Quote Originally Posted by Ronin maximus View Post

You know why people don't like born agains?
'Cause they keep saying the "Bible says..the bible says" and never hear the other side of the debate. Kinda like covering their ears and going "Lalalalalalaa I can't hear you"
Coins have 2 sides.

Religion is a tool to keep people in line, to make them think they are being watched, so they behave.
That is unfortunately often true, which I get into above. The traditional position has become inflexible, so that they can no longer teach, only preach. To really teach, you have to consider the viewpoint of the people (and this is important) who have asked you to teach them. Jesus sat down with the tax collectors and debated with the Pharisees, all of whom came to him when he was teaching.

Mankind has been given many great teachers all around the world from prehistory to the present, not just in the Middle East. As Jesus said: "In my Father's house are many mansions". It was indirectly through the teachings of Lao Tzu and Buddha (and directly through my late Taijiquan teachers) that I myself came to recognise how important Jesus' message was to my studies. It is a personal thing, though, I don't expect my students to be of any particular religion, or even religious at all. I expect them to be kind, caring people, and that is enough.