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Theme Changer

 Topic: Superstition

 (Read 3042 times)
  • 1« Previous thread | Next thread »
  • Superstition
     OP - October 19, 2014, 01:08 PM

    I remember as a child trying to avoid stepping on the cracks in the pavement because the trolls would get me or running across the bedroom floor after turning the lights out because the crocodiles under my bed would get me.

    I had been told to avoid walking under ladders and similar.

    Why is it that some things, which to be honest, are also superstitions, get a veneer of respectability because they are somehow religious injunctions?

    Would someone kindly tell me the difference?  Why are they not all superstitions?


    When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


    A.A. Milne,

    "We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
  • Superstition
     Reply #1 - October 19, 2014, 01:30 PM

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ul7X5js1vE
  • Superstition
     Reply #2 - October 19, 2014, 02:00 PM

    ^^ Saw you'd posted last on this thread. Started whistling Superstition. Clicked on thread.
  • Superstition
     Reply #3 - October 19, 2014, 02:46 PM

    I remember as a child trying to avoid stepping on the cracks in the pavement because the trolls would get me or running across the bedroom floor after turning the lights out because the crocodiles under my bed would get me.

    I had been told to avoid walking under ladders and similar.

    Why is it that some things, which to be honest, are also superstitions, get a veneer of respectability because they are somehow religious injunctions?

    Would someone kindly tell me the difference?  Why are they not all superstitions?



    Because the Quran says so
  • Superstition
     Reply #4 - October 19, 2014, 03:13 PM

    For example, why do we allow anyone to work with mainstream Islamic scholars?  I want to work with mainstream troll therapists!

    Quote
    Muslim women's centre reports rise in number of patients claiming to be possessed
    Imran Azam
    Sunday 19 October 2014
    HEALTHCARE professionals in Scotland are likely to face an increase in cases of ethnic minority patients claiming to be spiritually possessed.

    Staff at Amina Muslim Women's Resource Centre (Amina MWRC) in Glasgow and Dundee say they are experiencing a rise in clients attributing mental health difficulties to supernatural spirits.

    Smina Akhtar, director of Amina MWRC, revealed that 70% of her counsellor's workload since 2012 involves dealing with issues related to the paranormal.

    Speaking to the Sunday Herald, she said: "Many of the women who initially contact us want relationship counselling but after a few sessions they highlight the issue of possession by Jinn (in the Islamic faith, supernatural creatures made from fire) or that someone is practising black magic on their family.

    "They do not feel confident in confiding in their local GP, fearing they will be ridiculed. They feel confident in telling us. For us primarily this is a mental health issue. However, you have some people who will blame their predicament on external factors.

    "We would like the NHS to work with mainstream Islamic scholars and Muslim groups in helping such individuals. Faith-based support should be offered as long as it does not contradict or oppose conventional medicine or treatment."

    Earlier this month, Amina MWRC, in conjunction with the Rationalist Society of Pakistan, held an event titled Jinn, Black Magic and the Evil Eye: Fact or Fiction?

    The organisation is also working with the University of West of Scotland social work department, which is undertaking research regarding health inequalities, with particular focus on the phenomenon of Jinn possession.

    Akhtar fears that vulnerable individuals will turn to alternative options if their concerns are ignored by health officials.

    She added: "More and more people are turning to 'faith healers' who promise to remove Jinn from themselves or their loved ones. They advertise their services on foreign TV channels that are beaming into many Asian households. They give assurances but their help comes at a price.

    "They don't work for free. But who regulates them? My concern is that those who are desperate, especially females, will turn to unscrupulous individuals putting them and their families in danger."

    Attempts to cure those who are possessed can lead to fatal consequences. Two years ago a husband and three members of his family were jailed in Birmingham after he killed his pregnant wife in a bid to remove an evil spirit from her body.

    Abdul Aziz, a Scottish-based Islamic scholar, also spoke at the event organised by AMINA MWRC. He believes that despite the issue of Jinn being widely accepted among Muslims, possession is "possible but extremely rare".

    He added: "Unfortunately, the Muslim community are no longer pioneers in treatment of emotional ill health and have resorted to un-Islamic notions of spirit possession as an explanation for everything from bad luck and marital infidelity to schizophrenia.

    "Many use religion to exploit the vulnerable. The stigma associated with mental illness and the reliance on poorly qualified so-called Imams are major barriers to Muslims accessing the right kind of social, emotional and psychological help."

    The panel also included Dr Najat Khalifa, an associate professor and consultant forensic psychiatrist from the University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. His research interests include religion and mental health, personality disorder and offending behaviour. His advice to his colleagues north of the Border is that they should be open to a faith perspective relating to their patients' problems.

