People of any belief who have made a positive difference

[BetheButterfly]

Hello,

 

As a Christian, it disturbs me seeing intolerance, disrespect, and close-mindedness against people of different beliefs. So, let's have a thread about people of any/no belief in God who have helped or in the present do help people.

 

Instead of badmouthing, disrespecting, or insulting anyone of any belief, if there is anyone of any belief that you would like to write about who you admire, it would be great to give them a tribute. Showing tolerance, respect, and open-mindedness doesn't hurt anybody.

 

To begin...

 

Gandhi, a Hindu who cared for people no matter their religion/belief, taught people all over the world about peace and working together. Instead of using violence, he used intelligence and peaceful resistance to help his people. I am very thankful for his stand that he took and for all he did for others. He is truly an amazing man. Even though I am not a Hindu, I greatly respect and admire him for his philosophy, accomplishments, and the positive difference his life made, and still makes today. He is one of my heroes!

 

Below are some amazing, incredibly intelligent, and profound quotes from Gandhi:

 

“Be The Difference You Want To See In The World” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?"

Mahatma Gandhi

,

"Non-Violence in Peace and War"

Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

 

"Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.

"

"I cannot teach you violence, as I do not myself believe in it. I can only teach you not to bow your heads before any one even at the cost of your life."

"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." "The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

 

"

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."

 

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

 

- from

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/

Edited June 16, 2011 by BetheButterfly

[Eve]

In terms of self explanation via psychoanalysis, one of my favourite Authors EVER is Erich Fromm. Fromm was a Jewish Authour. I admire the fact that he truly studied the Bible and I find his exploration into culture, faith and humanism absolutely illuminating.

 

I love him.

 

He called himself an atheist humanist or something.. awaiting the messianic age.

 

He is a prolific Authour and his books are a real treat. I am working my way through them. Some quotes.

 

As we ascend the social ladder, viciousness wears a thicker mask.

Erich Fromm

 

Authority is not a quality one person "has," in the sense that he has property or physical qualities. Authority refers to an interpersonal relation in which one person looks upon another as somebody superior to him.

Erich Fromm

 

Both dreams and myths are important communications from ourselves to ourselves. If we do not understand the language in which they are written, we miss a great deal of what we know and tell ourselves in those hours when we are not busy manipulating the outside world.

Erich Fromm

 

Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.

Erich Fromm

 

Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.

Erich Fromm

 

If a person loves only one other person and is indifferent to all others, his love is not love but a symbiotic attachment, or an enlarged egotism.

Erich Fromm

 

If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then am I?

Erich Fromm

 

Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you.' Mature love says 'I need you because I love you.'

Erich Fromm

 

In love the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two.

Erich Fromm

 

In the nineteenth century the problem was that God is dead. In the twentieth century the problem is that man is dead.

Erich Fromm

 

Just as love is an orientation which refers to all objects and is incompatible with the restriction to one object, so is reason a human faculty which must embrace the whole of the world with which man is confronted.

Erich Fromm

 

Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.

Erich Fromm

 

Love is often nothing but a favorable exchange between two people who get the most of what they can expect, considering their value on the personality market.

Erich Fromm

 

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.

Erich Fromm

 

Love is union with somebody, or something, outside oneself, under the condition of retaining the separateness and integrity of one's own self.

Erich Fromm

 

Man always dies before he is fully born.

Erich Fromm

 

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve.

Erich Fromm

 

Man's biological weakness is the condition of human culture.

Erich Fromm

 

Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality.

Erich Fromm

 

Most people die before they are fully born. Creativeness means to be born before one dies.

Erich Fromm

 

Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/erich_fromm.html#ixzz1PTVvXlrf

 

Look him up!

 

Take care,

Eve x

[aerogurl87]

Mine is kinda odd, but ever since I read the biography of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, I've admired him greatly as a person. He was an athiest but he believed in equality for all. I remember reading that he showed disgust when he visited the Soviet Union and saw the inequality between the higher ups and the proletariat. He strongly believed in what he thought was right and worked his whole life to make it so that everyone could be equal, even if it wasn't done the best way. But that's why I admire him.

[Disillusioned]

Don't forget al-Maari and Abu Nuwas. Their wicked, irreverent senses of humor were the sticks they used to beat the hypocrisy of other Muslims among whom they lived. But basically they were a couple of pretty straight-up guys who knew how to give as good as they got.

[BetheButterfly]

I've never heard of Erich Fromm, Al-Maari, or Abu Nuwas before. I definitely want to look them up! Thanks for posting about them!

 

Che is incredibly interesting and definitely had a passion to fight for people who he saw were oppressed by the rich. I admire his chispa (spark) and desire for equality for all.