[Buddha-l] NYTimes.com: Let Us Pray for Wealth

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

SJZiobro at cs.com schreef:
> "Joy Vriens"<jvriens at free.fr> wrote:
>
>   
>>> More money means less religion. Could it be that more money means more education as well? Erik
>>>       
>> On an indivudal level I am convinced that more money means less religion. If one has money and doesn't use it to help others, one isn't taking religion seriously. I know the tendency for wealthy people is to want to have the best of both worlds through conscience stilling charity, but that's not an option. Paying loads of anonymous taxes is a much more religious thing to do than "do charities". It's a combination of real generosity and humility, so more impact.
>>
>>     
>
> How is paying exhorbitant amounts of taxes to the government a more religious act than paying to charities of one's choice?  Govenrment funds all sorts of things that are antithetical to religion, for instance, abortion and the resulting harm done to the woman on all levels (not to mention the killing of an innocent human being).  Also, your tax dollars help fund the current wars on terrorism.  I happen to support these wars, but if you consider war antithetical to religion, then my question still holds.
>
>   
It's remarkable that religion is so easily associated with what 
Nietzsche called the 'slavemorality'. Religion means charity, 
submissiveness, humility, etc. Why not think of the religion of the 
brahmin (ritual engineer), vraatya (religious bodybuilder), or yogi 
(mastering his own body and mind)? I don't think that the question 
whether a war is just or not, or how to spend tax revenue has any 
bearing on individual religious feelings. Christians impose their view 
on religion on others, saing they are the champions of charity and 
therefore better then others. Many people buy that, and they forget 90% 
of christian powerhunting history and the fact that most third world 
countries have been destroyed by foreign charity.


-- 

Erik

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