All religions are the same!

[duane]

All religions are the same: unless you are most Bush and Blair sympathisers. They all promise the Promised Land to those that deserve it. Well, apart from Bush and Blair, most deserve the promised land. But hey, what is the promised land. I'll tell ya!

Promised land is land that can sustain biological life. Any land that cannot do this i.e. any thing polluted by Bush and Blair's petroleum products is poisoned land and thus not very promising at all.

War is over fertile or land that looks promising when it comes to supporting you and your kiddies. Any land that has been smashed through bad farming practices i.e. chemical use land erosion or toxic waste dumping, is NOT the promised land and thus ain't worth a fight over. Where is this going I hear you ask? I'll tell thee. (Oops. That were a bit of the old bible talk there)

Sustainable development is about not screwing up the land. Any product i.e. synthetic perfume, soaps, make-ups, paints, dyes (including hair dye), clothing - that's right, nylon -, glues, plastics (you can make plastic from hemp and bacteria e.g. old knitting needles were made out of the waste from milk, medicine, etc that is the product of fractional distillation of petroleum and coal tar. (Note: Fractional distillation is the process of heating substances to thousands of degrees where by they change from naturally occurring to synthetic/non-naturally occurring elements) If you buy products that are synthetic then you are destroying the promised land. It is okay to blame Bush and Blair, etc but if you buy the products then you kill the promised land. It's that simple! Easy peasy!

Religion needs the new sections adding. Thou shall not kill each other, and thou shall not kill through careless behaviour each other and the life forms around you i.e. the fish in the streams that have to bath in your toxic waste. That shall recycle your waste including kitchen waste and thus thou shall bring back the promising land. Thou should ignore most of the adverts on the TV and start realising that make-up distorts human features and cover-up important chemical signals contained in sweat - though I do have some neighbours that stink because they do not bath every day. But that’s different!

In fact, right here and now lets rewrite the bible because the old one is exactly that: OLD! Any suggestions loved ones?

[Onyx Six]

Live life by one simple rule and all shall be enjoyed!
Treat others as they would have like to be treated or how you would have treated yourself!

This grand rule is seen in around all major religions from Christianity to Islam to Buddism and its the only thing out of all of those religions that truly makes common sense.

[rhod01]

Say sorry before killing an animal for food.

[Impenitent]

beg forgiveness before killing a plant for food

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (duane,)
All religions are the same: unless you are most Bush and Blair sympathisers. They all promise the Promised Land to those that deserve it. Well, apart from Bush and Blair, most deserve the promised land. But hey, what is the promised land. I'll tell ya!

Promised land is land that can sustain biological life. Any land that cannot do this i.e. any thing polluted by Bush and Blair's petroleum products is poisoned land and thus not very promising at all. 

War is over fertile or land that looks promising when it comes to supporting you and your kiddies. Any land that has been smashed through bad farming practices i.e. chemical use land erosion or toxic waste dumping, is NOT the promised land and thus ain't worth a fight over. Where is this going I hear you ask? I'll tell thee. (Oops. That were a bit of the old bible talk there)

Sustainable development is about not screwing up the land. Any product i.e. synthetic perfume, soaps, make-ups, paints, dyes (including hair dye), clothing - that's right, nylon -, glues, plastics (you can make plastic from hemp and bacteria e.g. old knitting needles were made out of the waste from milk, medicine, etc that is the product of fractional distillation of petroleum and coal tar. (Note: Fractional distillation is the process of heating substances to thousands of degrees where by they change from naturally occurring to synthetic/non-naturally occurring elements) If you buy products that are synthetic then you are destroying the promised land. It is okay to blame Bush and Blair, etc but if you buy the products then you kill the promised land. It's that simple! Easy peasy!

Religion needs the new sections adding. Thou shall not kill each other, and thou shall not kill through careless behaviour each other and the life forms around you i.e. the fish in the streams that have to bath in your toxic waste. That shall recycle your waste including kitchen waste and thus thou shall bring back the promising land. Thou should ignore most of the adverts on the TV and start realising that make-up distorts human features and cover-up important chemical signals contained in sweat - though I do have some neighbours that stink because they do not bath every day. But that’s different!

