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A Muslim girl just walked by, wearing a head-to-toe burka. I couldn't help but empathize with God, if such a being exists. Here we have a planet full of upright-walking primates, most with belief in a supernatural being who dictates the affairs of the cosmos from some scientifically-indetectable spiritual plane. Most believe this being to face a sort of problem, in as much as his "children" behave in ways contrary to his will. This led me to wonder what God's priority is, if God does exist.
I have to believe that draping an opaque cloth over one's body solves very little of God's problem, if any of it. I have to believe that rolling around on the floor, "speaking in tongues," does very little to solve God's problem. I have to believe that refusing scientific evidence, to further the literal interpretation of some ancient religious text, does very little to solve God's problem. God's problem, in at least the eyes of Western monotheism, is that mankind has been excluded from fellowship with him and with each other. I have to believe that a good majority of the rites, rituals, restrictions and even beliefs about God do little or nothing to solve this problem.
So, my question is this: is solution orientation a useful litmus test for religious beliefs and practices? Should the religious believer, who explicitly refuses to abandon his religion, at least hold his or her practices to the rigor of solution orientation? In other words, should religious people be asking themselves, "Does this behavior solve the problem of my selfishness and separation from others?" If this question is helpful - if it is valid - I have to wonder if any belief or behavior provides a solution to God's problem.
How can we solve God's problem when he is the one who created it in the first place? He's the one that cursed humanity to a life of pain and suffering, he's the one who made sure that human's couldn't communicate with each other effectively after Babel (according to western tradition). He's the one who put leaders in charge of nations and churches throughout history, knowing that they would cause strife and torment.
It's his problem, like a mother-in-law who won't quit interfering with how we are raising our kids or pointing out how her daughter married the wrong guy. He's the one with the issues, not us. We're the people he created us to be. Time to write him off and stand on our own two feet.
How can we solve God's problem when he is the one who created it in the first place? He's the one that cursed humanity to a life of pain and suffering, he's the one who made sure that human's couldn't communicate with each other effectively after Babel (according to western tradition). He's the one who put leaders in charge of nations and churches throughout history, knowing that they would cause strife and torment.
It's his problem, like a mother-in-law who won't quit interfering with how we are raising our kids or pointing out how her daughter married the wrong guy. He's the one with the issues, not us. We're the people he created us to be. Time to write him off and stand on our own two feet.
I guess I didn't put enough emphasis on my point, which was that one has to wonder if any religion really brings a solution to God's problem. I wrote the word "any" in bold, but I probably should have written more about it, to fully develop my thought. I mean, if you really empathize with God - if you really put yourself in his position - you have to wonder what value 99% of the religious things we do help him at all.
Of course, everybody like to think that their religion is the one exception.
If a practice is counterproductive or onerous in any way it surely needs to be examined. On the question of burka, it is a solution to a problem of male lust, so the solution should not be put on females.
If a practice is counterproductive or onerous in any way it surely needs to be examined. On the question of burka, it is a solution to a problem of male lust, so the solution should not be put on females.
If a practice is counterproductive or onerous in any way it surely needs to be examined. On the question of burka, it is a solution to a problem of male lust, so the solution should not be put on females.
I can't shake this image I have in my memory of the passport line at arrivals in the Istanbul airport. This Muslim guy has six burka-clad women behind him, dutifully and submissively following along. In his hand he had seven passports. And something about him carrying all those passports just made me think at the time: this guy is really in a "be careful what you ask for" situation. He evidently wanted his own personal harem, but he gets all the paperwork, expense, drama and intrigue to go with it.
To the point of your post, I wonder what all those burkas really did for this particular guy's male lust? All it really does is objectify women in a somewhat different way than we do. It objectifies them as an object of shame and temptation rather than lust, but it dehumanizes them at the same time. So I can guarantee you that, on the whole, they are mistreated accordingly. So how does this produce a net benefit? Beats me.
I can't shake this image I have in my memory of the passport line at arrivals in the Istanbul airport. This Muslim guy has six burka-clad women behind him, dutifully and submissively following along. In his hand he had seven passports. And something about him carrying all those passports just made me think at the time: this guy is really in a "be careful what you ask for" situation. He evidently wanted his own personal harem, but he gets all the paperwork, expense, drama and intrigue to go with it.
To the point of your post, I wonder what all those burkas really did for this particular guy's male lust? All it really does is objectify women in a somewhat different way than we do. It objectifies them as an object of shame and temptation rather than lust, but it dehumanizes them at the same time. So I can guarantee you that, on the whole, they are mistreated accordingly. So how does this produce a net benefit? Beats me.
