Confucianism is a philosophical and ethical system or a way of life taught by Confucius in the 5^th-6^th century BC. Some see it as philosophy or religion, as an “all-encompassing humanism that neither denies nor slights heaven”.

Confucianism is known to be a combination of ren also known as “benevolence or humaneness” of people within a community. It is a reflection of excellent character in accordance to li or ritual norms, yi or the moral disposition to do good, zhong which is loyalty to one’s nature, shu or reciprocity and xiao filial piety. Altogether they are seen as de or virtue. Confucius also believes that it is necessary to give up one’s life “passively or actively for the sake of upholding cardinal and moral values.

These beliefs are all characteristics of a positive view of human nature and faith that all human beings are gifted and can do wonderful things. They are all capable of improving, being taught and reaching a certain level of perfection through ‘self-cultivation and self-creation’.

Confucius saw heaven or T’ienas a personal universal force and he regarded it as positive. This belief was contrary to what people assumed that he was a skeptic or agnostic who did not believe in a higher power.

Confucianism does not have specific rituals or practices apart from its ‘ethical principles’. Most of these so called practices are a combination of Taosim, Buddhism and Chinese religion.

This way of thinking has a huge following. It has become a moral compass, even influencing political and spiritual life in China. It has even spread out to neighboring Asian countries such as Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

Image from eerkmans

Many a soul on this earth, have gone through life without meaning. Some say that Philosophy is one’s search of meaning in one’s life and others say who cares. But one should always have a purpose for every second, minute, hour, day, month and year of life. Life is short though it may last a couple of decades, tis’ still short a time. Considering that the earth has been around for a couple of billion years, life truly is short.

What is life on this earth without purpose? A waste of borrowed time, for life without meaning is nothing and if it is nothing… then why live at all. We all have a purpose on this earth whether we like it or not. Some feel damned and some don’t, some are endowed and others are average whatever place you may have in the measures set by man on his fellow man you are unique. Unique, in a way that whatever you may think is important even if others don’t pay attention or don’t mind.

It doesn’t matter what others say about your purpose or destiny, that’s their view and their’s alone. Listen deep within and understand what is inside and not what others say, life is meaningless without purpose. What is happiness without sadness, triumph without defeat and so on and so forth. He had a way of assuring that we get both sides of the picture so we’d cherish them side by side.

Go simple, “ Do your ordinary duties, EXTRA ORDINARILY WELL”. Sounds nice doesn’t it? Feels even better…..

Giving is a concept that can be found in most religions – if not all.

It is espoused by both the Bible and the Qur’an. In fact if you look at the following verses you’ll be struck by the similarity of what the two religions tell their believers to do.

Giving shows the believers’ love for their God:

“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the poor, the orphan, and the captive.” (Qur’an 76:8)

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3: 17-18)

Giving in secret:

“If you give alms openly, it is well, and if you hide it and give it to the poor, it is better for you” (Qur’an 2:271)

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-43)

There are other similarities such as the concept of “tithing” wherein a portion of a person’s earning should be given back to the church.

Generosity is also encouraged in Buddhism and Hinduism. In Buddhism they have what they call dāna, which when translated means generosity. However, it means more than just the word but actually refers to the practice of cultivating generosity. To Buddhists the more they give selflessly in this life the better off they will be in the next life. A belief that even Christians whose “treasures are stored up in heaven” and Muslims also believe.

The question now though is this: With all the teachings of different religions telling us to give are you practicing what you say you believe in? Do you give? In what way? How much? And more importantly, WHY?

You can find more info on giving to HAITI at Google’s Haiti Crisis Response Page.

I just read one of the most interesting takes on “Avatar”. The movie itself is interesting and entertaining from the CG to the storyline. Ok so interesting and entertaining is actually an understatement, at least compared to my initial reaction – and my second and third. Yes I’ve watched it that many times already and will watch it again if someone asks me to go out to the movies with them!

Anyway what I really wanted to write about is not how cool the movie is but how interesting the philosophy of Randy David, a journalist from the Philippines is. Mr. David mentions briefly the different issues the movie touches on.

In such manner do many of us project our disaffection with our own world (and often with our own selves), and the sense of guilt we feel over its current state. James Cameron’s script is, in many ways, the story of Western colonialism’s plunder and destruction of indigenous societies. It is also a parable on human greed and technological violence.

As he said though that “is only the most obvious level at which the movie may be understood.” He then discusses the concept of the avatar and then somehow twists it around to relate it to Jesus, Nietzsche, Marxism, and of course the concept of faith and belief – a topic that will surely make good fodder for conversation anytime.

For a good philosophical read on “Avatar” you can read the full article “In a World of Avatars” here.

In my last post I talked about the “World Philosophy Day” and gave some suggestions on how you can join the celebration. I also listed some topics you and your friends can debate on or you can just muse over. The more I thought about it though, the more fun/interesting topic I came up with. Here’s a longer list of philosophical topics/questions I got from all over the net:

What makes something funny? – Here’s a discussion on the topic from PhilosophyForums.
Is there a God? – If you want a real debate it would be better to get two close-minded but intelligent people who are firm on their beliefs on this topic – a fundamental God believer (doesn’t matter what the religion is) and an atheist. Sit down and enjoy hearing them debate about the topic ALL day long.
Healthcare – This is an especially relevant debate if you are in the US right now. Of course, this won’t make for a light fun day.
What is music? – People enjoy and can’t bear different types of music. So how do we define music? How do we differentiate it from mere sound or even noise? Better yet, ask “What is good music?”
Whose side are you on – Jon or Kate? – I know the answer should be the kids but if you really had to choose between the two who would you side with? Makes for a totally useless but entertaining debate.

