[QUOTE=wisernow]
But why do you need to fast, remain thirsty, avoid sex, not masturbate etc, in order to be reminded that " there is more to the world than the material aspect". How does any of the deprivations help in realization of the latter? Why is it assumed an individual cannot perform the same reflection on a full stomach?
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I know other people have answered you, but this really isn’t the kind of thing you can read about and understand. Having fasted for a few days at a time (Hindu religion) it is a different sort of thought process and clarity you get. I highly recommend you try it sometime. Not for a long time, say a week. No food from morning to night, as in Ramadan. Oh, you don’t have to be as strict, I highly recommend you drink lots of water, and brush your teeth. But no food. And see what happens to you…your mind sometimes does focus a little more clearly and you think a little different. I’m not saying you come to any sort of higher purpose but it is an interesting experiment.
Just FYI, besides being quited gifted in her field of specialty (at least, as far as this interested layperson can tell), Angua is very smart and witty overall. MB conversations with her, whether about sciences, cultures, or a mundane pub crawl, are always loads of fun. She is charming and kind, funny and wise, interesting and interested in others.
So lte me get this straight. Someone raises a pit thread to take the piss out of religion. An adherent of that religion posts something sensible. The OP then has a hissy fit because people aren’t making enough jokes. He also complains that people don’t have to look at his joke pit and get upset.
What was it he said? If someone sticks their nose in, which they are welcome to do, they accept the consequences. Besides it seems it’s others rushing in to take offense on her behalf mostly.
It works both ways, mate. If you raise a thread in the pit be prepared to take the consequences. You can’t raise a thread then whinge that it didn’t go in the direction you wanted.
Another thing. You said: Beliefs are made concrete in laws. Like abortion laws, like blasphemy laws, like decency laws, like laws on stem cell research.
Atheists can’t be against any of these things? (Ok, I might give you blasphemy.)
[QUOTE=Anaamika]
I know other people have answered you, but this really isn’t the kind of thing you can read about and understand. Having fasted for a few days at a time (Hindu religion) it is a different sort of thought process and clarity you get. I highly recommend you try it sometime. Not for a long time, say a week. No food from morning to night, as in Ramadan. Oh, you don’t have to be as strict, I highly recommend you drink lots of water, and brush your teeth. But no food. And see what happens to you…your mind sometimes does focus a little more clearly and you think a little different. I’m not saying you come to any sort of higher purpose but it is an interesting experiment.
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I eat only one meal a day. And it happens to be dinner, which is typically past sundown in the Fall and Winter, but the point is I typically go 24 hours between eating. I’ve been doing it for years now. It has given me no special enlightenment or window on the world. Other than to see in general that my co-workers eat far too much, wolfing down thousands of calories of office doughnuts and bagels, non-diet soda, and enormous deep-fried lunches every day - and I don’t even see what they must eat for breakfast and dinner. I guess that’s enlightenment of a sort.
This isn’t a criticism at all on Islam or any other religion so nobody try to spin it into that. I’m just saying that “fasting” for daylight hours really isn’t extraordinary to some. You just decide when you will eat and you eat at that time. It’s a question of having the willpower.
[QUOTE=Gary Kumquat]
Fasting/physical denial is hardly something only practiced by religious types though, is it ?
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Didn’t say it was, although I can’t offhand think of other people who do beyond self destructive dieters. As far as the religious version goes, I picture it generally working this way : Holy man/woman goes on a fast long enough to hallucinate, and has “holy visions”. His followers/admirers then attempt to imitate him to a greater or lesser degree, as do their descendents. Hundreds of years later, they may or may not remember why fasting was originally considered holy, it just is. It’s just speculation of course.
I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the other reasons for religious fasting were actually made up later, after the original reason was forgotten and someone asked a priest why they were fasting.
[QUOTE=Gary Kumquat]
I imagine there’s quite a lot of benefit to be gained from spending a fixed period denying yourself normal comforts and vices.
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I suppose you’d toughen yourself, if you didn’t take it too far. I can’t think of anything beyond that.
Only slightly on the subject – Der Trihs, you might enjoy reading Small Gods if you haven’t already. It’s a truly marvelous book. Bonus: the author is an atheist, and a delightfully logical and well-spoken one! This request is, I assure you, entirely serious.
Far as the rest, I’m going to have to agree with rayh on this one, though. tagos, seriously, if you get to jump into the Pit and say anything you want, Angua gets the same right.
[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
I suppose you’d toughen yourself, if you didn’t take it too far. I can’t think of anything beyond that.
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Actually, I think the idea is to help yourself realize that you don’t need to eat three squares a day in orer to live, that you don’t need a soft bed in order to sleep. It’s an exercise of mind and inner strength over matter, of testing the limits of your willpower and trying to overcome them.
[QUOTE=Little Plastic Ninja]
Only slightly on the subject – Der Trihs, you might enjoy reading Small Gods if you haven’t already. It’s a truly marvelous book. Bonus: the author is an atheist, and a delightfully logical and well-spoken one! This request is, I assure you, entirely serious.
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One of my favorite books, actually.
[QUOTE=Una Persson]
This isn’t a criticism at all on Islam or any other religion so nobody try to spin it into that. I’m just saying that “fasting” for daylight hours really isn’t extraordinary to some. You just decide when you will eat and you eat at that time. It’s a question of having the willpower.
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I think metabolism might have a heck of a lot to do with that, too. You might not need more than one meal a day to function normally. Other people might need more, and have different experiences than you do when they lower their calorie intake to match yours.
Last week a strange man saw my naked face through a window. My father wants to stone me, but my husband says caning me with a stick is enough punishment. How shall I be properly chastised?
Anxiously awating your Judgement,
Troubled in Teheran
Dear Troubled in Teheran,
If he looked into your window to see you, you should be caned.
If he looked out of his window to see you, you should be stoned.
[QUOTE=tagos]
Just like I wouldn’t expect a Tolkein fan to step into a joke LOTR thread and explain why it’s a book to guide our lives by. It’s inappropriate for the nature of the thread.
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tagos, you’re a real douchbag. The pit is the least regulated forum on the boards and if people want to fucking hijack a thread with a touch of reality, you’re in no position to get your panties in a bunch over it.
