XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis   
   From: bree@bree.com   
      
   On Mon, 03 Oct 2005 19:07:53 GMT, "Dan Drake"  wrote:   
      
   >On Sun, 2 Oct 2005 14:20:06 UTC, Siwel Naph    
   >wrote:   
   >   
   >> But... would anyone be AS apprehensive about going thru wardrobe two,   
   >> into the land where everyone practised "Mere Buddhism"? Would anyone be   
   >> apprehensive at ALL? (Maybe this is my realtive ignorance of Buddhism   
   >> speaking here.)   
   >   
   >Is Mere Buddhism silent on whether you should oppress women (as Tibetans   
   >and various ofther Buddhists do)?  Or suppress heretical new sects of   
   >Buddhism (check the history of Japan in the centuries before they saw   
   >their first Christian)?  I don't know.  I rather think that Gautama "Mere"   
   >Buddha was silent on these details -- too obvious, perhaps?   
      
   Lewis in MC didn't say much about how Christians should vote on social   
   issues.   
      
   My strong impression of MC, and vague impression of Gautama Buddha's actual   
   teaching,, is that both were focused on the individual reader's own   
   salvation after this life, and what he needs to be doing at home this   
   minute to help his soul.   This is a jumbled imperfect world, a testing   
   ground, vale of soul-making,  to muddle through as best we can. Nobody is   
   going to WIN _The Last Battle)_.   
      
      
   >I think that Mere Hinduism teaches that a person suffering from bad things   
   >including bad "luck" is experiencing the results of bad karma acquired in   
   >a previous existence; but it dostn't seem to tell how you should react: by   
   >shunning the person so as not to interfere with the workings of karma; or   
   >by helping the person, it being your karma in to be in a position to help,   
   >and Bad Karma to ignore suffering.  Both approaches definitely exist among   
   >real Hindus, but I don't know which is Mere, or whether both are.   
      
   Here we go again. Snake handlers definitely exist among real Christians,   
   and the Christians who say AIDS is a judgment against homosexuals (and thus   
   don't try to help) are pretty vocal, or used to be. But we don't give them   
   equal time in discussions like these. Same for the "don't interefere with   
   karma by helping" fringe, if any -- please?   
      
      
      
   Bree   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)