"Knives and Religion" forum?

e_utopia

e_utopia

Joined
Feb 7, 2000
Messages
3,221
How about it? Obviously, religious beliefs come into play in all aspects of knives. Whether it be that the knife is considered sacred, or that someone's views on edged self-defense are directed by their beliefs, or that the making of a knife is a spiritual experience for some makers, or just that some of us happen to <gasp> have religious/spiritual beliefs. Obviously, the general BFC rules apply, but should be more strictly enforced, due to the volatile nature of the subject. Perhaps even password-protect it, although maybe that should be reserved as a last-resort option in case of severe abuse by trolls and flamers (since passwording it would tend to make it seem like we're ashamed of our beliefs).

How about it? Think it might work? I would certainly like having a place like that here, where we could engage in open dialog and help foster understanding, acceptance, and tolerance of each others' beliefs.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
"Knives and Religion" forum?
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Oh man... I don't know about that. If people can't discuss the question "What's the best steel for a sword?" with civility, think about what would happen with religious issues!

Also, I'm sure at least 90% of the people here are Christians. People that don't share those beliefs would feel excluded. Plus, I'm sure you'll get a lot of trolls who would have fun getting a rise out of the zealots.

I like reading about people's religious beliefs in relation to knives, but having a specific forum for that is really asking for trouble. It would have to be password protected, but you'd probably still see horrible flames.
 
Please God, help me figure out how to afford that WAY cool Main Gauche I've been drooling over! (and the large Sebenza, and the Ang Khola, and the Combat Talon, and the...etc.)

That's about as far as my religion and my blades intermingle.
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I cut it, and I cut it, and it's STILL too short!


 
It seems that most of the crowd here is into modern tactical knives. I doubt religion streches that far.

As much as I like older knives and ethnic knives, and would probably find a discussion on the subject interesting; you are going to have a hard time generating a significant number of posts.

About the only way to generate a large number of post on old knives is to call JAMES BOWIE a SISSY.
 
From the way some of the arguments here rage I thought knives were a religion.

If Jim Bowie wasn't a sissy, why didn't he use his bare hands instead of needing a knife? ;-)
 
Every now and then, when people get really heated over sharp objects, and in danger of losing their temper unless quicly quenched, I'll suggest that we change the subject to religion and politics until we all calm down.
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Everything is related to everything else.

Knives are perceived as weapons, and many of us turn to one or more organized religions for guidance on the right and wrong uses of weapons. As weapons, knives are linked to "weapons law" debates in the USA and other countries, which are linked to national elections, which are linked to the general merits and demerits of various politicians and factions, which leads to religion one way or another.

And now we have a thread over in Politics on the US presidential election that has drifted into an argument over the Mormon church, though there are no Mormons among the four main characters. Topic drift happens.
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And I haven't even mentioned how religion is tied into cutlery in other places and other traditions. Wander over to the Himalayan Imports forum for a civil sampling. Take a look at this medallion and tell us if it's ecumenical and/or cultic and/or cutlery related.
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I don't know whether the Knives and Religion Forum is a good idea or not. I'm thinking! I'm thinking! And trying to imagine an evangelical Christian who happens to be pro-RKBA clicking on a thread about whether a Wiccan priestess may carry a double-edged athame in Michigan.
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
No religion forum. This is the wrong place. All of the religious sig lines are about enough for me, thanks.

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AKTI Member #A000832

"Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, the bear eats you."
 
I think I'm satisfied with James Mattis digging up obscure, heroic, and bloody references to edged weaponry in various religious traditions, and then posting them in Community for our mutual admiration . . .
 
There will be no specific forum dedicated to any religion or combination there of. Politics is enough for me and is good arguement fodder. Religion gets a bit personal and can create arguments which go outside the boundries of what this site is about.

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Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
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Mike - If you'll forgive me for saying it
"AMEN"
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Don't wrestle with the hogs - they enjoy it and you get dirty !
Jonesy
 
Bowie is not a sissy. He may dress up like a woman and sing "China Girl" and "Modern Love" and all, but cut him a break here, people......For Gawd's Sake!! (Oops, religious thing there, sorry.)
 
Originally posted by Revvie:
Mike - If you'll forgive me for saying it
"AMEN"
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Click to expand...

Dammit Revvie, you beat me to the punch line on this one.
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Hoodoo

And so, to all outdoor folks, the knife is the most important item of equipment.

Ellsworth Jaeger - Wildwood Wisdom
 
Since Mike has already spoken the Word (No), I thought I would try to liven this thread up a little just to demonstrate how seriously confused things can get when you try to mix knives and religion. I wrote this a few months ago for a thread in the community forum: Knife-a-holics thread

Ten Commandments for Knife-A-Holics:
  1. Thou shalt have No other knives.
  2. Thou shalt not take the name of thy knife's Maker in Vain
  3. Remember the Day of Resting from thy knife preoccupation, if only for a moment.
  4. Thou shalt honor thy Father's and thy Mother's knives.
  5. Thou shalt not Kill with thy knife except in self defense or to feed thyself and others.
  6. Thou shalt not use the knife of thy neighbor. Nor shall thy loan thy knife unto thy neighbor.
  7. Thou shalt not Steal to buy knives.
  8. Thou shalt not bear False Witness unless thou hast a concealed carry permit.
  9. Thou shalt not Covet thy neighbor's knife.
  10. Thou shalt not take Thyself or thy Knives so gosh darned seriously.
    [/list=a]