Yeah, I was in Dubai last year, during the middle of summer, and I was shocked to see women at the beach wearing full-length black burkas. I have to wonder if God, assuming God exists, looks down from on high and says, "Now that's helping my cause. I just don't know what I'd do if women weren't wearing burkas." If the problem, according to Islam, is that mankind is unsubservient to Allah, or abusive of sexuality, is the very best solution he could think of to make women cover their entire bodies with cloth?
The same question could, and should, in my opinion, be asked of Christianity: "Was the very best solution for the flagrant sinfulness of ancient societies Israel's invading and slaughtering them?" If the answer is yes, why were the infant babies killed? Were they totally unsalvageable? Were they so steeped in sin that they couldn't be taught to worship and obey Yahweh? I can't imagine that a god would look at a speck of dust as cosmically insignificant as planet Earth and say, "What the inhabitants of this planet need is to do is kill off all of the infant babies who are born to Amalekites. That should fix their behavior problems."
I just think that it makes sense to view all religion through the lens of solution orientation. In other words, anyone genuinely evaluating his or her religion should ask his or herself, "Are the tenets of this religion solutions for the human condition?" And if they're not, we should be asking ourselves why they exist. Is starving your cells of vital nutrients during Ramadan really making the world a better place? Is praying to Jesus really changing your misbehaved son or daughter's meth addiction? Is refusing to work on Saturday inspiring the citizens of the human community to treat their universe with benevolence?
I suspect that covering womens' bodies and slaughtering babies were attempts at solutions to "problems" that a god couldn't possibly care less about.
The Burqa predates Islam in the Arab Nations. There is no requirement in Islam that a woman or man must wear a burqa, some Arab men do wear what is close to a Burqa especially the desert dwellers. the Burqa does exceed the modesty code for both men and women so it is permitted to be worn, not required. The modesty laws are much less than what the burqa is.
If anyone is forcing a woman to wear a burqa it is not in accordance with Islam. We do not have the right to compel what a woman wears, it should be of her own accord. It is not modesty if one does something out of compulsion.
The Burqa is almost exclusively an Arab custom and very few non-Arab Muslims wear it. Only about 10% of the world's Muslims are Arab.
the majority of Muslim women will dress as found in India, Pakistan, and Indonesia. Which account for nearly 1/2 of the world's Muslims. Which is quite a bit more relaxed than the Burqa.
Typical Indonesia
Typical Pakistan
Typical India
Except for the Hijab (Head scarf) there is a lot of diversity. Even the Hijab does vary somewhat. The Niqaab (Face Covering) is worn by very few Muslim women.
I can't shake this image I have in my memory of the passport line at arrivals in the Istanbul airport. This Muslim guy has six burka-clad women behind him, dutifully and submissively following along. In his hand he had seven passports. And something about him carrying all those passports just made me think at the time: this guy is really in a "be careful what you ask for" situation. He evidently wanted his own personal harem, but he gets all the paperwork, expense, drama and intrigue to go with it.
You make an awfully grand assumption about this man you don't know. How do you know those women weren't his wife, mother, and four daughters?
A Muslim girl just walked by, wearing a head-to-toe burka. I couldn't help but empathize with God, if such a being exists. Here we have a planet full of upright-walking primates, most with belief in a supernatural being who dictates the affairs of the cosmos from some scientifically-indetectable spiritual plane. Most believe this being to face a sort of problem, in as much as his "children" behave in ways contrary to his will. This led me to wonder what God's priority is, if God does exist.
I have to believe that draping an opaque cloth over one's body solves very little of God's problem, if any of it. I have to believe that rolling around on the floor, "speaking in tongues," does very little to solve God's problem. I have to believe that refusing scientific evidence, to further the literal interpretation of some ancient religious text, does very little to solve God's problem. God's problem, in at least the eyes of Western monotheism, is that mankind has been excluded from fellowship with him and with each other. I have to believe that a good majority of the rites, rituals, restrictions and even beliefs about God do little or nothing to solve this problem.
So, my question is this: is solution orientation a useful litmus test for religious beliefs and practices? Should the religious believer, who explicitly refuses to abandon his religion, at least hold his or her practices to the rigor of solution orientation? In other words, should religious people be asking themselves, "Does this behavior solve the problem of my selfishness and separation from others?" If this question is helpful - if it is valid - I have to wonder if any belief or behavior provides a solution to God's problem.
Just a thought.
I get what your saying, but I've never believed that G-d is the one with a problem. People have problems, and religion is an attempt to solve those problems by getting closer to the presence of G-d or to figure out the mind of G-d, but He isn't the one with the problem. We are.
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