What is in a culture?

[q_q_]

mental and moral abilities/deficiencies have a large genetic component..
just as physical.

I read that 30% of american buddists, are secular jews. And I read that the Dalai lama has said that his best followers are jews.  Intelligent people can adapt very well.. (it's a certain form of intelligence)

[Vito]

<snip>
The only pattern I see is that the countries mentioned are countries which have been oppressed by the white man.

your being facetious here, aren't you?

muman613

Very 

[SavetheWest]

It doesn't matter to me as much if a group can't do well on the IQ test, as it is that they don't want to kill me and/or move to my country and make me a stranger in my own land.

[Rubystars]

Hunter-gatherer tribes, such as those in Africa or those in the Amazon, routinely commit infanticide as part of their culture. That's part of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle because they have no medical facilities for special needs babies, and they can only produce a limited amount of food so even completely healthy babies that come at unwanted times are killed.

There was a story I read of a young girl in the Amazon who was around 2 years old who was healthy except for a slight learning disability. The village chief declared her a non-human and refused to let anyone feed her. She was wandering around in the jungle on her own close to the village and some people tried to feed her secretly but they were putting their life at risk for it.

Many such societies have painful "rites of passage". I saw a documentary about one tribe in Africa holding down a child against his will and making cuts into his face to scarify him. It was a horrible scene. Blood was running down his face, strong men were holding him down, and he was screaming and screaming.

Yes, our society is superior and those other societies need to change.

[Masha]

Genetically all humans are 99.9 % the same

Why am I not one of the finalists in the Olympics then if my DNA is 99.9% similar to that of the winners? Whay have I not invented the theory of relativity if I am so similar to Einstein?

[Masha]

I got a bit of a spark from Chiam's statement in the "Ask JTF" segment of last week when he said that he did not think that any group of people was "genetically inferior".

You do bring up a good point here. You are correct in that Chaim doesn't believe culture has a genetic component.  He believes that cultural characteristics are a matter of choice, not genetics.  Personally, this is one area where I disagree with him. 

I disagree as well. Culture and genetics can't be separated. Our culture largely grows from our natural dispositions.

But that is not the same as talking about "genetic inferiority." This is a value judgement. Define your terms - and one group will be better, another worse. For example, are you talking about running, physical strength, musicality, or solving mathematical equations?

At the same time, I think that all groups have an equal capacity to make moral choices. Morality is not pre-destinied by one's genetics. It is true, for example, that blacks are genetically more aggressive (there have been studies to demonstrate it). Aggressive behavior has a hormonal component. But being more aggressive does not have to automatically imply that you behave like a criminal. You can use your aggression and physical strength in a moral way, for example summon what I call a "holy rage" to fight injustice.

I think that all people are equal in G-d's eyes as moral agents. They have an initial equal human worth and equal responsibility to behave morally. This is where equality begins and ends, in my opinion.

[Daleksfearme]

mental and moral abilities/deficiencies have a large genetic component..
just as physical.

I read that 30% of american buddists, are secular jews. And I read that the Dalai lama has said that his best followers are jews.  Intelligent people can adapt very well.. (it's a certain form of intelligence)

From what I have read in his books, The Dalai Lama does not encourage Jewish converts. I'm sorry I cant remember the exact book, but he did state that His faith has nothing to offer that the Jewish faith does not already have.

I do find the 30% figure very intersting, thank you for that, Do you remember where you saw it?

[q_q_]

mental and moral abilities/deficiencies have a large genetic component..
just as physical.

I read that 30% of american buddists, are secular jews. And I read that the Dalai lama has said that his best followers are jews.  Intelligent people can adapt very well.. (it's a certain form of intelligence)

From what I have read in his books, The Dalai Lama does not encourage Jewish converts. I'm sorry I cant remember the exact book, but he did state that His faith has nothing to offer that the Jewish faith does not already have.

I didn't say he did.

buddists don't really evangelise anyway.

I do find the 30% figure very intersting, thank you for that, Do you remember where you saw it?

I read it in a british jewish tabloid rag, but it's all over the web

The LA Times is probably the source most are relying on

http://www.acfnewsource.org/religion/jubu.html
These individuals are often called JUBUs – Jews by birth who turned to Buddhist practices in search of a spiritual element they feel is lacking in American Judaism. It's been estimated that about 30 percent of American Buddhists are Jewish by birth.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=arEFgUw-4b8C&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=jewish+buddhists+percentage&source=web&ots=w-7cWFehrv&sig=WAES2xrH_zpmsbt6bj8ZxQr0UGE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism By Gary Gach

 
In america , jews comprise less than 3 percent of the population, yet make up at least 15% of non-asian buddhists.

http://joi.org/blog/?p=192
According to an article in The Los Angeles Times, there are a large number of Jews represented in American Buddhist Centers, and perhaps more than 30% of all newcomers to Buddhism are Jewish.

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/02/local/me-jubus2
No one knows for certain how many JuBus there are; the last surveys were conducted in the 1970s. A large majority of the 3 million Buddhists in the United States are Asian, but by some estimates, at least 30% of all newcomers to Buddhism are Jewish. (By comparison, U.S. Jews number 6 million.)

[Daleksfearme]

mental and moral abilities/deficiencies have a large genetic component..
just as physical.

I read that 30% of american buddists, are secular jews. And I read that the Dalai lama has said that his best followers are jews.  Intelligent people can adapt very well.. (it's a certain form of intelligence)

From what I have read in his books, The Dalai Lama does not encourage Jewish converts. I'm sorry I cant remember the exact book, but he did state that His faith has nothing to offer that the Jewish faith does not already have.

