"...Buddha statue stolen again. 1000-year-old idol missing since September 14. A priceless brass statue of Buddha said to be over 1000 years old has been stolen from the Buppharam Thai Buddhist Temple in Perak Road here..."
The Chinese people have always worshiped idols. However a recent trip to Beijing made me discover that the earliest emperors did not worship idols at all. Instead, they erected an architectural marvel called the "Temple of Heaven" where once a year, the emperors would worship the God of Heaven at His Temple.
This is a similar practice to the Jews who approached Jehovah God once a year to ask for forgiveness of sins and God's blessing for the coming year. Could it be that the Chinese people are part descendants of the Jewish race. (Humor: a shrewd Chinese businessman has always been called a Jew).
Back to this idol, it is ironical to read that a god can be stolen eventhough a god's aim is to protect the people who worship him. It this case, it can be assumed that the thief saw a greater value in the brass content of the statue, due to the high price of brass in the reseller's junk yard, rather than the protection of the idol.
Why do people worship a god that can be stolen? What do you think?
Are people worshiping blindly? Do they comprehend logically their actions toward this idol?
Would replacing this idol with another restore their faith in the replacement?
Is this trend coming back again in China since their former leader Chairman Mao Tze Tung is no longer in rule to oppress such practices? What do you observe?
Posts
Religions are man-made.
ReplyDeleteWhat people need to get to know is God himself, not a form of religion.
Shalom Steven!
ReplyDeletehttp://weebears.blogspot.com/2008/08/babel-connection.html
I discussed about Shangdi here =)
Do share your views on that article and some of the stuff I blog about. =)
God bless you and may you keep bringing His Truth to those who need to hear it! AMEN!
God bless,
Geri
Hi hungribunni,
ReplyDeleteThanks and may God use you in Singapore to bring greater knowledge of the Truth to others. Jesus said, "they shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free".
God bless you,
Steven
Buddhists do not believe Buddha is God, the statue is of Buddha the teacher. The Buddha is not worshipped as a God, the statue is many things such as a visual reminder of the teachings and a focus for meditation. The theft does not remove a God or a weaken a belief system, it is simply a reminder of impermanence.
ReplyDeleteThe theft of this statue will no doubt be felt the same way that the theft of a statue of Jesus or Mary would be felt from a Christian Church, with sadness and disbelief, perhaps some compassion towards the person who would perform such an act. To Buddhists and to Christians alike stealing is a breach of a core commandment or precept.