Would you convert into a different religion just to learn a certain style?

[roughnready]

I have seen many schools that won't let you join unless you coverted into their religion. Do you think this is fair and why? I don't think it's fair at all.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Often it has to do with a peculiar tendancy of religions to preach tolerance and peace among thier own members, but outsiders, well THEY ARE JUST NO GOOD ARE THEY.

Both the Old Testament / Torah and the Koran are filled with admoishments against non-beleivers or stories about mass killing of non-beleivers by the 'righteous'.

Religions tend to be political movements first, spiritual matters second. It is only in the secularized west that we have gotten away from this sticky fact.

From what I have read (and I am still finding texts on Zoastrianism, so I cannot speak to it) out of the major religous streams that have survived to this day, only Jainism and Buddhism do not espouse some sort of militancy against non-beleivers in thier religous texts. (Although hinduism, the religion at the 'root' of those two has the Bhagavad-Gita, which is essentially a war epic about the virtues of dispationate behavior.)

Now, this is only a hobby of mine, so if someone can correct me, please do so.

Also note - I am not seeking to offend anybody here. But I've read the religous texts and it's all right there on the page, not too far from admonishments about 'changing' or 'not following' the religion properly. Them's the apples. They often get overlooked.

Oh, and I'm not much of a joiner. There are plenty of martial arts that don't require me to acquire more imaginary friends.

[Black Jack]

Monekyslap, good post.

Stated much more straight to the point of the matter than my own spew would of been.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

i would pretend.

if i ever wanted to quit i would be creative in commiting the worst legal herasy before all of them.

then i'd rape the teachers puppy.

[GunnedDownAtrocity]

black jack . .. yeah his was ok, but mine was better.

[Ryu]

"There are plenty of martial arts that don't require me to acquire more imaginary friends."

Was good up until this point. If you're trying not to offend people you probably shouldn't use wording like that as it sneakily enforces your "spiritual" beliefs upon them.

Regardless what I think of the issue, there are MANY intelligent and logical philosophers, doctors, scientists, etc. who make quite convincing arguments about the possibility of those "imaginary friends." Just because someone is based in reality does not mean they are void of religious thinking. Just my 2 cents.

But I don't think ANY martial art has the right to have say what religion if any it's practitioners follow (unless of course it's something obviously harmful... going out and killing people ritually or something )

Ryu

[Xebsball]

IMHO if they make you convert to learn kung fu they basicly suck, leave them ****ers. Throw **** on their front door.

[PaulLin]

Originally posted by roughnready
I have seen many schools that won't let you join unless you coverted into their religion. Do you think this is fair and why? I don't think it's fair at all.

That counts high-pressured organization, it is too dangerous to join, too much like a cult.

[MonkeySlap Too]

RYU - the imaginary friend crack goes back to my college days when the fundamentalists were all over campus. See, you can read it two ways 'hey - he thinks my religion is imaginary' or 'yeah,yeah THOSE guys have the imaginary god(s)'.

Someday I'll tell the tale of how I created the illusion that there was a huge fundamentalist aryanist religous revival on campus.

"Heimdall has been struck by a misseltoe arrow and the serpent of midgard is lose. Ragnarok is near! Come to our prayer meeting and fencing practice in room 842."

Of course the rooms on the eigth floor on each building (notice I did not say which building) all stopped before 42. Heh heh.

[MonkeySlap Too]

Also to Ryu. Note that I did not discount spiritual beleifs. Just what people do with them.

Frankly, I find most of the worlds religions really scary, as there are a lot of things tucked in there that 'give' the 'beleivers' the right or duty to abuse or kill non-beleivers.

These aspects may be downplayed in the modern day, but the basic programming is written into the software. or so to speak.

Frankly, I am oppossed to anyone telling me what I should beleive or practice, and religions that feel the need to subject people of other religions should go pound sand.

So there, now you made me tell off three billion people.

[Royal Dragon]

I have no problems with ordained Monks who historically practice a certain art teaching their art and religion side by side, especially if it is traditional for them to do so. HOWEVER, if some "Celestial Grand Master" requires me to become a Christian to learn an art founded by Budhists or Taoists, I'm outta there!!!

[Ryu]

Someone's gotta tell 3 million people off, right?

I do agree with you though on what people do to religion. That's what makes me kind of cringe when people blame Religion (with a capital R) for the things that human beings do with it. Even if religion is completely man made and fictional, the ideal of it is worth respecting IMO.

BTW,
"fundamentalists were all over campus."

Ugh... I understand now.

Ryu

[Budokan]

To answer the original question: NO.

'Nuff said.

[Black Jack]

Poor Ryu, j/k

I thought the imaginary friend bit was right on the ball.

How did these "intelligent" men of logic almost get you to come to the consideration that there is a mythological ****phobic toothfairy in the heavens who has coprohilic tenedencies and a serious voyeuristic fecal fetish, who of course is coupled with a inferior to women complex??

Just curious

[Braden]

LOL at RnR's remarkably creative trolling recently.

MonkeySlap Too

As a curious reversal on the theme, Christianity started as a purely spiritual movement, and only became political centuries later. It made up for lost time though. But since you mention holy books, the early emphasis is clear in their scriptures.