Jiten Roy recently has been asking thought provoking questions about religions. He insists on opining that being a believer is gambling. As I understand, in a gambling the outcome is uncertain. But to a firm believer, it is not so. A Hindu widow knows for sure that leading an ascetic life (in terms of food, clothing, ornaments, cosmetics, amusement, etc.) will lead her to reunite with her husband in the afterlife probably in paradise. A Sunni suicide bomber who blows a Shiite mosque full of musallis knows for sure that he will go to paradise. I cannot see gambling in either case.JR: I have thought about the question also - as to why people get offended by the criticism of their religions; why can't they leave it to God.SC: People get offended by criticism of any thing that he holds dear. Reaction will have many different manifestations depending on the person and the context. If proper justice is guaranteed, the person offended will not take law in his own hand. Devotees can be asked (or at least can be interpreted as being asked) to defend "dharma", "deen", or "religion". Bhagwan Krishna asks Arjuna to get rid of illusion and strike. You get call from God and engage in crusade and jihad.JR: People are interested in religion not only for the eternal rewards, but - also they are also interested in the brand name of the clan.SC: I agree. I don't see any problem with that provided the "clan" as you call it is not a threat to other "clans".JR: Religion is no different from other commercial commodity.SC: Too much of generalization.JR: It needs to be sold for continued expansion, and criticism is not good for the business, and also for the reputation of the clan. As a result, people cannot wait for God's punishment. SC: Religion is an idea that obviously needs marketing (preaching) as you want to expand your follower base. All the great religions including Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, and Islam resorted to preaching. In many cases many Christian and Muslim rulers complemented preaching with sword. In the initial stage Hindus would rather maintain their purity and act as exclusionists. The same applies to Jews. In general, criticism is necessary for product improvement. It is happening with the religions also. All the religions are getting more and more universal everyday by incorporating new ideas.JR: Having said that, I have to recognize that, while protecting the brand name is discouraged in some religions, it is mandatory in others.SC: I am trying to get examples, can't find any.From: Jiten Roy <jnrsr53@yahoo.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 3, 2012 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Let us not criticize religions, criticize religion-peddling
From: Sukhamaya Bain <subain1@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Let us not criticize religions, criticize religion-peddling
To: "mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Tuesday, July 3, 2012, 4:36 PM
Along with making a little correction in my post below, let me put forth my thoughts on one of the terms that I have used.Abusing Religion:From time to time, many religious people accuse non-religious people and people of other religions of abusing their religion. Example: if someone were to open up the Bible and criticize
