Narrow path.....

@philokalia said
The Bhagavad-Gita is not a folktale. The stories about Arjuna are not folktales or legends. They are part of the sacred canon of of the Mahabharata...

They are a hodgepodge of folktales, legends, myths etc. They are not "historical accounts".

@philokalia said
when I feel that the discussion is done, I can say, "OK, I will make my final statmeent, and I give the last word to you,"

You can say whatever you want at any time you want. You don't need my permission or invitation to 'make a final statement'.

@philokalia said
if someone was telling me stories about their specific Gurus and what they did within their Vaishnavist or Shaivist sect, stories I know nothing about, I will treat them as legitimate aspects of their canon and refer to them politely and kindly, and I will try to build bridges to have better communication, right....

If they are folktales, then they are folktales ~ why would anyone who does not have any reason to believe them to be true have to perceive or call them "historical accounts"? At least I'm not referring to them as "lies" or as "schoolboy trash" or "cowardly, dishonest, rubbish"; I am not about to start taking a leaf from your book of "better communication", don't worry. I think I am being completely polite with you.

@fmf said
If they are folktales, then they are folktales ~ why would anyone who does not have any reason to believe them to be true have to perceive or call them "historical accounts"? At least I'm not referring to them as "lies" or as "schoolboy trash" or "cowardly, dishonest, rubbish"; I am not about to start taking a leaf from your book of "better communication", don't worry. I think I am being completely polite with you.

But they wouldn't actually be folk tales. They would be religious accounts of Gurus, and they are to be referred to in honorable terms.

But I guess there we have the difference between our basic dispositions to other thing. Oh well.

@fmf said
Just post what you want. And I'll post what I want.

I would actually prefer to have us dialog a little about when a thread or a subject could just kind of be put to sleep. Things can become pretty repetitive and I would not want us to get in each other's hair about something.

Would that be possible? Do you agree to do that?

@fmf said
If you switched religion one day, would all the stories that you assert are "historical accounts" - like the one about the "angels" coming down to get the "drunken monk" told by a "Saint" - become folktales?

As I pointed out that I would not refer to historical accounts of a Guru whose veracity of the truth claims I felt were dubious as "folk tales," of course, I would not begin referring to them by rude terms.

@fmf said
So, if you have a mindset that has you believing "the Gospels" are true, then it follows that any further and additional magical and "miraculous" things - from whatever year it might be in the last 2,000 - that just so happen to appeal to your imagination and suit the superstitious prism through which you see the world are also "true" for the same reason as "the Gospels" are "true" and this is all supported by Appeal to Authority? That's your "point" as far as I can make out.

No, this isn't true at all.

I do not accept anything that simply appeals to my imagination.

It would have to be something from authoritative persons or people whom I trust and it would have to be an account that was in line with the established facts that we know to be true within Christianity.

And I would say that of course these things still happen in the current year.

Why would they have stopped?

@philokalia said
As I pointed out that I would not refer to historical accounts of a Guru whose veracity of the truth claims I felt were dubious as "folk tales," of course, I would not begin referring to them by rude terms.

But they are folktales. If you want to impose some sort of PC thing on yourself here, that's a matter for you.

@philokalia said
No, this isn't true at all.

I do not accept anything that simply appeals to my imagination.

It would have to be something from authoritative persons or people whom I trust and it would have to be an account that was in line with the established facts that we know to be true within Christianity.

And I would say that of course these things still happen in the current year.

Why would they have stopped?

I don't think things that appeal to your imagination gain any credence because of your use of Appeal to Authority.

@philokalia said
I would actually prefer to have us dialog a little about when a thread or a subject could just kind of be put to sleep. Things can become pretty repetitive and I would not want us to get in each other's hair about something.

Would that be possible? Do you agree to do that?

Post whatever you want. I am not interested, however, in your attempts to manage what I post.

@philokalia said
There are always going to people that tell lies to gain esteem or to advance a position, right. So I think much of the time that can be the case.

"Lies"? Which religious traditions' folktales are you referring to here?

@fmf said
But they are folktales. If you want to impose some sort of PC thing on yourself here, that's a matter for you.

I know that they are not all folktales at all. Some of these are fundamentally true because they happened in actuality. I think that it is potentially true that even miraculous events have touched the lives of those in non-Christian religions because the benevolence of God cannot be contained at all.

Of course, some of these things are not true, and some of these are stories made up to function in an aphoristic way, and perhaps some of these events in the other religions did acutally occur and were miraculous but they have been given a spin meant to back up the other religion in a way that is not actually correct because their religion is not correct. Of course, some of these may even have been from the devil.

Yet, it is definitely true that there are many true events along these lines.

@fmf said
"Lies"? Which religious traditions' folktales are you referring to here?

I would specifically take lots of issues with the teachings of Islam because it is one that is explicitly counter to our own teachings. I believe that it is fundamentally heretical. I'd be explicitly hostile to the Aztec religion and to other religions like Norse religions which practice human sacrifice because they are clearly demonic in nature.

I would be more sympathetic to Eastern religions because they occur outside of the Christian context.

But yeah, like, I do not believe in nurturing some kind of enmity. I also do not believe in dwelling on these things.

I would also say that Muslims are terrific allies of Christians but I do believe that their religion is wrong and has many teachings which are explicitly counter to the Gospels.

@fmf said
"Lies"? Which religious traditions' folktales are you referring to here?

That would be an inappropriate characterization of my goal.

Like, for instance, I would be interested in settling a matter after a lot of posts, right?

That when something becomes repetitious, we could both say, "Alright, so this is my final word on it," and then the tone of the other's response would be a friendly one also seeking to resolve it, as opposed to one where new questions come up.

What do you think of that idea?

@philokalia said
I would specifically take lots of issues with the teachings of Islam because it is one that is explicitly counter to our own teachings. I believe that it is fundamentally heretical. I'd be explicitly hostile to the Aztec religion and to other religions like Norse religions which practice human sacrifice because they are clearly demonic in nature.

I would be more sympat ...[text shortened]... eve that their religion is wrong and has many teachings which are explicitly counter to the Gospels.

I don't characterize their folktales are "lies". Nor do I characterize the stories you related as "lies"; I characterize them as folktales.