Christians & the rank of Master

[patusai]

Gen_Tora, That was very well put!

[MartialArthur]

patusai, while I agree that it is a rediculous argument, you are missing an important point. The Bible does not say that you cannot call someone "father", but it does say that "you cannot serve two masters" (Mathew 6:24).

This is, of course, a silly argument because I don't know anyone who "serves" his MA master.

[bald1rides]

I brought a piece of pumpkin cheese cake to my "Master" - he's an old dude who does not dwell on formality and doesn't insist on anyone calling him master. I don't think I was "serving" him, I do think I was doing an great old divorced guy a homemade dessert type favour. The best kind of favour IMO.

[Zorba]

its a different meaning of master

hell, isnt a young male called a master too?

what about chefs, there are master chefs too.

master = instructor = sensai (in karate) etc etc

not master = boss = you say and i do master

[dtstiachi]

I am a Christian and I am currentlty studying to be a pastor. I have no problem calling a sensei or teacher "master." He or she has worked hard and obtained that rank and I will call them that out of respect for the rank. It is not a "worship" issue, but a respect one in my book.

[Spirit At Choice]

To me..."master" is the title granted to me by my association. It is basically short for "master instructor", and not that I feel like I am anyone's master, but I do think i've become a pretty decent teacher over the last 20 years...

I always thought of it as short for "Master of XYZ Martial Art." I never thought of it as my Master.

[bushido_man96]

This is how I feel about this situation: Do you still call your doctor Dr. Smith, or do you refuse to recoginize his station? What about teachers? This is how I view the master title; it is a station achieved in the MA community, and it should not be offensive to anyone of a religious manner.

[WudangDragon]

Im fine with calling my Sifu exactly that because the way I see it, he (or she - depends on your situation obviously) has worked and trained very hard to obtain his knowledge and should therefore be respected for this.

However, I feel I have been without faith for a long time and am considering looking to find an alternative religion (im currently Catholic). The main religions I'd look into are Zen-Bhuddism and Taoism.

[lordtariel]

I believe that you're taking things too literally. I believe the bible is refering to master in the spiritual sense not the physical sense. If you follow somone and serve them as if they were god, then you have a problem.

[HongKongFooey]

I don't know why people let religion get in the way of an activity they enjoy. Is it guilt? Fear? Someone help me to understand, here.