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Old 07-28-2005, 01:03 PM   #20
Erick Mead
 
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Dojo: Big Green Drum (W. Florida Aikikai)
Location: West Florida
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Re: Relating Aikido and Christianity

Quote:
Matthew Materazzi wrote:
And O'Sensei was wrong about Jesus. He did not start a religion. Religions are man made and full of rules and regulations. Jesus took the sins of man upon him and then died for them, raised himself up after 3 days, then after 40 days here on earth, ascended into heaven. He told his disciples to go out into the world and baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He never said to start building places of worship, and to set rules and regulations up...He just said "Go."
As Jesus was both man and God acording to orthodoxy, it would be true what you say, but to leave it at that impliedly denies His humanity, as much as you would have O-Sensei avoid impledly denying His divinity.

Since, being both God and man it would, however, also be true that Jesus did create a religion, a Church, man-made as it is. So O-Sensei was correct in what he actually said.

It is the imlication to which your real argument is directed. The further statement regarding divinity, O-Sensei did not make, which you feel the need to complete. This I understand.

That issue was not the point of his statement in context, however. O-Sensei was not debating Christology, but helping a troubled student reconcile his spirit in a correctly ordered manner. There is nothing incorrect about O-Sensei's ordering of these matters.

Aikido and those who practice it are plainly intended to be servants of larger ends, and not an end in itself. A more Christian attitude of humility in respect of the marvelous life's work that he made of Aikido, I cannot imagine.

The denial that you perceive, he did not actually say, nor should it be implied in the context it was made.

Cordially,
Erick Mead
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