[Buddha-l] Buddhists taking a stand against Islamaphobia

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

r
Op 06-08-12 09:37, James A Stroble schreef:
>>
>>> ...  Both Christianity and Islam
>>> reject forced conversion, ...
>>    (snip)
>> massacred
>> Really?  Perhaps they reject forced conversation in theory, but
>> practice is something else entirely.  A non-Muslim who openly
>> practices her or his religion in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan,
>> Sudan, or Afghanistan will encounter quite a bit of coercion.
>>
>> Voluntarily,
>>
>> Greg
>>
> In theory?  No, in doctrine.  Yes, various religions, especially
> monotheistic ones it seems, do apply various forms of pressure to
> convert.  But the point is that force cannot produce belief.   Yes,
> confession, or a pledge of allegience, but not actual belief. That is
> what Dharma is, actual belief, on the basis of one's own investigation.
> Which is why the Abrahamic religions have to reject forced conversion,
> since such a conversion for whatever external motivation (join our
> religion now and get as free toaster! Limited time offer!) is not a
> sincere expression of belief, not an actual testimony of a subjective
> assertation of a judgement of truth, and so not an actual
> "conversion".
I don't know which history books you have studied, but my books tell me 
that King Clovis converted his subjects to Christendom 'by the sword'. 
That means that you could choose between conversion or getting your head 
chopped off. And if you think that you are allowed not to be a Muslim in 
Mekka, try to eat a sandwich in the street during Ramadan.
Dharma has many meanings, but the way you use it here it means not 
belief, but the universal law (according to). So Bauddha dharma is the 
way the Buddha saw the universe. It is not belief, because it works 
whether you believe it or not. The Buddha never said you have to believe 
him, he encouraged people to try it out, to falsify him. Quite to the 
contrary of Moses who had  everybody massacred who didn't dig his 
commandments. The Christians moreover had  their original sin as a 
coercive force, because everybody who is not baptised or believe goes to 
hell at death. Read Dante! Even if you believe you are not certain 
according to the Christian theologians. Your picture of Christian 
missionaries as giving the creed to aboriginals as a present or free 
offer is what modern Christians like to think and what Mormon preachers 
say, but even now they use a lot of 'bribes' and seduction in Mongolia. 
Remember that Christian missionaries where kicked out of India, China 
and Japan for a reason and that was not because they were bringing nice 
presents.
About Muslim conversion it is enough to remind you that in the first 
Muslim countries you had to pay much more tax if you didn't become a 
Muslim, so most people just could not afford not to convert themselves.
And let's be honest which human being in his right mind would even a 
split second consider becoming a Christian, Muslim or Jew if there are 
no practical reasons?

Erik