Coolest Religion ?

[Enigma]

I'll get shot down for this but religion is the single most dangerous thing ever invented by mankind.

That is not say there is no God, there is. But he is not in some church or temple or chapel. He is within you spiritually as your conscience. Externally he is visible in all you see as nature. From Stars to microbes.

The established churches are nothing more than hypocritcal clubs who try to mould everyone into a set way of things.. The only teachings you should follow are the 10 commandments.

So, listen with your heart, think with your head and act according to your conscience.

[Sui]

Eh, well, I've always had a soft spot for Wicca... then again, I am a Judeo-Christian Wiccan myself... (I know, it's weird) Buddhism and Shinto are also fairly high on my list. I like the idea of multiple gods rather than just a single omnipotent, omnipresent et cetera type of God person. And the reason I believe that takes me back to my days of playing Black and White (God sim game) and The Sims. If there's nothing to counteract the single god, whats to stop them from being horribly horribly mean =3 *evil grin*

[ardus]

[Takes a deep breath] Ok here comes the big rant. I don't personally truk with organized religion for a couple reasons. Reason #1 is that any organized religion eventually succums to gravity and becomes a business. You see it with any of the truly large international religions, they're all about gaining more members so they can pump more tithes into their coffers and that lets them exercise more power and control. I grew up in Salt Lake City, home of the mormon church and I know firsthand what an out of control church does when it has political power and if you'll excuse the pun more money than god. My second problem with organized religion is that people tend to adobt a flocking sheep mentality with religion. I.E. they take whatever position they're authority figure tells them and mindlessly obey it without any though or possibility of argument. The more devout somebody is the worse a sheep they generally are.

This is not to say that I think all religious people are bad, but in groups they tend to get bad. Individually or among friends its usually fine, but you get a large group of faithful together and they just lose all perception of reality.

As you can probably tell I am not really religious. I don't quite know where the creator fits into the universe but that's for me to discover as I go through life. I do however come from a VERY religious family and I know how confining and mind closing it can be.

Anyway, that's my rant on religion.

[marshlander]

[Takes a deep breath] Ok here comes the big rant ...
Anyway, that's my rant on religion.

Ardus, you almost took the words out of my mouth. Although I didn't grow up in the USA I was brought up as a Mormon and it took me till I was 25 to recognise what it had done to me. Unfortunately it was a near-suicidal depression that was the wake-up call. After that I began to notice the way religious organisations, not just Mormons, twist language and minds to suit their own ends. The most difficult part was convincing family and friends that I didn't have a problem because I had "lost my testimony". They were the ones who had a problem with it.

Actually I did get to go to SLC a few years ago. One of my children married a Utah girl and they are very happy and now living in Ohio. Unfortunately, because I was not a believer, the closest I got to the wedding ceremony was to babysit everyone else's children at the in-laws' house, because they got married in the Salt Lake Temple, which, as you no doubt know, is barred to the "unworthy".

I'm not sure where you're coming from on this, at all, Shadow, because "cool" is a word I don't think I could ever use to describe religion. Perhaps our lives are enriched by a bit of awe and wonder, but I don't think that's the same thing.

Enigma, "The only teachings you should follow are the 10 commandments". Are you serious?
1. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me ..."
2. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ..."
3. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ..."
4. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy ..."
The 5th "thou shalt" (i.e. "honour your parents") also seems designed to enforce the status quo and stop all argument before reason can set in. Parents do not always honour their children, unfortunately. If we're going to have simple rules to guide the way we organise our societies, we might do at least as well to start with something along the lines of Primum non nocere (first, do no harm) a concept associated primarily with practitioners of medicine, which (while the origins of the phrase may be disputed) it is at least acknowledged as having been first spoken by a member of the same species, not a disembodied voice in a magical burning bush!

As to the "don'ts" (kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness and covet), they may or may not work as ideals, but some are too reductionist for the kind of society we live in and the lives most of us lead. While I don't suppose we have many murderers amongst us, I'd be surprised if anyone could honestly claim to have kept all ten commandments or even all of these last five ...

Religion is one of those man-made inventions used to control the masses, privilege the few and is an excuse for its adherents to avoid taking responsibility for their own actions. I've met some lovely people who are also "believers" and I see no reason why they would be anything other than lovely people without their religious affiliations.

No, sorry. Coolest religion? I don't get it at all.

Regards

[Enigma]

In often wonder why Jews, Muslims, and Christians fight each other. For the Ten commandments are almost exactly mirrored in the teachings of Moses, Mohammed, and Jesus. They all say Jesus was a prophet and they all say there is only one God. Why the conflicts?

[marshlander]

They all say Jesus was a prophet and they all say there is only one God. Why the conflicts?

'Cos my Jesus is bigger than your Jesus?

[sudanese]

In often wonder why Jews, Muslims, and Christians fight each other. For the Ten commandments are almost exactly mirrored in the teachings of Moses, Mohammed, and Jesus. They all say Jesus was a prophet and they all say there is only one God. Why the conflicts?

i am not sure if jews believe that Jesus was a prophet , i don't think so
and Muslims and Christians don't have the same view regarding the Christ

in Islam he is human , born as a result of miracle , and he didn't die in the cross but god raise him and the killers mislead and thought he was dead ..
in Islam he is a prophet and ( the word ) of the god ...


and the fighting of Muslims , jews , christain :

real or lies , i think religions are basically made for good reasons , nothing will justify hate and fighting , ... but intolerance and herd behavior are fairly distributed among folks , if they don't manifest in religion they will appear in other arenas .

[cooperjames]

i am not sure if jews believe that Jesus was a prophet , i don't think so

The Jew believe Christ was a prophet, but nothing more.

The religions fought because they wanted the land (not just the Holy Land) In all fairness, it's as simple as that.

As for the coolest religion, I love the Jews and Catholics, but I have to admit I like my own little mix of everything way more than shit out there.

NO, btw, i'm not spiritual. I am religious.

[Mark]

I think NO religious views is the coolest.

[princealbertofb]

The Jew believe Christ was a prophet, but nothing more.

The religions fought because they wanted the land (not just the Holy Land) In all fairness, it's as simple as that.

As for the coolest religion, I love the Jews and Catholics, but I have to admit I like my own little mix of everything way more than shit out there.

NO, btw, i'm not spiritual. I am religious.

Can there be one without the other? ... If by religious you mean following a set of dogmas edicted by men in which a higher being or higher beings are involved, then is it possible not to be spiritual? I guess it is still possible to be spiritual without following a given religion however.
What's your definition of both, Cooper?