    "Evidence from research suggests that some Muslims perceive psychological difficulties as indicative of an unsound spiritual heart. This can lead to conflict between orthodox medicine and religiosity and patients may use a range of religion-based coping strategies without telling their doctor," he said.

    "The issues that arise out of working collaboratively with religious leaders need to be explored in more depth, and further research could examine how this happens in practice, identifying potential pitfalls and areas of good practice."




    http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/health/muslim-womens-centre-reports-rise-in-number-of-patients-claiming-to-be-possessed.25627646

    When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


    A.A. Milne,

    "We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
  • Superstition
     Reply #5 - October 19, 2014, 03:15 PM

    I'm still plagued with some superstitious habits inherited from my Muslim days, unfortunately. One thing I was successful at shaking off, though (which I noticed recently) is saying "Bismillah" when throwing hot water into a sink. So I expect a Jinn to possess me any day now.

    He's no friend to the friendless
    And he's the mother of grief
    There's only sorrow for tomorrow
    Surely life is too brief
  • Superstition
     Reply #6 - October 19, 2014, 04:57 PM

    In Britain, I think superstitions are things a minority of people do, and if they do, not really in a way that is life effecting unless there is illness around.

    Are there major differences between how superstitious different groups are?

    When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


    A.A. Milne,

    "We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
  • Superstition
     Reply #7 - October 19, 2014, 05:01 PM

    Quote
    Superstition is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event causes another without any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology, religion, omens, witchcraft, prophecies, etc., that contradicts natural science.[1]

    Opposition to superstition was central to 17th century Rationalist Benedict de Spinoza[2] and the intellectuals of the 18th century Age of Enlightenment. The philosophes at that time rejected any belief in miracles, revelation, magic, or the supernatural, as "superstition," as well as unreasoned Christian doctrine.[3]

    The word superstition is sometimes used to refer to religious practices (e.g., Voodoo) other than the one prevailing in a given society (e.g., Christianity in western culture), although the prevailing religion may contain just as many superstitious beliefs.[1] It is also commonly applied to beliefs and practices surrounding luck, prophecy and spiritual beings, particularly the belief that future events can be foretold by specific (apparently) unrelated prior events.[4


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition

    Are the differences traceable back to 300 years of the Enlightenment?  Is there a problem with calling this stuff superstion or is it somehow not pc to do that?

    When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


    A.A. Milne,

    "We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
  • Superstition
     Reply #8 - October 19, 2014, 08:52 PM

    I'm still plagued with some superstitious habits inherited from my Muslim days, unfortunately. One thing I was successful at shaking off, though (which I noticed recently) is saying "Bismillah" when throwing hot water into a sink. So I expect a Jinn to possess me any day now.


    About 8 years since I was a believing Muslim and I still to this day say alhamdulillah when I sneeze!

    Superstitions make me laugh because religious people will follow the superstitions of their own religion but ridicule the superstitions of other religions. Imagine if it was Hindus and not Muslims who had to walk into the bathroom left foot first, and walk out right foot first, Muslims would be laughing about those crazy superstitious Hindus

    Religion - The hot potato that looked delicious but ended up burning your mouth!

    Knock your head on the ground, don't be miserly in your prayers, listen to your Sidi Sheikh, Allahu Akbar! - Lounes Matoub
  • Superstition
     Reply #9 - October 20, 2014, 02:15 PM

    Sorry, I thought that was mosques, not bathrooms!  Have you got the superstition right?  Are there heretical ways to carry out  - we need a word for them - ocd related / religiously inspired superstitions?

    Can we not enhance them?  You have to walk on tip toes and put your big toe down first, then turn your ankle in a semi circular way before entering a mosque?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV2ViNJFZC8

    How precisely does doing them get you into heaven, or not doing them, or not doing them properly into hell?  How does anyone know?  Why does Allah care?  Has he nothing better to do?  I saw you last Saturday in January, you stepped inside the mosque with the wrong foot, a hair showed outside your hijab, you had some pork, you petted a dog...

    When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


    A.A. Milne,

    "We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
  • Superstition
     Reply #10 - October 20, 2014, 03:37 PM

    I've never bought into any superstition. Ever.

    Fingers crossed, the rest of the world will grow out of this childish trait also.

    Hi
  • Superstition
     Reply #11 - October 20, 2014, 03:41 PM

     Cheesy
  • Superstition
     Reply #12 - October 20, 2014, 04:02 PM

    It seems that one is Christian in origin!

    When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.


    A.A. Milne,

    "We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
  • Superstition
     Reply #13 - October 20, 2014, 10:53 PM

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zros922WoI
  • 1« Previous thread | Next thread »