felix—is there anything more important in religion than the golden rule…
Empathy and compassion are among the best qualities of being mammalian. I’m not sure knowing the golden rule per se ever results in anyone being more empathic or compassionate. Empathy and compassion don’t happen in a vacuum. They occur in the context of connectedness with all that is. that sense of connectedness is the essence of spirituality and that spirituality is the best part of religion.
felix–can you say more about this nature of connectedness…we may be on the same page…
As with most things of this sort, The Golden Rule is fraught with problematic implications “out in the world”. There is no “bottom line”, just points of view rooted in particular situations perceived in particular ways.
Start here, for example:
Sometimes I am just amazed at what we have to explain … 
There is nothing less important in religion than the Golden Rule. All religions are formed of creeds that whilst attempting to recruit more followers are built upon hierarchies and exclusions. They exclude those outside religion from having the rights of those within it, and provide differential rights to those within it; based on the hierarchies, upon age, race and upon gender.
Even within the same ‘religion’ there are sects that are constantly at odds with each other: protestant/catholic, Shite/Sunni in which each competing creed are not treated with the golden rule especially by those that take the trouble to espouse it.
In this they are no different from any other political entity, whose main job, it seems to be to differentially represent the interests of a group by discrimination of their interests and attributes.
Enough of religions. Other political entities whilst proclaiming democracy as a political ideology that ought to preserve the golden rule - at least in the issue of the access to voting rights, rarely extend to others what they offer their own citizenry.
You have only to look at the foreign policy of the USA, that has whilst preaching democracy across the world and intrigued and warred against the democratic wishes of nations in cases too numerous to mention to the ruin of many lands.
For the uninitiated, consider the CIA assassination of the democratically elected Salvador Allende; the US/UK plot to overthrown that secular leader of Iran, Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953, they placed Shah Pahlavi in power who murdered and tortured his people until the popular uprising that gave us the travesty of a religious state; the assassination of Aldo Moro Italy’s president by the CIA under Kissenger; the rejection of the democratically elected Hamas- (democracy is okay whilst the people vote as you want them to).
If you want more examples ask John PIlger .
So Act as you Believe? I think not. Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law: I think not.
Nice aspirations, but judge not by their words - but by their deeds!
so the hell with the golden rule…behavior is the bottom line and dog eat dog…isnt that our nature…
how do you all WANT to live…
You (and everyone) will do what you do until you don’t anymore.
what will you do…
Me personally???
…keep you alive if you ever gave that choice.
james ill bet in your hypothalamus there are structures that will lead to personal survival AND species survival…that is the way you are wired…how about the species…how do you personally act for species survival
To me, it isn’t really “the species”.
It is who is already alive and trying to survive, not merely who might be later.
“We can always get another one of those… as long as we still have you.”
james i think that the neuroscientist would say there are two basic instincts------one is personal survival and the other is species survival…
do you agree…
I agree that he might say that.
…now ask me if I care what some over-educated moron thinks, if you have any doubt.
Do you ask a car mechanic the purpose of a car?
…or a carpenter for the purpose of a tree?
…honestly, what kind of answer would you expect to get?
james you are smarter than that…the question for you---------do you james have any evidence to refute the theory
that there are two basic instincts wired in the brain and leading to behavior…you certainly would agree with personal survival…are you having trouble with species survival…
No creature to my knowledge has ever been born with any concept at all of there even being a species to live for.
The entire notion is absolute absurdity propagated only by those who have their own [socialist] agenda for doing so.
The more people who believe in such non-sense, the easier it is to get them to sacrifice everything important to them as well as themselves to ensure the life style of the emperor.
what the hell are you talking about…survival of the species would be hindered by the emperor
The Emperor survives by others being dedicated to the society surviving (ie “the species”/“the race”/“the culture”) to the point of risking themselves for his cause.
james you got me off track------------do you have any evidence