oiltanker
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everyone has that which they consider divine. that is their god. you can find your god by finding out what makes you angry or that for which you would be prepared to die.
in traditional theology the divine is greater than any image you can have about it. so when people do put images on it [old man in the sky, family, nation, race, honour, equality or whatnot] then people will say [if they are brave] its not just that image.
historically there is a traditional row about the use of images in theology [there have been wars about it]. some say ok others no because it leads to false beliefs.
the imposition of a particular image has more to do with power and ignorance than theology. Who sets the 'divine images' up these days but papers like the sun. which is the level of theology we have. Princess diana, celebrity, x factor big brother and all that. Those are the holy images and if you say something about that you are criticised as a snob or whatnot.
most do think that god [the highest term] means an old man in the sky but that is just an image some have chosen rather than anything that has a basis in theology. one might blame the artists for painting the divine in images [michealangelo etc] because now in an age devoid of philosophic training that image is common and unchallenged currency. But if people studied theology they would not be fooled by the images that people worship. Theology actually frees people from having such dogmatic closed minds about the nature of the divine.
and yes the 'beliefs about trading' match pretty well what goes on in theology. one might make 'a life of brian' or 'the search for the holy grail' film about trading.
in traditional theology the divine is greater than any image you can have about it. so when people do put images on it [old man in the sky, family, nation, race, honour, equality or whatnot] then people will say [if they are brave] its not just that image.
historically there is a traditional row about the use of images in theology [there have been wars about it]. some say ok others no because it leads to false beliefs.
the imposition of a particular image has more to do with power and ignorance than theology. Who sets the 'divine images' up these days but papers like the sun. which is the level of theology we have. Princess diana, celebrity, x factor big brother and all that. Those are the holy images and if you say something about that you are criticised as a snob or whatnot.
most do think that god [the highest term] means an old man in the sky but that is just an image some have chosen rather than anything that has a basis in theology. one might blame the artists for painting the divine in images [michealangelo etc] because now in an age devoid of philosophic training that image is common and unchallenged currency. But if people studied theology they would not be fooled by the images that people worship. Theology actually frees people from having such dogmatic closed minds about the nature of the divine.
and yes the 'beliefs about trading' match pretty well what goes on in theology. one might make 'a life of brian' or 'the search for the holy grail' film about trading.
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