In grad program for STEM

>in grad program for STEM
>traditionalist Catholic
>read one work of literary fiction every week
So this is it. I have achieved patrician Nirvana.

Christianity is by definition plebian, spreading God's word & promise from a small cadre of hook-nosed elites to all human beings and beyond. Elitism makes no sense in Christianity, nor do any pagan power games

*tips*

to be humble and low is to be morally elite in today's world

I don't use "plebian" in the pejorative sense there, though I see how it seems like I do. There's nothing wrong with being a pleb, or a normie. Just because these words make you feel disgust doesn't necessarily mean that the things they refer to are bad. The elitist context that sneers on everything below it is the bad thing, not the plebs.

Even if it is so, it can't be so from the inside. That is, nobody can ever pride themselves on their humility. That would be ridiculous! So no Christian should ever feel superior than other people merely because he is Christian. For it is not only the weak and small who are blessed, but even those who are poor in spirit

>in accelerated STEM program with honors
>Orthodox Christian and practicing Buddhist
>exclusively read philosophy and theology
Feels good OP.

It's only patrish to be a catholic if you were raised a protest-ant and are from a country that was part of the protest.

>green texts life in self-indulgent affirmation desperation
Feels good man

And yet you're still here- you can't be that functional.

>studying geometry with euclid
>reading plato and aristotle
>listening to modern recitals of homer in the original reconstructed greek
>attaining holiness through the new testament
>becoming at one with the world through mystical texts

im glad i started with the greeks

>all these mediocre STEM cucks using the fact that they read literature to make up for the fact that they aren't smart enough to really excel in STEM by adopting the identity of "patrician"
>hey I may not be that great at math, but I learn both science AND literature! That makes me like a renaissance man right?!
>tfw this is the age of specialization and these people are pretty much destined for mediocrity, albeit a deluded mediocrity hiding behind the identity of the "cultured scientific man"
>tfw top philosophy student at top graduate university, making legitimate contributions to my specialization
I pity you all

Favorite book of The Elements?

12 or 13 for me.

literal retards

>degree in eng lit
>masturbate constantly
>work part time
>drink a lot
>use prostitutes every few months
>probably to south east asia
>work out three times a week
>read one book a month
>buy drugs online

i am god

>philosophy student
>contributing anything
>specializing

Yeah, we're gonna want some refills on our waters, thanks sport. Don't think too hard about it.

>entire argument is that STEM majors, who require a rigorous education in mathematics, aren't smart enough to excel at math
>is a philosophy major
hmmm...

Nice meme mate. Actually made me kek.

t. actual orthodox christian

enjoy your mediocre deluded deskjobs, retards

>tfw you need to write 4 lines of clumsy angry greentext every day to rationalize wasting your life on something completely worthless
Damn... I wish I was a grad philosophy student at a top university.

>bad at math
>wants the identity of 'cultured scientific man'
>destined for a mediocre desk job
>t. philosophy student

>spend 60-70% of my work time in untouched remote forests studying pristine wildlife
>spend remaining time in high tech well funded lab
protip: spending all your time in your room or a classroom doesn't mean it isn't a desk job.

>all philosophy work is done sitting
STEMspergs are terribly misinformed.

>no true Scotsman
>doesn't even understand the compatibility of Theravadan meditation and experiencing divinity
Enjoy remaining blind to God in your ignorance friendo.

Philosophy is dead. STEM is everything and more. Not to mention ethics courses as electives.

enjoy your lack of a job whilst living in equivalent mediocrity, hack

>"works" on philosophy while standing

yeah okay

case in point

>yes sir I get to stand up at my desk and even write on a board sometimes in my stuffy office setting, I'm living the dream!

>this post sed so so iz rite
wow rigor
nee chee did it, and I for one have transcribed recorded conversations with local elders and such while walking, driving through the country, or sitting on their farm.

>not understanding that all forms of Buddhism are fundamentally incompatible with Christianity
>not understanding that Orthodox Christianity in particular is strictly against Buddhist practices
>le enlightened "western buddhism"
>le hipster Orthodoxy
>being a living meme
Enjoy looking back at this time in several years and feeling the embarrassment of having been a pseud poseur.

