Let's Talk Religion

Consider the possibility: The first chapter in Genesis is a brief outline or synopsis of the unfolding history of  humanity through six 1000 year stages ("days"). Support: Biblical dating traces the "Beginning" back about 6000 years. Jewish reckoning of Biblical time holds that is has been 5760 years since creation (current year on the Jewish calendar). In religious circles it is sometimes noted that "1000 years is as one day for God." Even if we look to history, archaeology and sociology, we can see that civilization and recorded history of humanity does not go back much more than 5500 years or so (to 3500 BCE). First stage of human history: Humanity (i.e., civilization,  not  the species Homo Sapiens) is "born" - represented by the creation of Adam ("mankind"). This "Adamic" stage lasts about 1000 years (Adam lived 930 years: Gen 5:5). Adam would be the "prophet" of this first stage of humanity. Adam also represent...

An Interpretation by Laura Shulman From the Chuang Tzu (Taoist Tradition): "The ruler of the South Sea was called Light; the ruler of the North Sea, Darkness; and the ruler of the middle kingdom, Primal Chaos. From time to time, Light and Darkness met one another in the kingdom of Primal Chaos, who made them welcome. Light and Darkness wanted to repay his kindness and said, "All men have seven openings with which they see, hear, eat and breathe, but Primal Chaos has none. Let us try to give him some." So every day they bored one hole, and on the seventh day, Primal Chaos died."     This is the creation of the universe, the elimination of chaos. Creating something in your image of perfection may very well destroy something else. Chaos is a mixing of all things into one (the Chinese word is "Won-ton" as in Won-ton soup). This unity of all is non-differentiation. As soon as the chaos is sorted out and ordered it is differentiated, it becomes many. Differentia...

The Analects of Confucius Book 7 chapter 8: The Master said, 'I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.' This makes it sound like Confucius was a strict and stern teacher. But I do feel for him, as sometimes I too have to repeat myself for students who are distracted/don't listen the first time (that can be frustrating). Or I may have to explain something in a different way before some students will understand. I think a good teacher will be willing to explain things again, but in different ways.  However, there are some people who just do not have the capacity to understand some things. In such case, the teacher just has to accept that and give up trying.  But the second part of the passage sounds like he is giving his potential students a test: To see how n...