In fact, right here and now lets rewrite the bible because the old one is exactly that: OLD! Any suggestions loved ones?<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

The consideration that all religions are the same runs into problems from many points of view, but other questions are probably more to the point. Religions are clearly different, but to what extent are they different?

(1) Are all religions from the same source?

(2) Are all religions some how related?

(3) Are ALL religions good?

(4) How do you determine which religions are good and which are bad? or Which are true and which are false?

(5) What is that source? God or human imagination and inventiveness.

(6) does there have to be only one RIGHT way or one TRUE religion or belief?

As time passes older religions become less relavent to today's world. So believers have the choice between stoic fundimentalism and pragamtism. Judism has become for the most part pragamtic and focused on their Promised Land. Christianity and Islam have splintered into many pieces over change and the relavence to the contemporary world.

[GreatWyrm of Babylon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
All religions are the same<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'></span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
any thing polluted by Bush and Blair's petroleum products <hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'></span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
It's that simple! Easy peasy!
<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>I am still trying to figure out which of these statements is the most ridiculous.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (GreatWyrm of Babylon,)
</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
It's that simple! Easy peasy!
<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>I am still trying to figure out which of these statements is the most ridiculous.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Not alway simple and easy peasy, but put some substance in the statements and let's debate.

[Sandy]

I'm trying to understand why so many parents are killing their children under the concept that God told them to do it. This last Texas "deeply religious" mother who stoned all three of her sons; 2 dead and 1 brain damaged!

How can a convicted killer (Manson Family) suddenly find Christ and now want a Parole offered to him. The entire family group were all Christians who merely transfered their adoration from Jesus to Charlie who told them he was Jesus.

Andrea Yates who, like the first example, was a "deeply religious" mother who killed all five of her children in the bath tub. God also told her to do this deed.

Is there any Christian church who will research this maniacal action and try to do something about it? Or are they too busy covering the asses of their priests in their pedophilia mess?

Even as a small child, the Christian meetings in our home used to frighten me due to the conversation of such hatred and criticism of those who were not there that I often would leave through the kitchen and climb a tree to get away from these people.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Sandy,)
I'm trying to understand why so many parents are killing their children under the concept that God told them to do it.  This last Texas "deeply religious" mother who stoned all three of her sons; 2 dead and 1 brain damaged! 

How can a convicted killer (Manson Family) suddenly find Christ and now want a Parole offered to him.  The entire family group were all  Christians who merely transfered their adoration from Jesus to Charlie who told them he was Jesus.

Andrea Yates who, like the first example, was a "deeply religious" mother who killed all five of her children in the bath tub.  God also told her to do this deed.

Is there any Christian church who will research this maniacal action and try to do something about it?  Or are they too busy covering the asses of their priests in their pedophilia mess?

Even as a small child, the Christian meetings in our home used to frighten me due to the conversation of such hatred and criticism of those who were not there that I often would leave through the kitchen and climb a tree to get away from these people.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Many people suffer from mental illnesses and they may express their illness in religious ways, but it probably is not necessarily the fault of the religion.

You alluded to a bigger problem when you mentioned your childhood experiences with Christianity. Fear is a common tool of many Christian churches and when fear is combined with mental illnesses the results are often tragic. Most of the instances you described and many others involved responses to fear and distorted religious beliefs. Distortion of reality to the point of commiting irrational violent acts is common symtom of mental illnesses.

The root of the problem partly lies in how religions deal with mental illnesses. The woman who killed two of her children and severely injured a third had probably exhibited symtoms of mental illness for some time prior to the tragic event. Many churches believe the symtoms of mental illness have roots in spritual problems like 'possession by the devil or demons', neglect of obedience to the scriptures or the failure to completely devote one's life to the belief. The answer to failure is often that 'one's faith was not strong enough.'

The church and the community of believers often fail to turn to science for the answers to questions concerning mental illness. Science if most often treated with contempt and suspision by these churches as manifest in the debate between Creation vs. Evolution. The individual is also encouraged to seek the solution to their problems through their faith. When the problem is truely mental illness the results often end in tragedy. Quick medical fixes like perscription drugs are often added to the mix in western society without addressing the underlieing problems. This often compounds the tragedy.

