Tell them their worthless mockeries mean nothing and that you bought it for the Kenyans and that you will wear it with pride.Shadowchild wrote:A very nice missionary from my church has recently stayed the past year or two in Kenya. Now God has led her to go to Costa Rica. *applause* So anyways she brought back jewelry and stuff to sell to raise money for thekids in Kenya to go to school. I bought a really pretty necklace made of cow bones. Everyone freaks out when I tell them what it is. What is wrong with it. People wear shark teeth and alligator teeth why cant I wear a necklace made of cow bones without being laughed at or grossing someone out?
Has America gone to animism while I was sleeping or only your town? Religious symbolism is another thing, but ultimately if nobody including you understands the symbols does it matter?Mave wrote:Perhaps the negative reaction may be due to the belief that some of these objects are cursed or carry some form of evil along with it.
This explanation may sound ridiculous or unreasonable to some individuals but from where I come from, it's common agreement that some souvenirs are cursed with black magic or represent the worship of some god. I've thrown away some gifts from another country before since I don't feel comfortable looking at them or using them.
Still, I doubt those bones from Kenya have anything to do with this. Personally, I don't fancy bones as an accessory but I wouldn't stop anyone from wearing them. *nods*
GhostontheNet wrote:Has America gone to animism while I was sleeping or only your town? Religious symbolism is another thing, but ultimately if nobody including you understands the symbols does it matter?
Ah, that explains it, after all it seems to me that the religions that are gaining much sucess in the U.S. at the presentb are those that contain a high degree of selfishness.Mave wrote:I'm sorry, I failed to mention that I grew up in Asia but am currently located in U.S. So, no, I did not observe this animism you speak of in some town in the U.S. Some cultures just happen to view things differently and I will respect these differences even if I disagree with them.
Hence my second clause abouy the wearer also not knowing the symbolism. One may perhaps compare the entire New Testament issue of meat sacrificed to idols (the only meat to be found actually).Does it matter? Yes, it does if I don't feel spiritually comfortable with it.
GhostontheNet wrote: Hence my second clause abouy the wearer also not knowing the symbolism. One may perhaps compare the entire New Testament issue of meat sacrificed to idols (the only meat to be found actually).
If the wearer of some piece of religious symbolism is unaware of the symbolism behind it, and the community they live in is also unaware of the symbolism of an object, than it does not really matter that they wear it. And as previously noted, this would compare with the issue in the New Testament about whether or not one could eat meat that was sacrificed to idols, which in the pagan societies of the Graeco-Roman world was the only way to eat meat.Mave wrote:I'm afraid I did not understand your second clause. Could you elaborate further pls?
Naturally, which is why Yeshua Chist Himself actually makes a big deal about actually teaching people to eat meat sacrificed to idols in Revelation, because it is a potential stumbling stone and gateway to or back to idolatry, it would be better for the weaker brother to abstain from eating meat.Mave wrote:Ah I see. Ok, I agree with that and think this may apply in Shadowchild's case.
Still, I see nothing wrong with staying away from something you don't feel spiritually comfortable, regardless of whether you fully understand its symbolism.
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