And how, exactly, is Orthodox Christianity incompatible with Theravadan Buddhism? They are completely exclusive areas of magisteria. The only area that has ever been in conflict is the doctrine of anatman, which has only been in conflict within those who fundamentally misunderstand what anatman really entails. They are fundamentally compatible systems because they are fundamentally separate systems, and the countless scholars from nearly every major tradition of both Buddhism and Christianity who have written at great lengths about their co-existence would agree.

I was born into an Orthodox family as a 2nd generation Polish/Russian. It seems to me that the only people who get this upset are those who weren't born into the Orthodox tradition and are deeply upset at the idea that their super cool LARP club isn't as exclusive as they think.

>theravada
lol

so you're a westerner who's into orthodoxy and fucking theravada buddhism

>lol
Great argument my friend, you really proved me wrong.

i'm not who you were arguing with i'm just laughing at you

Buddhist cosmology is incompatible with Christian one, karma and rebirth are directly contradictory to Christian worldview and there are dozens of lesser technical points which cannot be consolidated with Christian theology at all. 'Countless scholars' you're referring to are pop spiritualists propagating 'western buddhism' applying the protestant approach of autistically reducing Theravada to Pali Canon and then using an extremely convoluted compatiblist interpretation of it. It's all pointless memery save for practices, which remain beneficial on their own of course, but certainly do not constitute Buddhism as a whole. Orthodox church and Russian Orthodox Church in particular has very strong opinions on Buddhism overall declaring it to be a 'religion of good' but not the true religion and in many ways harmful to our true understanding of God, which you should be aware of. But of course you seem to have the idea that being 'born into it' alone somehow automatically imbues you with knowledge and understanding and makes your naive notions of Orthodox theology valid. It's highly ironic that you would accuse others of LARPing considering your preoccupation with putting trendy spiritual labels on yourself without truly comprehending what they stand for first. This might be a great technique to score some undergrad pussy, but is somewhat embarrassing in a serious discussion, фaмaлaм.

>stemtard
>cathocuck
>"""""""""reader"""""""""
you are but a dilettante

>doing heroin
>atheist
>don't read anything cause heroin is better
just fuck off
you all are fucking poseurs and pseuds

Tradition is the corpse of wisdom.

>being religious
Religion has literally only held the world back.
Prove me wrong.
>inb4 le "this famous scientist wuz christian!!"
Not an argument.

>karma and rebirth are directly contradictory to Christian worldview
In most Mahayana (aka. the kind of "Western Buddhism" you're thinking about) this is the case, but talk to any Theravadan monk and they'll tell you that karma is a naturalistic force, and rebirth is only a descriptor for the perpetual energy of that force. Saying that either are incompatible with the metaphysics of Christianity is like saying that Heaven can't exist because gravity exists -- it is inconsistent nonsense.
>pop spiritualists
So now Thomas Merton is a pop spiritualist? Your No True Scotsman fallacy never ends. I will agree with you that there is a large movement in America pushing a hollow compatibilist interpretation of both traditions, which you seem to mistakenly believe is the only case where they have ever been taken in together. That is, after all, your entire argument thus far, one out of complete ignorance of actual Buddhist history and doctrine. I question how much you even know about the Theravadan tradition in particular if you think it's trendy. It's unquestionably the least trendy tradition, and the 2nd least westernized.

If it makes you feel any better, I learned to practice both while living in a Buddhist monastery for over a year in China, and received direct guidance from multiple high ranking abbots. I also stayed in 3 different Mahayana temples across Southeast Asia (one of which was an undercover Vajrayana temple), so I understand the incompatibilities of other traditions very well. The rigor of the monastic Theravadan tradition far surpasses whatever notions of "trendy spiritual labels" you're mistakenly thinking of. I would implore you to at least gain direct legitimate monastic experience if you're going to try to claim fundamental incompatibilities within its practice.