Respect for other religions/religious symbols

[Kathrin]

My heart was a bit torn just a while ago.
I needed a little bag to put some coins in, and came across this cloth bag and saw that there was a tiny little buddha statue in it. I really don’t know where and when I got that.
Anyway, even though I am not a Buddhist but Catholic, it kind of felt wrong to just take the little statue out and use it as a money bag. So I used something else.

I wonder if that was the right thing to do though.

And what am I going to do with the little baggie and the statue - well, for now I am just going to leave it lying around, since I will be gone for about 3 months… But does that mean I am not a real Christian, because I feel that respect?

Ok, I may be overly scrupulous again, thinking too much about it. BUT it is a fundamental question, in a way. We are not to have any other “gods”… but can we still respect other religions’ symbols?

Part of me thought I maybe had to throw the little thing out because it’s from another religion. But that would have felt wrong too, in a way.
And I mean, it’s not like it’s something satanic or something. That would have been very different! (Then I would have thrown it out fast!!!)

Kathrin

p.s. Yikes this is a hard one again for a scrupulous person! I won’t be able to go back to it (if I decide I should have thrown it out) since I am leaving.
Ah, that’s probably still WHY I am so worries…

 

[pigtown]

My heart was a bit torn just a while ago.
I needed a little bag to put some coins in, and came across this cloth bag and saw that there was a tiny little buddha statue in it. I really don’t know where and when I got that.
Anyway, even though I am not a Buddhist but Catholic, it kind of felt wrong to just take the little statue out and use it as a money bag. So I used something else.

I wonder if that was the right thing to do though.

And what am I going to do with the little baggie and the statue - well, for now I am just going to leave it lying around, since I will be gone for about 3 months… But does that mean I am not a real Christian, because I feel that respect?

Ok, I may be overly scrupulous again, thinking too much about it. BUT it is a fundamental question, in a way. We are not to have any other “gods”… but can we still respect other religions’ symbols?

Part of me thought I maybe had to throw the little thing out because it’s from another religion. But that would have felt wrong too, in a way.
And I mean, it’s not like it’s something satanic or something. That would have been very different! (Then I would have thrown it out fast!!!)

Kathrin

p.s. Yikes this is a hard one again for a scrupulous person! I won’t be able to go back to it (if I decide I should have thrown it out) since I am leaving.
Ah, that’s probably still WHY I am so worries…

Since I am no longer Catholic my feelings may be very different than those who are Catholic but I would respect other religious symbols. My husband was a Hindu until after we married and he became a Christian. We have a couple of Hindu symbols in our home. Maybe I feel this way because of my husband but I do not feel that we should trash or throw away something just because of its religious significance. One of my husband’s relatives brought us a small statue of Buddha from India and that is sitting on a table in our living room. His sister gave us a beautiful picture of Christ that she bought in India. That is also in our living room. As I said, Catholics may feel differently but I feel that we should respect other religions and not trash their symbols.

 

[Mirdath]

If a Buddhist had found a crucifix in that little cloth bag, what would you want him or her to do with it?

Answer that, and you’ve got your answer.

 

[neslor617]

I agree we should respect others religions/religious symbols. So I wouldn’t throw it out…maybe donate it to an organization that would take good care of it

 

[Rawb]

Just my opinion, but I’d probably bury it. Strange as that may sound, it seems most appropriate to me. It’s not disrespectful (depending on where you bury it, I’m talking about in just clean dirt, not a manure pile or something), it gets the object out of the house, and doesn’t ‘evangelize’ that religion. If I had a staunch Buddhist friend I’d consider giving it to them, but I don’t know if I would.

I agree with Midrath - (proof that miracles do happen ) and switch roles. If I heard that a Buddhist had found a crucifix and buried it I wouldn’t be offended. I’ve buried crucifixes before; it’s the proper way to dispose of blessed items.

Or maybe you could find the equivelent of that in Buddhism? We bury blessed items to dispose of them, do Buddhists have something similar? Maybe they burn them or drop them in water for example?

 

[Kathrin]

If a Buddhist had found a crucifix in that little cloth bag, what would you want him or her to do with it?

Answer that, and you’ve got your answer.

Wow what a wonderful answer!!! Why hadn’t I thought of looking at it this way!!!???

And thank you everybody, that was really interesting AND helpful.

Kathrin

 

[Metaron]

Part of me thought I maybe had to throw the little thing out because it’s from another religion. But that would have felt wrong too, in a way.
And I mean, it’s not like it’s something satanic or something. That would have been very different! (Then I would have thrown it out fast!!!)

Kathrin

p.s. Yikes this is a hard one again for a scrupulous person! I won’t be able to go back to it (if I decide I should have thrown it out) since I am leaving.
Ah, that’s probably still WHY I am so worries…

Actually, I am Catholic, and I admire the philosophical aspects of Buddhism and Confucianism to some extent, especially the non-violence. I think you could keep the little Buddha-ling. Remember, the righteous pagan (Buddha, maybe?) who sincerely desires Truth, although he has never heard the gospel, can end up in Heaven.

 

[puzzleannie]

it is just a little statue with no more meaning than any other object or art object if you are not a member of that religion. do whatever you want with it. if you are obsessing about this get help from a priest who can counsel you about scrupulosity.

 

[peary]

My heart was a bit torn just a while ago.
I needed a little bag to put some coins in, and came across this cloth bag and saw that there was a tiny little buddha statue in it. I really don’t know where and when I got that.
Anyway, even though I am not a Buddhist but Catholic, it kind of felt wrong to just take the little statue out and use it as a money bag. So I used something else.

I wonder if that was the right thing to do though.

And what am I going to do with the little baggie and the statue - well, for now I am just going to leave it lying around, since I will be gone for about 3 months… But does that mean I am not a real Christian, because I feel that respect?

Ok, I may be overly scrupulous again, thinking too much about it. BUT it is a fundamental question, in a way. We are not to have any other “gods”… but can we still respect other religions’ symbols?

Part of me thought I maybe had to throw the little thing out because it’s from another religion. But that would have felt wrong too, in a way.
And I mean, it’s not like it’s something satanic or something. That would have been very different! (Then I would have thrown it out fast!!!)

Kathrin

p.s. Yikes this is a hard one again for a scrupulous person! I won’t be able to go back to it (if I decide I should have thrown it out) since I am leaving.
Ah, that’s probably still WHY I am so worries…

Dump the buddha and use the bag. The buddha is a graven image.