observed. Of course   
   the two are interrelated, but ultimately and effectively law is more the   
   result of a change in social psychology than the cause of it. And so what   
   human society desperately    
   needs today is a dynamic and powerful upsurge of social awareness – especially   
   among women – that women are not inherently inferior to men but rather   
   inherently equal, and that women have been endowed with the same divine   
   privileges and the same    
   spiritual capacity as men.   
      
   Women must stand up for their rights, rejecting categorically all the factors   
   which have enslaved them. And men must recognize and restore to women those   
   rights which, if the truth be known, have always been theirs. Free education   
   must be available to    
   all women in all countries of the world. Full parity with men must be accorded   
   to women in all matters relating to economic independence and social security.   
   [296] Discrimination against women in social, educational and religious realms   
   must not be    
   tolerated. And over and above everything else, all dogmas must be abolished.   
      
   Ironically, despite the overall denigration and devaluation of women in   
   Christianity, [297] history records that from the very inception of this   
   unwholesome religion, women have played a major, if not a dominant role in its   
   propagation. [298] From the    
   beginning of Christianity up until the present day, the Church has used women   
   like shock troops to win acceptance of the religion by penetration of the   
   different social strata. [299] It is only fitting that women should now be the   
   first to wake up and    
   throw off the shackles of this oppressive doctrine, and its insidious   
   precursor. Let women be the vanguard of the coming spiritual revolution, and   
   let them work henceforth in a balanced and coordinated cooperation with men   
   for the all-important purpose    
   of establishing Neo-Humanism and, with it, a glorious new society.   
      
      
      
   9                       Tender Mercies   
   And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:   
      
   And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find   
   any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for   
   the time of figs was not yet.   
      
   And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for   
   ever. And his disciples heard it.   
      
   And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast   
   out them that sold and bought in the temple,   
      
   and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold   
   doves;   
      
   And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.   
      
   And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called   
   of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.   
      
   And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy   
   him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doc   
   trine.   
      
   And when even was come, he went out of the city.   
      
   And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the   
   roots.   
      
   And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree   
   which thou cursedst is withered away.   
      
   And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.   
      
   For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be   
   thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart,   
   but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he   
   shall have whatsoever he    
   saith.   
      
   Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe   
   that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.   
      
   And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your   
   Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.   
      
   But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive   
   your trespasses.   
      
   Mark 11:12-26.   
      
      
      
   A Curious Contradiction   
   It is said that there was once a poor beggar who could hardly manage enough   
   food to see him from day to day. One day, noticing a saffron-clad monk moving   
   about and collecting considerably more than himself, the beggar decided that   
   perhaps indeed the    
   clothes do make the man. And so that beggar also donned a saffron robe and   
   pretended to be a Buddhist monk. From that very day he found no difficulty in   
   obtaining the requisite provisions for his mundane existence. This not only   
   pleased the man but also    
   made him think deeply about the relative merits and demerits of Buddhism and a   
   life of renunciation. So it was that after a few years, this one-time beggar   
   in a monk's habit was converted into a sincere practitioner of Buddha's   
   Eight-Fold Path. Many more    
   years passed, and finally he was an old man nearing the end of his days. As he   
   started contemplating his long years of spiritual life, this monk began to   
   question why the Noble Way had brought perfect realization to the Buddha,   
   whereas he felt little    
   different than when he had begun. Why was it that he also had not realized   
   God? This question he posed to a more senior monk, and the reply that he   
   received was very simple. “Lord Buddha was a prince, heir to a vast and   
   wealthy kingdom, when he    
   sacrificed everything to discover the Truth. But you were a beggar, hardly   
   able to gather enough to eat, when you took up Buddhism. Buddha left a   
   comfortable and prestigious life to seek spiritual attainment, whereas you   
   left an uneasy existence in order    
   to gain more material security. By the Grace of God you both achieved what you   
   desired.”   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)