I was surfing the web for interesting photos to use in my blog and I came across this quote (pictured on right). It occurred to me how strikingly different the implications of this quote are from the teachings of St. Augustine. St. Augustine, as the type of christian that he is, is very focused on the bible and its interpretation. He is adamant that everything in the bible is truth if interpreted correctly. The bible is his way to understand what God wants. In opposition to this, according to this quote from Buddha, nothing written should be believed unless it is from the heart or reason of the person.This quote is very much encouraging a 'to each his own' interpretation of anything. If we apply this philosophy to the interpretation of the bible we get something much different from that of St. Augustine. This quote would seem to suggest that any interpretation could be just as valid as any other. So instead of a lamb metaphorically meaning Jesus, a lamb could also mean something entirely different as long as it did not go against the reason of the interpreter.
This point of view, while very accepting, could also be considered mildly problematic because the reason and common sense of any individual can vary drastically from that of another. A man who's reason told him to kill another has found something to believe in. Is this OK? Well, from a culturally relativistic perspective, yes. However, this way of thinking has no way to regulate morals, so theoretically, any action could be condoned by this thinking. St. Augustine's more rigid philosophy gives more of a right and wrong to the actions or thinking of people. What would Augustine think of this statement of Buddha's? He would probably be outraged, for, to him there is obviously something to be believed (the bible). However, the two philosophies are not mutually exclusive. If indeed we can believe nothing but that which goes with our reason and common sense, then he bible is a perfectly fine thing to believe because, according to St. Augustine, the entirety of the bible is reason and common sense once interpreted correctly.
What an interesting quote...I really like it! I think St. Augustine woulnd't be too mad about the quote because, as you said, christianity makes complete and perfect sense to him, so he believes in it fully.
ReplyDeleteI agree, this is an awesome quote, but it is quite scary letting a killer decide if something follows their morals. It reminds me of Obedience to Authority.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of the Killer idea, it goes back to the polygamous Mormon sect in Utah where two men killed their brother's wife and 15 month old daughter because "God told them to." Does religion give an excuse for that kind of thing?
ReplyDeleteThis is funny because it comes full circle. I should only believe in what goes along with my morals, but there are things which i have to believe in order to establish morals. What's funny though, is that, if the bible goes against what you believe, you shouldn't believe it, but if it doesn't, you don't need to read it because you already believe everything it says.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing Buddha didn't address is change. If we should not believe something that goes against our morals, how will our morals change and adapt?
Good post!
I love this quote! Easier said than done though, i think it would be extremely difficult for me to believe nothing. I guess this is why we have religions:to give people "ready to go" perspective, meaning something that has already been praticed or thought of.
ReplyDeleteI will just add that I also enjoyed this post. I have sometimes wanted a t-shirt that read something like: question yourself. That would be a response to the "question authority" t-shirt/bumper sticker that used to be popular (perhaps a long time ago). Anyways, this kind of gets at what I think Augustine's response would be: that whatever is contained in reason and common sense is not to be trusted.. since it leads a million people to believe a million different things. Thus his look to the outside for some kind of authority. I think he is known for his quotation: I believe, therefore I understand. And that is indeed the opposite of the quotation you have..
ReplyDelete(just trying to think through your blog from Augustine's perspective)
Listen to this, and then read the quote again. http://www.wimp.com/discussesnothing/
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