Mein Kampf

[Al_Capone_Junior]

Thank you for the general support to my general philosophy regarding the bible and religion. However, to quibble small fry points:

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Actually, a literal adherance to the Bible would have us still reading no other books but psalms and pictures of the saints.

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I meant a GENERAL adherence to the moral code, not nitpicking specifics. Much of what's in the bible is actually pretty cool... don't murder, steal, lie, cheat, etc. Much of it is also hopelessly outdated by about 2000 years.

al

[kdog]

http://www.thedropzone.org/

[Jedi Poker]

I actually read close to 50 pages of it back in college as a part of an assignment my marketing and advertising professor made me do. It turns out somewhere between pages 60 and 90 were laid out some of the most powerful advertising principles ever taught: frequency, reach, richness, targeting, and repetition. These are principles that ultimate showed up in marketing and advertising textbooks beginning in the 1960s and after. As for the rest of the book (that I did not read because I frankly wasn't interested), the only thing I know about those is that Winston Churchill was the only major European leader that read them pre-WW II. It convinced Churchill that Hitler had to be stopped before he could gain too much power. No one listened and look at the bloodshed and suffering that happened.

Coming back to the present. Bush and Blair did the right thing stopping Saddam Hussein before the present-day Hitler (along with his sons) could reach a point where they could have become once again a threat to the Middle-East and therefore the rest of the world. The Bush Doctrine of attacking the bad guys where they are is I'm sure killing and stopping a lot of potential Adolf Hitlers in their tracks. Our troops are taking a lot of casualties in Iraq but for each of our soldier that dies in Iraq, 20,000 innocent civilian lives are probably being saved. Those young men and women that have sacrificed their lives are in effect saving hundreds of thousands (maybe millions) of lives. They are true heroes.

[Cyndie]

Try reading the ten commandments not as things that are prohibited...but as things that I would not do if I were in a healthy state of mind...not though "shalt" not, but though will not find it rewarding/satisfying to do these things...

bear false witness, covet, kill, steal, commit adultery...however it is defined?

well, there are a couple positives...honor thy father and thy mother....take time off to relax..."remember the sabbath?"

The graven image one, and the no other gods before Me...don't exactly fit the mold. However, if you couple this with the idea that God tells us not to judge others (judgment is Mine, sayeth the Lord)...not so S/he can do it instead...but rather so that it just isn't done. Consequences of actions are a natural "judgment/ karma"

All right...that is nine...did I forget one of the coveting ones?

And as far as being outdated...the dietary laws were very helpful for those times without refrigeration...and the laws of correct conduct for men and women would help to populate an underpopulated world, and help solidify patriarchy in a matriarchal world...The sin of whoever, wasn't masturbation, but "wasting" seed.

P.S. matriarchy is NOT control by women, but a world where women look to their brothers and uncles for support for children, not to the "father"

[Cyndie]

Try tying this in with the "multiple reality" thread...think about what would have happened if Saddam were allowed to continue...Think about the castles and walls of the middle ages where people stayed behind walls to be protected from random acts of terrorism and violence.

Personally, I like the idea of being able to travel with out fear of suicide bombers. For those of you who actually remember when Kennedy was assassinated, and the several other murders of leaders in the late 60's, the world lost a lot of innocence then. This is just another way that people can be manipulated by fear.

The marketing aspects of mein kampf are interesting. Thank you!

Perhaps the real warning is not to disallow marketing, but to be aware of the methods. It seems people get the government and the "spin" that they deserve given their level of insight into the process. We really are responsible for what happens to our lives...study of history is important so that we are not doomed to repeat it.

[Gamblor]

Not even the most observant Jew or Christian takes anything the bible says literally.

The bible is built on the foundation of metaphor. Anyone who believes Christ walked on water is delusional, just like anyone who believes Moshe parted the Red Sea is the same.

Not even Christ himself claimed to be the son of God, nor did any of his followers at the time - it took 400 years for that little white lie to form. Inspirer of millions, yes, among the greatest leaders of all time, yes.

Faith is based on metaphor, and if you take it (like anything, really) too seriously, you're done. I see no exclusivity between understanding the metaphors of the bible thereby interpreting them as ethical imperatives, and the belief in an omnipresent spirit.

[John Cole]

"Would that be Sidney Sheldon?"

No, it would be L. Ron Hubbard.

[MMMMMM]

And to think that Tom Cruise is a devout Scientologist...why did God make people so gullible, that's what I would like to know.

[MMMMMM]

"Actually, a literal adherance to the Bible would have us still reading no other books but psalms and pictures of the saints."

And your reference for this is...?

[Gamblor]

dietary laws were very helpful for those times without refrigeration

Actually, the rationale for Kashrut ("Kosherness") is radically different, and God himself says so when providing the laws.

The laws of Kashrut are called, in Hebrew, chukkim. Which basically means, that there is no ethical or health rationale behind the law. In fact, Kashrut has nothing to do with food at all. It means, literally "fit for use."

When considering that Jerky was a staple back then, that salted and cured pork could be carried for weeks, the refridgeration argument goes out the window.

Basically, it's partially a self-control issue. If every animal on earth is eating anything they feel like, what separates the human from the animal? To be able to control your basest biological imperatives, does that not give you the responsibility to use such a gift? If not, then why shouldn't I hump the closest fire hydrant?

When you are operating under the assumption that the laws exist not because God's voice boomed down to some scribe, but that the manner in which God created the world (even if his presence has been only sporadic since the Big Bang) lends itself to certain rules and regulations that must be followed, or else incur his wrath. For example, you don't kill. You simply don't. The world functions better when I cannot kill a man because his camel cut into my lane on the Jerusalem to Be'erSheva expressway.

Thus, the laws of Kashrut are a way to practice the self-control necessary to be more human and less animal.