What I like about other religions

citizenzen said:
One of the beautiful things about IO is to be exposed to so many different religions and to find that within these different views exist points of commonality. These commonalities demonstrate to me that all of these religions point to the same thing and lead their practitioners to the same end: God, Allah, Nirvana, etc.

If they all lead to the same end there's no need to join them all. That sounds frankly rather counter-productive, like traveling down the freeway by leaping from one speeding car to another. The path is difficult enough. I will sit contently in the (relative) safety of the car I'm already in.

As for liking something that I don't believe is true...

I separate the core religious belief from the cultural baggage that gets piled on over time. It's too easy to be distracted by these superfluous details, to find reasons to squabble over issues arising from political and institutional power-mongering and not the original inspiration from which the faith was born.

When viewed without this baggage these religions show themselves to be remarkably similar, focusing on wisdom and compassion, and all quite likable.
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At least you answered honestly like I did, even though I am sure the core of these religions will disagree with every word you just wrote. The claim that all religions point to the same thing? I am certain from my careful examination, they don't.

All you are really doing is making each religion fit your own personal mindset of what you think it is & what you think it should be, by dumping the stuff (baggage in your words) you dont like & throwing out the things that they believe are factual, literal, true & necessary & are also the very core of the religion which is by the way exactly what interfaith does, throws the core of the religion out the window. And, from the looks of this thread that started over 16 months ago, I must agree with the short content of there being less than two pages written about what people like about the 'other religion' & some of that was also, nothing.
 
Bandit said:
All you are really doing is making each religion fit your own personal mindset of what you think it is & what you think it should be, by dumping the stuff (baggage in your words) you dont like & throwing out the things that they believe are factual, literal, true & necessary & are also the very core of the religion which is by the way exactly what interfaith does, throws the core of the religion out the window.
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Hi Bandit and everyone,

I think religion is wide open to interpretation. The first time I picked up the Qur'an, I had no idea what I was reading and could not understand how Islam was a religion of peace. After reading interpretations from Rumi and others, I get it. The same could probably be said of any religious text. The Bhagavad Gita can be pretty disconcerting upon a first read when it looks like a Divinity wants us to kill people in war! But again, I understood it much better when I read scholarly interpretations of the book I was holding, and I now have great respect for all the sacred texts that I've been able to read just by walking into a local bookstore (which hasn't been an option for very long, historically.)

If everything in religion is based on interpretation, then I think it's impossible to objectively define "the core" of any religion. We can only offer our personal opinions. I think that's why there is such division among people when it comes to religion; we each have our own interpretation, so there are really almost 7 billion religions in the world, one for each of us (including variations of atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, humanism, deism, theism, and all other beliefs.) Hence the incredible value of this kind of forum, where we can each share our personal opinions and learn from each other's perspectives.

One last comment: I think there is a *huge* difference between beliefs/philosophies and actions/behaviors. Like most people, I am appalled at what many people *do* in the name of religion, and I would see that as a separate but equally important issue.

Just some subjective opinions and interpretations! :)
 
DrDeb said:
I think religion is wide open to interpretation. The first time I picked up the Qur'an, I had no idea what I was reading and could not understand how Islam was a religion of peace. After reading interpretations from Rumi and others, I get it. The same could probably be said of any religious text. The Bhagavad Gita can be pretty disconcerting upon a first read when it looks like a Divinity wants us to kill people in war! But again, I understood it much better when I read scholarly interpretations of the book I was holding, and I now have great respect for all the sacred texts that I've been able to read just by walking into a local bookstore (which hasn't been an option for very long, historically.)

If everything in religion is based on interpretation, then I think it's impossible to objectively define "the core" of any religion. We can only offer our personal opinions. I think that's why there is such division among people when it comes to religion; we each have our own interpretation, so there are really almost 7 billion religions in the world, one for each of us (including variations of atheism, agnosticism, skepticism, humanism, deism, theism, and all other beliefs.) Hence the incredible value of this kind of forum, where we can each share our personal opinions and learn from each other's perspectives.
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Have a rep (if I could...):D

One last comment: I think there is a *huge* difference between beliefs/philosophies and actions/behaviors. Like most people, I am appalled at what many people *do* in the name of religion, and I would see that as a separate but equally important issue.
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Reminds me of a favourite quote:

"Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity."
- Shunryu Suzuki.​


s.
 
DrDeb said:
If everything in religion is based on interpretation, then I think it's impossible to objectively define "the core" of any religion.
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The core of all the major religions is the enlightenment experience of the prophet. After the prophet dies these simple, grass-roots movements fractionalize, create hierarchies and dogmas and become institutional.

If we focus on the prophets experience then we find the consistent core message that we can follow ourselves to come to the very same realization of the prophets.

Can it be objectively defined? No. It must be personally and directly experienced.
 
citizenzen said:
If we focus on the prophets' experience then we find the consistent core message that we can follow ourselves to come to the very same realization of the prophets. Can it be objectively defined? No. It must be personally and directly experienced.
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CZ -- Are you saying that you think all prophets/mystics reach the very same realization? Lao-tzu, Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Mary Baker Eddy, Edgar Cayce, Paramahansa Yogananda -- do you think they all shared one single mystical experience?
 
DrDeb said:
CZ -- Are you saying that you think all prophets/mystics reach the very same realization? Lao-tzu, Buddha, Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Mary Baker Eddy, Edgar Cayce, Paramahansa Yogananda -- do you think they all shared one single mystical experience?
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I say yes but...

Yes but youcan't step in thr same river tiwice...
 
Snoopy said:
Nice moves! (kind note to relative newbie: my name refers to a feline, not a famous canine :)) Expound! Expound!
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(Ceased and desisted with Snoopy dance promptly. Three resident cats approve of this.)

The Death Note graphic novels tackle a number of ethical issues, and one big one is whether the end justifies the means. The main character suddenly acquires the ability to magically kill people with the stroke of a pen from anywhere in the world, and he uses that power to kill criminals and create a more crime-free society. He believes he is highly evolved and enlightened, the "only one" who can save the world, but is he demonstrating enlightened activity? Many people around him certainly think so, and they start cheering for whomever is behind the mysterious deaths.

I don't want to give too much of the story away if people are interested in checking it out. Here's a Wikipedia article and here are the online episodes with English subtitles (sorry about the new popups on that second site; you don't need to download anything to watch the episodes.)
 
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