I didn't say he did.

buddists don't really evangelise anyway.

I do find the 30% figure very intersting, thank you for that, Do you remember where you saw it?

I read it in a british jewish tabloid rag, but it's all over the web

The LA Times is probably the source most are relying on

http://www.acfnewsource.org/religion/jubu.html
These individuals are often called JUBUs – Jews by birth who turned to Buddhist practices in search of a spiritual element they feel is lacking in American Judaism. It's been estimated that about 30 percent of American Buddhists are Jewish by birth.

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=arEFgUw-4b8C&pg=PA62&lpg=PA62&dq=jewish+buddhists+percentage&source=web&ots=w-7cWFehrv&sig=WAES2xrH_zpmsbt6bj8ZxQr0UGE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Buddhism By Gary Gach

 
In america , jews comprise less than 3 percent of the population, yet make up at least 15% of non-asian buddhists.

http://joi.org/blog/?p=192
According to an article in The Los Angeles Times, there are a large number of Jews represented in American Buddhist Centers, and perhaps more than 30% of all newcomers to Buddhism are Jewish.

http://articles.latimes.com/2006/may/02/local/me-jubus2
No one knows for certain how many JuBus there are; the last surveys were conducted in the 1970s. A large majority of the 3 million Buddhists in the United States are Asian, but by some estimates, at least 30% of all newcomers to Buddhism are Jewish. (By comparison, U.S. Jews number 6 million.)

Thanks for the links.

[q_q_]

well, it's that last one, the LA times one that is the main one..

the rest was just me pointing out that it was all over google.

[Raulmarrio2000]

It's sad that Jews come to Budhism for spiritual growth, instead of Torah.
And regarding people with low IQ, that does not concern us!!! We are not the owners of the world, we have to save Israel and Europe and America from terror.

[q_q_]

It's sad that Jews come to Budhism for spiritual growth, instead of Torah.
And regarding people with low IQ, that does not concern us!!! We are not the owners of the world, we have to save Israel and Europe and America from terror.

Well, jews really benefit from practical and philosophical ntelligence.  To lead a jewish life is very demanding..
And gentiles that are more intelligent are more likely to be a bit universalistic, and not persecute jews  , that helps.
There isn't that much we can do about these things but it helps to at least understand the situation.

[Raulmarrio2000]

It's sad that Jews come to Budhism for spiritual growth, instead of Torah.
And regarding people with low IQ, that does not concern us!!! We are not the owners of the world, we have to save Israel and Europe and America from terror.

Well, jews really benefit from practical and philosophical ntelligence.  To lead a jewish life is very demanding..
And gentiles that are more intelligent are more likely to be a bit universalistic, and not persecute jews  , that helps.
There isn't that much we can do about these things but it helps to at least understand the situation.

I don't agree. Budhism cannot help a Jew in any way. I disagree with Reform but in case I found a Jew lost among strange religions, if he is not willing to be fully Orthodox, I'd advise him to search at least a Reform Synagogue, and not to be lost in complete foreign culture and assimilation.
And regarding Gentiles, I don't believe intelligence people are alaways more tolerant.

[Cato]

Race has everything to do with it. Introduce basic technology to a race of intelligent people, like the Japanese, let it perculate for 100 years, and you get modern Tokyo, leading edge technology and advancement, do the same thing in Africa, or Arabia, and you get nothing, primitives who do nothing with it, might as well hand off ideas and knowledge to chimpanzees, you'll get the same result.

The Khoisan are still crafting spears as their most advanced technology. 

You know, if I were to be dumped in the Kalahari, I would prefer to have a Khoisan there to help me than anyone else, except possibly Rubystars, but we haven't been introduced. If on the other hand if I wanted to contribute to European society, I'd prefer to be in the company of those whose ancestors created it. The fact that blacks can exist in European society does not mean that they contribute meaningfully to it, or that they could have created it in the first place. To me this is so obvious that I am astonished that it is still being discussed.

[q_q_]

It's sad that Jews come to Budhism for spiritual growth, instead of Torah.
And regarding people with low IQ, that does not concern us!!! We are not the owners of the world, we have to save Israel and Europe and America from terror.

Well, jews really benefit from practical and philosophical ntelligence.  To lead a jewish life is very demanding..
And gentiles that are more intelligent are more likely to be a bit universalistic, and not persecute jews  , that helps.
There isn't that much we can do about these things but it helps to at least understand the situation.

I don't agree.

Budhism cannot help a Jew in any way. I disagree with Reform but in case I found a Jew lost among strange religions, if he is not willing to be fully Orthodox, I'd advise him to search at least a Reform Synagogue, and not to be lost in complete foreign culture and assimilation.
And regarding Gentiles, I don't believe intelligence people are alaways more tolerant.

You're not disagreeing with anybody here.

[Daleksfearme]

It's sad that Jews come to Buddhism for spiritual growth, instead of Torah.
And regarding people with low IQ, that does not concern us!!! We are not the owners of the world, we have to save Israel and Europe and America from terror.

Interestingly, many Buddhists have turned to Jews to learn how to love a spiritual life in exile and not allow their own culture to disappear.

[q_q_]

It's sad that Jews come to Buddhism for spiritual growth, instead of Torah.
And regarding people with low IQ, that does not concern us!!! We are not the owners of the world, we have to save Israel and Europe and America from terror.

Interestingly, many Buddhists have turned to Jews to learn how to love a spiritual life in exile and not allow their own culture to disappear.

it's all a joke.

The dalai lama has turned to largely secular jews, asking them what the secret to jewish survival is. And they try to give answers.

These secular jews are disappearing. Even modern orthodox aren't having many children and the children often either go left into secularism, or right.