For more debate topics go to Conservapedia.

With John Calvin’s birthday coming up in a few days, he was born 500 years ago on June 10, 1509, I though it would be fitting to do a post on the Calvinist theology.

Calvin is best known for the theological system that was named after him – Calvinism. Note that while Clavinist churches are still in existence today not all the churches adhere to all the classical features of Calvinism. As a theology what makes classical Calvinism distinctive is that it teaches the sovereignty of God in salvation and in life. The five points of Calvinism include:

The doctrine of total depravity – The inability of man to follow God and save himself due to inherent sin.
The doctrine of unconditional election – States that God’s choice in who is to be with him is based on his mercy alone and not on foreseen virtue, merit, or faith of the chosen people.
The doctrine of limited atonement – Says that atonement is only for those chosen by God even though he has the power to save everyone he has chosen not too do so.
The doctrine of irresistible grace – Says that those that God has chosen will be brought to faith in time and that these people would not be able to resist the call of the Gospel.
The Perseverance of the saints – Asserts that those that God has chosen has “eternal security” and that those that fall away from the faith are apparently not among the chosen.

As mentioned earlier, there are lots of variations of Calvinism today with modern variations being embraced more and more in North America. With his birthday coming up this would be good news to Calvin were he alive.

The book New Waves in Philosophy of Religion has been published by Palgrave MacMillan last December as part of its New Waves in Philosophy anthology series. The series aims to “gather the young and up-and-coming scholars in philosophy to give their view of the subject now and in the years to come, and to serve a documentary purpose.”

New Waves in Philosophy of Religion, edited by Y. Nagasawa & E. Wielenberg, discusses the “perennial problems and emerging issues from refreshingly new points of view and develop original ideas. It addresses such topics as: divine attributes, the origin of the universe, evolution and design, implications and puzzles of religious doctrines, morality and God, and the meaning of life.”

Contents of the book is as follows:

Many of us have so far been exposed to people who follow a different religion. Along with this comes different customs and traditions. While we may tag them as friends and associates, taking it to the next level such as personal and intimate relationships may not necessarily be a good idea.

For one, the count of people who get along without conflicts of interest such as religious practices or customary family traditions are rising in numbers. The ability to adjust accordingly and fit in is often the most criticized aspect of it all. There are some people who lower their pride and hit it off but the question of sincerity will often follow suit. In short, adjusting to one another is one thing but prolonging it is another.

Most people today have to deal with this, particularly for people who get drawn into the opposite sex for one reason or another. But you will see through divorces and separations that many people fail to work it out, particularly because they don’t want to give way. Hard as they may want to fend it off, it remains that such issues are easier said than done.

There is no philosophical belief that would rescind people from wanting to be with one another. There will always be barriers and often the challenge is to break them down. In marriages and relationships, that is a tough task to conquer. But there are exceptions and all of these are overcome in time.

Upon conception, we will always have a default religion. Normally Catholics, Protestants and Christians will have their base religion up and while this is deemed as the set religion for anyone upon birth, it remains that some shift to a new one at some point, particularly when they start to mature and enter the actual world.

Many change religion for the sake of improving themselves. Some practices are different while others find something fascinating in them. But in the end, they will find that religion barely has something to do with overall personality. It is just a tag that we all want to try out. Chances are if things don’t work out, you will be reverting to your actual religion or even find a new one.

But based on philosophical beliefs, religion is not something that one should change. Each group have their own set of beliefs and once christened to one religion, is it not close to Blasphemy if you use the Catholic way of beliefs? Some people don’t believe in it and could care less.

There are various gods we believe in. Practices may differ but worshipping is something that is the main essence of religions. With that said, each religion is said to be unique. But generally, religious philosophies normally adhere towards worshipping a god.

This is not to hit various religious groups. It is just something to highlight that shifting from one religion to another carries a lot of hang-ups. But in the end, we just follow a certain worshipping practice.

A person cannot be forced to follow another religion if he is not fully willing. We see the number of people shifting religious beliefs these days and you have to wonder if it is indeed wholeheartedly or just because their attention has been touched. Indeed, one may thing that religion is the last thing that people would qualm about. But sad to say, it has become an issue, especially if two people come from different sets.

Religious beliefs are rampant and different. There are certain standards and laws set forth to which religious philosophy always takes the heat. Indeed, it may seem like a petty thing but as far as taking their respective philosophies in consideration, you will be surprised at how it can escalate if the proper way to handle and mediate them is not done.

Let us take marriage for example. For every religion, there are beliefs to be followed. It can go as far the actual wedding ceremonies which for two people coming from different religions can be a cause for dispute. So how does one handle these situations?

There are instances where compromises are made. Sometimes, one of them even gives way. But as far as living together, unless one converts to the other, it will be quite a hellacious ride. This is not to say of course that these marriages will fail. They are merely cases wherein much of them is a reality.

Eventually, it all depends on how people would handle the gravity of such conflicts. For some it may not matter but for others, a lot has to be done and normally it goes as far as involving both families.