Another issue that often haunts Christian churches and older religions like Islam is the belief in fate or predestination. 'It was meant to be' or 'it was God's will' is often believed and proclaimed when faith and the beliefs of the institutions fail.

I believe more modern beliefs are better able to cope with these problems. The Baha'i Faith believes in the harmony of science and religion is required to address these problems in a modern society. Humanist churches like the Unitarians approach the problems in a more completely secular scientific viewpoint. These problems like mental illness are not easy to solve, but both present a more modern approach and reject the excuse of fate and predestination and the line 'the devil made me do it.'

The mainline Protestent churches and many modern Catholics choose the pragmatic approach to finding solutions to these problems, but they do so with conflicting guidance from their scripture and institutions.

[Mia]

That is very true - some Christians believe pshychology is witchcraft. But a larger problem is society's condemnation of mental illness. If you have a chemical imbalance involving insulin, you get insulin and nobody looks down on you. But if you have a chemical imbalance in your brain that needs adjusting you are an outcast. So many people will not seek treatment and label themselves in this way.

And yes, if you are hearing voices and you are religious, then the voice is going to be God to you and this is not the fault of the religion. Non-religious people hear their dog or a demonic voice or some type of authority voice.

Since it's a creation of their brain it is going to incorporate the person's beliefs.

[sarhoq]

I have a strong belief that all MAJOR religions are basically the same, and I'm going to stay focused on that, the title of this topic: "All religions are the same!" Christianity, Islam and the Jewish faith [the three major religions in the world] are all based on a text of some sort, The Bible, Quran and Torah, respectively, have one strong diety, and preach the same values. Many of their stories are the same, and they have a greater number of comparable attributes.

However, not all religions are the same. Buddhism, Taosim, Shintu, Hinduism, Atheism, and the like are all vastly different from the aforementioned three. Each one has grave inconsistencies which take them away from the meaning and motive of the major religions.

The title for this topic seems to be a stab at the major religions, which can be impactful, but it really hides the truth of ALL religions, which seems pretty important.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (sarhoq,)
I have a strong belief that all MAJOR religions are basically the same, and I'm going to stay focused on that, the title of this topic: "All religions are the same!" Christianity, Islam and the Jewish faith [the three major religions in the world] are all based on a text of some sort, The Bible, Quran and Torah, respectively, have one strong diety, and preach the same values. Many of their stories are the same, and they have a greater number of comparable attributes.

However, not all religions are the same. Buddhism, Taosim, Shintu, Hinduism, Atheism, and the like are all vastly different from the aforementioned three. Each one has grave inconsistencies which take them away from the meaning and motive of the major religions.

The title for this topic seems to be a stab at the major religions, which can be impactful, but it really hides the truth of ALL religions, which seems pretty important.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

From the perspective of a Baha'i I consider Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto and Hinduism only different from the Judeo/Christian/Islam religion in the strong cultural differences between the east and the west. I have lived in China for seven years and have found that these cultural differences create a strongly polarized view of the world and existence that is basicaly one.

I can give many paralells in belief, prophecy and traditions if you are interested.

[duane]

All religions basically say people should look after each other and their environment. If it doesn't then it is full of poo-poo. There is proof that energy is not destroyed, simply converted. There is proof that everyone is only fighting over fertile land. There is proof that the chemical companies are screwing up everything and this inturn leads to less decent land and thus WAR.

Most/all creative religions talk about heaven, nirvana etc. I don't think there is a religious practice that thinks going to hell etc is great. Pain seems to be the product that is to be avoided. As such any religion that causes pain or suffering is wrong. Any religion that proclaims that they are the PURE race means that it encourages death and thus denotes itself as a demonic religion. Any good religion i.e. one based on love, sharing and caring is paramount. Old religions become old religions because they cause death and thus encourage evil/destruction and inturn hell.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (duane,)
All religions basically say people should look after each other and their environment. If it doesn't then it is full of poo-poo. There is proof that energy is not destroyed, simply converted. There is proof that everyone is only fighting over fertile land. There is proof that the chemical companies are screwing up everything and this inturn leads to less decent land and thus WAR.