    Folks, really, I didn't want you to think that I just made these commandments up out of thin air. No. After watching a rerun of George Burns as God in that old movie, I went out for a walk. High up on a nearby hill I saw what looked like a forest fire in the making. As I got a little closer, I realized it was only a single burning bush. Then as I approached the bush, I realized that it was actually a large pink Wholly Mammoth covered in a flowing mane of fuschia. I said something blasphemous and asked what the heck Is this anyway? And it spoke unto me (I hadn't expected that and I fell back upon my knees). It said in a loud trumpeting voice, "I am what I am."

    At that moment I knew I was in Big Trouble. Suddenly, from out of its enormous proboscis came forth a bright flame of fire that was not fire. And it projected this wholly laser onto a nearby boulder. Then the wholly apparition disappeared before I could even say "What the …). Upon the rocks were written the words I have posted above. I have seen the light. I have taken the pledge of non-knifeaholism. I have passed on the words of the Wholly Pink Mammoth. But I didn't write everything 'exactly' as inscribed upon the wholly rock.

    The tenth commandment actually was:

    Thou shalt not use my Wholly Tusks as knife making material!

    I thought that was a little over the top, so I changed it to:

    Thou shalt not take thyself so gosh darned seriously.

    But I was overcome by doubt and guilt and shame. So now I have come clean and can now begin my new knife (oops, I meant Life). Please, won't you come out and prey with me?

    Paracelsus
    Certified Lunatic and Seer of Wholly Visions

    [This message has been edited by Paracelsus (edited 08-14-2000).]
 
Every two weeks, my service provider gives me a report on activity on my website. It tells me how many people looked at every page on my site.

Sometimes, somebody looks at this one LINK, but, often weeks go by with not even a single reader looking. So, I just don't know how much interest there is in the subject.



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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Paracelsus -
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LOL!!
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Chuck - I followed the link. Good essay. Now my Bible is a different translation of what you'd call the Old Testament, with some of the books in a different order, but we're on more or less the same wavelength here.

Here's the blurb from the top of my web site:

The hairy person who first flaked a flint blade (perhaps to peel the fruit of the tree of knowledge) began our entire material civilization and made moral choices both necessary and possible. .... The invention of the knife, marks the separation of humans from the apes, giving our species the ability to alter nature. It is as natural for a human to carry a knife, though one may have no immediate plans for cutting anything, as it is for a literate person to carry a pen, with or without any immediate plans for writing, or to wear a watch, whether on not one has an appointment to keep.
Click to expand...

And notice that the Jewish/Christian creation story says "...and God separated the light from the darkness," creating order from chaos. Spyderco describes their products as "high performance matter separators." We cut things to create things. In the beginning, that's food and clothing from what would be just carion to any other scavenger. And of course, as there is a choice between "life and death, blessing and curse," attached to most everything in life, so a knife can be used to sustain and enhance life, or to create chaos and death.

Here's a secular essay on a similar theme.

Here's a gory bible story with a knife for those who haven't been there before.

And here are some biblical and pagan thoughts on the significance of cutlery.

And did anybody figure out what that medallion is?
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- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001


[This message has been edited by James Mattis (edited 08-14-2000).]
 
Inasmuchas I have so far based my thesis only on the first few chapters of Genesis, texts shared by Christians, Jews, and Muslims, my essay has, so far, broad appeal. But, I am busy expanding on this paper not because anybody reads it (they don't) but because it is personally important to me. It's starting to take on a very Christian perspective.

Man's God-given use of tools is a minor theme that weaves its way through the bible. One of the first acts of man recorded in Genesis is Cain killing his brother Able. The text doesn't go into details, but it wouldn't surprise me if he used some sort of tool, be it a knife, a stick, just a rock, whatever. Throughout the bible, man, who is made in God's image, is using tools, but usually for the worst. Ultimately, man kills God's own son Jesus with tools including a sword.

Ultimately, God asks man who is accustomed to making his own way with his tools, to put that aside, to forget about his own tools, and to simply have faith.

Man's tool use is a great gift from God. It is, what separates us from the rest of the creation. But, our reliance on our own self and on our knives and other tools, our inability to set that aside and simply accept God's love and have faith in his promise is, for many people, their ultimate doom.

So, that's were the essay that nobody reads is eventually headed.

Pretty heavy-duty stuff for bladeforums.com.

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Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
Shaolm - and we all profess to be created in the image of Adonai? oi veih !
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Don't wrestle with the hogs - they enjoy it and you get dirty !
Jonesy

[This message has been edited by Revvie (edited 08-15-2000).]
 
"One of the first acts of man recorded in Genesis is Cain killing his brother Able. The text doesn't go into details, but it wouldn't surprise me if he used some sort of tool, be it a knife, a stick, just a rock, whatever."

While the Bible gives its own translation for the name Cain, it is also the Semitic word for a smith.
 
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