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flameburns623
Guest
Should I get this person a gift oriented towards his own present religious perspective? Should I attend his Gohonzon investiture service?
Friend of mine is becoming Buddhist, joining the Soka Gakkai sect of Japanese Buddhism after years of practicing Hinduism. (He was raised a Protestant Christian but has been involved in Hinduism, on-and-off, since his teens).
He is well read on Catholicism and loathes our faith, although he has numerous Catholic friends beside myself.
He admired Mother Teresa, and even has some grudging respect for Benedict XVI–but thinks they gave or give good service in a bad cause.
He appears invincibly convinced, despite his extensive reading (which includes Karl Keating, Robert Sungensis, and other articulate apoloigists) that the RCC is a fundamentally evil organization which unfortunately contains many good-hearted and well-meaning people.
Actually,engaging my friend in religious debate is not especially good for his mental or emotional health. He has had issues apparently since he was a young child. He has never been personally harmed by anyone Catholic–in fact he was once treated in a Catholic hospital and thinks kindly of the nuns who served there.
He suffers under mental illness which cause him to sometimes direct ascerbic attacks against the Catholic Church towards his friends. He has lost at least one Catholic friend over this, though he is usually remorseful and apologetic once he has come to himself.
His outbursts are not exclusively restricted to Catholicism: he tends to adopt strong and even extreme positions on many issues, and then villifies those who do not share his views.
His therapists have strongly encouraged him to pursue his interests in Eastern religion and practice because the meditative practices apparently complement his treatment. He is also struggling to avoid direct confrontations on any sort of controversial issue which has historically tended to excite or upset him.
He is NOT going to change therapists, btw, no matter what I suggest. For one thing, it is difficult for him to find therapists willing to accept his government medical assistance. For another, he is not going to change just because Christians, let alone Catholic Christians, disapprove of Eastern philosophy.
And he will not engage in any of the Catholic meditative devotions such as Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, etcetera, precisely because they are Catholic.
He finds chanting of the Soka Gakkai mantra helpful. I am not in a position to gainsay his perceived relief, particularly given that he seems to be following the medical advice of his therapists.
Given the direction his spirituality is taking I am thinking of getting him a CD put out by the Soka Gakkai organization for new practitioners of that faith.
He of course wants to invite several of his friends to the service where he will be invested with a Gohonzon, a sort of mandala or object of veneration, used as a focal point of meditation in the Soka Gakkai liturgy. (We would not be required to be active participants in the investure ceremony, just guests and friends).
I would go only to show my support for my friend’s efforts to become healthy, not as an endorsement of his newfound religious credo. Not attending might well affect him more adversely emotionally (giving him perceived grounds for his irrational distaste for Catholicism), but would not be likely to deter him.
Thoughts? Feedback? Thanks!
Friend of mine is becoming Buddhist, joining the Soka Gakkai sect of Japanese Buddhism after years of practicing Hinduism. (He was raised a Protestant Christian but has been involved in Hinduism, on-and-off, since his teens).
He is well read on Catholicism and loathes our faith, although he has numerous Catholic friends beside myself.
He admired Mother Teresa, and even has some grudging respect for Benedict XVI–but thinks they gave or give good service in a bad cause.
He appears invincibly convinced, despite his extensive reading (which includes Karl Keating, Robert Sungensis, and other articulate apoloigists) that the RCC is a fundamentally evil organization which unfortunately contains many good-hearted and well-meaning people.
Actually,engaging my friend in religious debate is not especially good for his mental or emotional health. He has had issues apparently since he was a young child. He has never been personally harmed by anyone Catholic–in fact he was once treated in a Catholic hospital and thinks kindly of the nuns who served there.
He suffers under mental illness which cause him to sometimes direct ascerbic attacks against the Catholic Church towards his friends. He has lost at least one Catholic friend over this, though he is usually remorseful and apologetic once he has come to himself.
His outbursts are not exclusively restricted to Catholicism: he tends to adopt strong and even extreme positions on many issues, and then villifies those who do not share his views.
His therapists have strongly encouraged him to pursue his interests in Eastern religion and practice because the meditative practices apparently complement his treatment. He is also struggling to avoid direct confrontations on any sort of controversial issue which has historically tended to excite or upset him.
He is NOT going to change therapists, btw, no matter what I suggest. For one thing, it is difficult for him to find therapists willing to accept his government medical assistance. For another, he is not going to change just because Christians, let alone Catholic Christians, disapprove of Eastern philosophy.
And he will not engage in any of the Catholic meditative devotions such as Rosary, Divine Mercy Chaplet, etcetera, precisely because they are Catholic.
He finds chanting of the Soka Gakkai mantra helpful. I am not in a position to gainsay his perceived relief, particularly given that he seems to be following the medical advice of his therapists.
Given the direction his spirituality is taking I am thinking of getting him a CD put out by the Soka Gakkai organization for new practitioners of that faith.
He of course wants to invite several of his friends to the service where he will be invested with a Gohonzon, a sort of mandala or object of veneration, used as a focal point of meditation in the Soka Gakkai liturgy. (We would not be required to be active participants in the investure ceremony, just guests and friends).
I would go only to show my support for my friend’s efforts to become healthy, not as an endorsement of his newfound religious credo. Not attending might well affect him more adversely emotionally (giving him perceived grounds for his irrational distaste for Catholicism), but would not be likely to deter him.
Thoughts? Feedback? Thanks!
