Russian or Chinese: Which Is More Worth Learning?

Guest   Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:02 am GMT
There are fanatical athiests too, just like there are fanatical Christians and fanatical Muslims. The difference is that the atheists don't kill in the name of atheism.
J.C.   Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:29 am GMT
"There are fanatical athiests too, just like there are fanatical Christians and fanatical Muslims. The difference is that the atheists don't kill in the name of atheism."
Guest: In that case it seems we are not speaking about religion at all. FANATICISM is the one to blame.
Regardless of the reason why atheists kill the result is the same: death and sadness...
I think that people should have the right to believe whatever they want but don't don't like when government and religion come together (Prohibiting religion is extreme, too) because that's a synonym to lack of tolerance or an excuse to justify atrocities.
Looks like the Chinese government doesn't accept any religion because that can threaten its status quo. Even though I'm not buddhist I think the people from Tibet should have the freedom to express their faith openly, that's why I LOVE democracy!!
Céline Dion   Sat Jun 28, 2008 4:53 am GMT
Freedom for Tibet!
Céline Dion upon Dyke   Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:06 am GMT
Liberté for Vermont!
K. T.   Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:15 am GMT
"Anyway, I don't see what's wrong with banning Christianity. It is just considered a cult, many countries in the world have banned cults."

I think you are just trying to be provocative. I think of a cult as different from a standard faith.

In the United States we have freedom of religion. If you think it's okay to ban Christianity, then you must not believe in people having the freedom to choose their faith.

I have heard that Saudi Arabia is like that, but I have never been there and can't verify that.
K. T.   Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:37 am GMT
There are fanatical athiests too, just like there are fanatical Christians and fanatical Muslims. The difference is that the atheists don't kill in the name of atheism."

I disagree. How can you claim this when atheistic goverments have persecuted people because of their religion?

I certainly do not mean that individual intellectual atheists have no moral integrity, but I don't fear "fanatical" Christians more. This isn't the age of Salem and the witch trials. I'm not afraid that they will kill me.
Xie   Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:35 am GMT
>>Well done China! Religion is a plague in society, good to see some nations can overcome political correctness for the good of society.

Indeed, yes.

For one thing, China is one of the last countries (and probably forever) that are free from NATO, like Russia.

For another, China is one of the last countries (and probably in the distant future as well) that are free from religion. China doesn't officially welcome Christians and Muslims, but the Chinese don't normally argue about religion and our culture welcomes all religions. Unless you try to preach like salesmen, nothing bad would happen; and actually, I can see Mormons going on quite well with the local people in that "international" city on the southern flank of this country.

China is free from religion not just because of socialism (this has only been there for 50+ years). Unlike some Jews before Christ, the Chinese view of religion was the reverse of some form of Judaism since around 2000 years ago. I don't really have a clear view of both atheism, agnosticism, the gentile, and the selected _at all_. Despite anything you can call as religious persecution, this is not the same as what might have taken place in Europe in the old days. Until now, educated Chinese still cherish their culture for having no general religious wars (well, persecution, yes, in different eras, but nothing like the European things).
Xie   Sat Jun 28, 2008 8:41 am GMT
I don't know if Confucianism could count as a religion (personally, no; I think it's just a culture), but my country had no problem becoming what it is today - no debates over secularism whatsoever. This is good for a modern state in the Chinese or western sense, and might be a huge blessing for a less democratic and developed country, in particular.

In the western sense, sex, politics, and religion (in no specific order) are taboos in some normal discussions; but in the Chinese sense, politics is a taboo, and only because of censorship, along with sex, for cultural reasons. Religion? I don't have much about religion in mind at all, so how can I join flaming wars about religion?

That's why I was bewildered when I had to learn the word "secularism", when I was studying history of France - how France become a secular state around 100 years ago. I'm culturally insensible to this issue, to put it simply.
Skippy   Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:44 pm GMT
Cults are distinct from what are considered "standard" religion.

Repressing the practice of a religion (short of killing other people) is oppression and there's no need to justify it.

Atheism claimed plenty of people in Lenin and Stalin's Russia and Mao's China and, as I understand it, Hitler's Germany.
Guest   Sat Jun 28, 2008 10:33 pm GMT
Ha ha ha I love it when people blame Lenin and Hitler on atheism! There's little connection.
Guest   Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:05 pm GMT
Hitler wasn't an atheist. His book, Mein Kampf, and speeches make it quite clear. He was a Catholic...
K.T.'s Partner   Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:28 pm GMT
"I have heard that Saudi Arabia is like that, but I have never been there and can't verify that."

Ah, always got to have that P.C. disclaimer in there, eh, K.T.?
MythCrusher   Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:35 pm GMT
"As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice"

-Adolf Hitler
Skippy   Sun Jun 29, 2008 2:11 pm GMT
Hitler's tough to thumb down. He mentions Jesus with relative frequency early on, but later says things like "National Socialism and religion cannot exist together" and "The heaviest blow that ever struck humanity was the coming of Christianity" "the best thing is to let Christianity die a natural death" "the two great scourges: the pox and Christianity" and the list goes on. Hitler also had a problem with the whole "Jesus was a Jew" thing.
Guest   Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:16 pm GMT
> I don't know if Confucianism could count as a religion (personally, no; I think it's just a culture),
> China is free from religion not just because of socialism (this has only been there for 50+ years).
> China doesn't officially welcome Christians and Muslims, but the Chinese don't normally argue about religion and our culture welcomes all religions.

The Confucianism is a kind of atheism. In the past long history, the Chinese people are belong to two groups: the group of poor people who are welcome all religions as Shamanism, Taoism, Buddhism, Manichaeism, Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Muslim, etc. the group of educated people are taught in the Confucianism then become as the atheists who generally doesn't accept any religion. The political elites doesn’t care the religious teaching of the judge of last day because they are atheists. The democracy, freedom of speech, human right, the education of mother tongue are easy accepted in the Christian society nor the society of Confucianism.