I think your quotes from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were aiming to show the importance of education. Am I right?<snip> “When the Holy One, blessed is He, created His world, He created it like an infant born from its mother. For a fetus born from the mother, begins from its navel and expands outward to all four directions so too, the Holy One, blessed is He, began to create the world from the Foundation Stone and from that, the entire world was established.” - Midrash Tanchuma – Pikudei #3
I was illustrating the various ways that a few of the world's religions talk to foundations, education being key.I think your quotes from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism were aiming to show the importance of education. Am I right?
I can only comment on the Jewish one, but that midrash is pretty interesting. It explains things like why we have that little indent on our upper lip!
It has to do with when we are in the womb and the Angle Lailah teaches us the whole Torah and lights a light so that the unborn infant can see the whole world and know the whole path of their life. And just as we are being born, Lailah touches our lip (causing the indent) and makes us forget everything.
The implication is that we already know everything, we just need to remember it. It's very similar to the Jungian collective consciousness.
I believe an amalgamation, such as I have had, of both a religious and secular education when done correctly will compliment each other for a stronger foundation.Winter....which do you consider the better material for the foundation....spiritual/religious or education......which makes for a better foundation for our buildings...
That is one of the truest statements on the interweb!I believe an amalgamation, such as I have had, of both a religious and secular education when done correctly will compliment each other for a stronger foundation.
Faith and science can coexist as evidenced by the statement made by Maimonides in the middle ages that said if science and Torah are misaligned, then either we do not fully understand the science yet, or we have misinterpreted the Torah. If science proves a fact, we should accept it as fact, and reinterpret the Torah accordingly.
So one can be a scholar as well as having a good religious foundation that allows a person to see things from many perspectives without believing that the devil put dinosaur bones in the earth.
When a person blindly ignores worldly knowledge because it either contradicts or does not fit with religious teachings then no true learning can take place.
Brother.... I do not mean religious education...I mean ones faith how ever they choose to understand it. I feel that the spiritual/religious is the base layer to becoming a Mason and there for the best foundation in which we should build our buildings..... I do believe all regular masons worldwide require a belief in deity ( the name one uses is not of importance).... but in no landmark do I find ones educational level to be a issue. In none of my degrees was I ever asked do I put any faith or trust into my place of higher education. I do believe education is very important but I value knowledge leaps and bounds over education..... one does not always gain knowledge with a passing grade in a class......But look at it this way. A religious education, with a few exceptions, requires you to believe or have faith, without proof. There is no focus in a religious education that teaches a person how to learn, or how to study.
Whereas an education gained at a university or place of higher learning will, or should, include courses that teach a person how to approach the acquisition and processing of knowledge. Not just random memorization of facts, but actual learning in manner that can be applied to any type of study.
We could debate whether religious or secular studies are a better foundation for a Mason. But I don't believe that a focus on one or the other is conclusive. If it is a religious education, then who's religion? Or all of them? If it is a secular foundation, will an analytical or scientific base make it more difficult to have faith in the divine?
True but either one is to me the basis for a good foundation for our buildings that is why I typed it spiritual/religious because they may or may not be the same to different people, some may consider themselves spiritual without being religious and some may consider them to go hand in hand.... remember all of us who are considered "regular" are required to verbally express a belief in a single deity and I challenge anyone to show proof that ones educational level has any bearing on their ability to be a mason. So having a religious/spiritual belief is the basis for our foundations....... there are many other items that help build a good solid building but if we dont have a belief in a deity, then we will never become a mason......There is a significant difference between "spiritual" and "religious." Thinking and acting like they are the same will bring you much woe.