I've been having a nice tame little discussion on desichama's blog about god and closely related things. Mostly, the relevance of God. As a creation, and as a reality
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I think you're right na...religions are only human constructs after all. Thats why none of them *are* perfect...and you're right they're supposedd to evolve and change with changing circumstances but they rarely do :)
You see, the sciences, literature, blah-blah, etceterra have all been advancing through the ages.... But Religion? It's been stuck like this for centuries. According to the texts I've read, it seems that religion did indeed have a period of advancements in the form of change. But sadly, there's absolutely no evidence of anything further being evolved.
There have been newer religions that have sprung up from time to time. Sadly, even those stop evolvnig and begin a downturn.
They're outdated and they're not doing anything to look intelligently at the changing world around them.
It depends though its not about the religion inherentli, its more about peoples perspective on what they're supposed to do with it..
If you take things from a completeli literal sense, then its a lot to expect that it will b entireli relevant to u and that nothing should change :) It's just that humans r humans..and they don't likee change. Wherever they can stop things changing they will :)
So I guess a religion doesn't needd to be completeli dynamic, it just needs to highlight the lessons that are in between the lines... which is hard...because although those lessons r timeless they require more thinking :P
I agree totally! it's what people decide to do with it, or what they end up doing with it for whatever reasons.
Humans are resistant to change. Most things are.... But we should'nt fear it, we ought to embrace it. with _open_ eyes of course. :)
Religions deal with rules and regulations for the masses. Not for those who can think for themselves.
There's a subject I've toughed upon briefly in the past, but I stalled mid-way. It's way too controversial to post publicly.. Too many people would be psychologically and emotionally hurt. Especially taking into consideration the fact that in India, there's still a sentiment toward ones own caste, faith and religion.
Call me a coward, but I'll stay away from the origin of religion and God. I've been privy to a few very insightful truths about the origin of Hinduism and the caste structure that it is built upon. But I'm scared (really!) to post in public about these revelations.
Religions deal with rules and regulations for the masses. Not for those who can think for themselves.So so true :) Though it is nice sometimes to have a little guidebook to say 'these are all the things u have to do 2 b a good person'...even if it never could be that simple.. People still sit there arguing who's guidebook is better :) And how one has prettier photos and the other shows u around in a better way...and forget it was never meant to be about the photos. Its sort of sad how it unifies in one way and divides in another
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Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof Though it is nice sometimes to have a little guidebook to say 'these are all the things u have to do 2 b a good person'...even if it never could be that simple..
Yes, I'll agree with that. However, there's a biiiig question that arises from that reasoning. What is 'Good'? what is 'Bad'?
According to the current dynamics of society, religion and mass/public direction serve to set the standards of what is good and bad. If enough people say (not 'think'!) something is good then that's what they'll call good as a generalization. It's a democratic view of looking at things, but there you have it, sociology hates generalizations, but without it, sociology does not exist! :o)
Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof Its sort of sad how it unifies in one way and divides in another. So, so true! In the beginning, there was only one religion. Then there were outcasts who believed in living their own way of life. They were shunned by society. They in turn created myths and then, created a religion of
( ... )
Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof But who knows if on the whole it does good or bad for the world. People argue over the details but its all the same :)
Oh, that, we already know. Religion once did so much good for the planet as a whole, it was worth the invention. But as time went by, people got trapped in their own creation. People got stuck. They never realized that it was happening. In fact, even the descendants of the religion-creators believed the tales so truly, that they preached the religion without realizing what they were doing it for. They forgot the original reason!
Today, preachers have no clue why they themselves follow a religion. They don't know the 'real' purpose that it was created for. They don't realize it, but it does'nt mean that the reason ceases to exist. That reason is every bit as important today as it was when religion was first conceptualized. Sadly, we've locked ourselves in a change-resistant world and fear it!
Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof And naa its not cowardli :)
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Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof Man, I've been trying to read the other threads as well but my it made my head go in circles sorri :)
lol! Yeah, it can get mighty strange on my journal. Some of my controversial posts tend to take on a life of their own. If you go through my archives, you'll even see some posts where the comments are much longer than the post itself. :) You'll get used to this kind of wierd argument-for-arguments-sake commenting in time. No need to say sorri. :)
Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof On a diversion: thankjuu veri much!...finalli downloaded IE7 and it has tabs :D *jumps around* Veri kewl.Yay! Glad you liked it. I don't regret having suggested it to you now. :o
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Quote: Originally Posted by: befkoof And they hold onto things blindli without questioning where they came from..until u get to the point where people sit and worship their books day after day without actualli opening them :)That's just what I'm driving at in my post. The theory of God has become so routine, that people just do and die, they don't even stop to question 'why
( ... )
Reply
You see, the sciences, literature, blah-blah, etceterra have all been advancing through the ages.... But Religion? It's been stuck like this for centuries. According to the texts I've read, it seems that religion did indeed have a period of advancements in the form of change. But sadly, there's absolutely no evidence of anything further being evolved.
There have been newer religions that have sprung up from time to time. Sadly, even those stop evolvnig and begin a downturn.
They're outdated and they're not doing anything to look intelligently at the changing world around them.
Reply
If you take things from a completeli literal sense, then its a lot to expect that it will b entireli relevant to u and that nothing should change :) It's just that humans r humans..and they don't likee change. Wherever they can stop things changing they will :)
So I guess a religion doesn't needd to be completeli dynamic, it just needs to highlight the lessons that are in between the lines... which is hard...because although those lessons r timeless they require more thinking :P
Reply
Humans are resistant to change. Most things are.... But we should'nt fear it, we ought to embrace it. with _open_ eyes of course. :)
Religions deal with rules and regulations for the masses. Not for those who can think for themselves.
There's a subject I've toughed upon briefly in the past, but I stalled mid-way. It's way too controversial to post publicly.. Too many people would be psychologically and emotionally hurt. Especially taking into consideration the fact that in India, there's still a sentiment toward ones own caste, faith and religion.
Call me a coward, but I'll stay away from the origin of religion and God. I've been privy to a few very insightful truths about the origin of Hinduism and the caste structure that it is built upon. But I'm scared (really!) to post in public about these revelations.
Reply
Reply
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
Though it is nice sometimes to have a little guidebook to say 'these are all the things u have to do 2 b a good person'...even if it never could be that simple..
Yes, I'll agree with that. However, there's a biiiig question that arises from that reasoning. What is 'Good'? what is 'Bad'?
According to the current dynamics of society, religion and mass/public direction serve to set the standards of what is good and bad. If enough people say (not 'think'!) something is good then that's what they'll call good as a generalization. It's a democratic view of looking at things, but there you have it, sociology hates generalizations, but without it, sociology does not exist! :o)
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
Its sort of sad how it unifies in one way and divides in another.
So, so true! In the beginning, there was only one religion. Then there were outcasts who believed in living their own way of life. They were shunned by society. They in turn created myths and then, created a religion of ( ... )
Reply
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
But who knows if on the whole it does good or bad for the world. People argue over the details but its all the same :)
Oh, that, we already know. Religion once did so much good for the planet as a whole, it was worth the invention. But as time went by, people got trapped in their own creation. People got stuck. They never realized that it was happening. In fact, even the descendants of the religion-creators believed the tales so truly, that they preached the religion without realizing what they were doing it for. They forgot the original reason!
Today, preachers have no clue why they themselves follow a religion. They don't know the 'real' purpose that it was created for. They don't realize it, but it does'nt mean that the reason ceases to exist. That reason is every bit as important today as it was when religion was first conceptualized. Sadly, we've locked ourselves in a change-resistant world and fear it!
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
And naa its not cowardli :) ( ... )
Reply
Reply
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
Man, I've been trying to read the other threads as well but my it made my head go in circles sorri :)
lol! Yeah, it can get mighty strange on my journal. Some of my controversial posts tend to take on a life of their own. If you go through my archives, you'll even see some posts where the comments are much longer than the post itself. :) You'll get used to this kind of wierd argument-for-arguments-sake commenting in time. No need to say sorri. :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
On a diversion: thankjuu veri much!...finalli downloaded IE7 and it has tabs :D *jumps around* Veri kewl.Yay! Glad you liked it. I don't regret having suggested it to you now. :o ( ... )
Reply
Quote:
Originally Posted by: befkoof
And they hold onto things blindli without questioning where they came from..until u get to the point where people sit and worship their books day after day without actualli opening them :)That's just what I'm driving at in my post. The theory of God has become so routine, that people just do and die, they don't even stop to question 'why ( ... )
Reply
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