Most/all creative religions talk about heaven, nirvana etc. I don't think there is a religious practice that thinks going to hell etc is great. Pain seems to be the product that is to be avoided. As such any religion that causes pain or suffering is wrong. Any religion that proclaims that they are the PURE race means that it encourages death and thus denotes itself as a demonic religion. Any good religion i.e. one based on love, sharing and caring is paramount. Old religions become old religions because they cause death and thus encourage evil/destruction and inturn hell.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Environmental stewardship is a relatively recent development. Older religious scriptures like the bible and the koran did not provide very good guidance when it comes to the environment. Not because they were poo-poo, but because at the time environmental consciousness was not an issue.

In the eastern religions, living in harmony with existence and the attributes of existence was more a part of the belief, but even these religions did not offer clear guidance on this issue.

Taking all the teachings of the religions together and studying the progressive nature of the guidance offered for humanity a clearer picture evolves. Religions provide guidance to humanity to suit the times. The Baha'i Faith is the first religion to give clear guidance concerning stewardship for the environment and dire warnings concerning the human ability to destroy the environment. This reflects the needs of the world today.

[mlingley]

ALL religions preach the same mantra. LOVE

Love God. Love others. Love yourself.

All other commandments follow from the commandment to Love.

[peace_hawk]

Two thoughts

1) have you ever read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount? Granted most Christians may be apostates when it comes to taking it seriously but can you really blame the Bible that people are the way they are? Yes there is language of an ultimate reward but that is because people are the way they are and the "just" deserve some ultimate reward. I think it will be on a physical earth after a resurrection but that is neither here nor there I guess.

2) The Levitical Code did provide for a historically appropriate form of sustainable ag. Letting the land rest every seven years is among the best things you can do and it was around long before the modern conservaion movement.

[Onyx Six]

I should say that in our violent history from the Egyptians to the Current Day middle east.

A good Quote
"The evil of the church is done in the name of god but whats of it is an act of god, that descion i have made for myself and its anyone elses to make thier own."- Japanese Jesuit Preist (1600)A.D

This was said by a person so convinced in god yet regulated with reason, he is the one that can see why religion is bad yet still commit himself to the service of God. Now only if the world were that reasonable!

[RightThinker]

Religion is inherently a good thing that is all to often twisted around by bad people. Two people can read any of the same text and get two different interpretations. When I consider spirituality I try to leave the human aspect out of it. Just my opinion.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (peace_hawk,)
Two thoughts

1) have you ever read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount? Granted most Christians may be apostates when it comes to taking it seriously but can you really blame the Bible that people are the way they are? Yes there is language of an ultimate reward but that is because people are the way they are and the "just" deserve some ultimate reward. I think it will be on a physical earth after a resurrection but that is neither here nor there I guess. <hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Similar in many ways to the teachings of other religions and the sermons of Buddha.

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
2) The Levitical Code did provide for a historically appropriate form of sustainable ag. Letting the land rest every seven years is among the best things you can do and it was around long before the modern conservaion movement.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

These and similar practices were part of many farming cultures around the world depending on the type of farmland they had. They may be interpreted as the beginnings of conservation movements, but there is little evidence in history that the Christians took this as guidance for a great concern for the enviroment. This deep concern for the relationship of humans and the environment is a very recent development.

[shunyadragon]

</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (RightThinker,)
Religion is inherently a good thing that is all to often twisted around by bad people. Two people can read any of the same text and get two different interpretations. When I consider spirituality I try to leave the human aspect out of it. Just my opinion.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>

Yes, religion may be considered inherently good, but, the guidance a religion provides its followers is often not enough to serve the needs of humanity relationship with our blue, white, green and brown marble in space. Older religions like Judism, Christianity and Islam lacked guidance to deal with issues like slavery, changing roles of women over the ages and modern views of science. So in the modern world there is a lot of conflicts and divisions on these issues.