There is always the problem of being sure the messages are authentic and that you received them correctly.
Take the Christian religion:
“I am the way, the truth, the light.” So far so good. And then “The only way to the Maker is through me.” A garble because another message says: “Anyone can do what I have done.” Which could mean he went through himself. Or he was guided by the Maker to the Maker. Either way a contradiction of the second part of the first message.
And of course there is the example of the Good Samaritan. Hmmm. I’m going to have to look up the religions of Sumaria.
I continue to be surprised – though I shouldn’t be – at the willing caricature of religion that you and your ideological allies make. Apparently, you think that everyone religious is a fundamentalist and so deserving of mockery.
Nice straw man you’ve got there, and how expert you are at knocking it down.
Fortunately, I worship with people far more thoughtful, insightful, tolerant and self-critical than you.
I have never heard a member of my church speak of atheists with the scorn or dismissal you speak of religious people.
FWIW, I believe in God, and I don’t think religious people — or fundamentalists — deserve mockery. I do have a problem with reducing God to a book, though, but that is not mockery. I probably should not have been so flippant in my earlier comment, because what I meant to say is more complex.
If so, which book? Who wrote these books? It is one thing to believe in God, but it strikes me as the height of arrogance to demand adherence to words written by men claiming to be speaking for God (or acting as scriveners for God). It is in my opinion a cruel game to assert that God is a book, and if (for the sake of argument) it turns out that “God” happens to favor a particular book, that would make God even crueler than the men who wrote it.
God, being spiritual and infinite, must be felt. Not all men are able to feel God. (And feelings are not readily provable.)
Books consist of words written by men, and must submit to (and be judged by) the rules of logic. To assert that words of men are the words of God is to assert something without logical foundation. How many men might say they believe these words come from God is logically irrelevant.
***END QUOTE***
That’s just what I think, and it is not meant as mockery. I apologize if it sounded that way.
Simon
God is impossible to mock.
And what my esteemed friends on the American Christian right have forgotten is that the Head Office has an INDIVIDUAL plan for each of us. The Jews have been punished for 2,000 years for forgetting this. Evidently the memory is coming back.
I was having a long eyeball conversation the other day with a Christian who had been reading me for a long while but who had never met me. He was totally surprised when he asked “Are you a Christian?” and I replied “No.” The First Mate then chimed in, “I am.” Another surprise for him.
Despite what is written in books Jesus is not the ONLY way. And I have no objection to those whose way is Jesus. Obviously.
I will say this though. The only WAY is the WAY of LOVE. I’m told Jesus was big on that.
[…] worry here. By saying what I think, did I just ridicule people’s religious beliefs? Honestly, I don’t mean to do that, but with all due respect, it is my opinion that those who think the world is actually 6000 years […]
What is true religion? Here is John Wesley, as quoted by UM Bishop Ken Carder:
–begin–
Here we see what is real religion: a restoration [of humanity] not only to the favor but to the image of God, not bare deliverance from sin, but being filled with the fullness of God. Nothing short of this is Christian religion. … It runs through the Bible from beginning to end. Beware of taking anything else than this for religion, not anything else: do not imagine an outward form, a round of duties, both in public and private, is religion! Do not suppose that honesty, justice or whatever is called morality is religion. And least of all dream that right opinions [or] faith is religion. Of all religious dreams, this is the vainest.
–end–
Comments
9 responses to “The Essence Of Religion”
The logic is this:
Someone said God said so and wrote it down.
Therefore God said so!
Eric,
There is always the problem of being sure the messages are authentic and that you received them correctly.
Take the Christian religion:
“I am the way, the truth, the light.” So far so good. And then “The only way to the Maker is through me.” A garble because another message says: “Anyone can do what I have done.” Which could mean he went through himself. Or he was guided by the Maker to the Maker. Either way a contradiction of the second part of the first message.
And of course there is the example of the Good Samaritan. Hmmm. I’m going to have to look up the religions of Sumaria.
Well so much for commentary.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samaritan
I continue to be surprised – though I shouldn’t be – at the willing caricature of religion that you and your ideological allies make. Apparently, you think that everyone religious is a fundamentalist and so deserving of mockery.
Nice straw man you’ve got there, and how expert you are at knocking it down.
Fortunately, I worship with people far more thoughtful, insightful, tolerant and self-critical than you.
I have never heard a member of my church speak of atheists with the scorn or dismissal you speak of religious people.
FWIW, I believe in God, and I don’t think religious people — or fundamentalists — deserve mockery. I do have a problem with reducing God to a book, though, but that is not mockery. I probably should not have been so flippant in my earlier comment, because what I meant to say is more complex.
http://classicalvalues.com/2003/11/interesting_def/
***QUOTE***
Is God a book?
If so, which book? Who wrote these books? It is one thing to believe in God, but it strikes me as the height of arrogance to demand adherence to words written by men claiming to be speaking for God (or acting as scriveners for God). It is in my opinion a cruel game to assert that God is a book, and if (for the sake of argument) it turns out that “God” happens to favor a particular book, that would make God even crueler than the men who wrote it.
God, being spiritual and infinite, must be felt. Not all men are able to feel God. (And feelings are not readily provable.)
Books consist of words written by men, and must submit to (and be judged by) the rules of logic. To assert that words of men are the words of God is to assert something without logical foundation. How many men might say they believe these words come from God is logically irrelevant.
***END QUOTE***
That’s just what I think, and it is not meant as mockery. I apologize if it sounded that way.
God is impossible to mock.
And what my esteemed friends on the American Christian right have forgotten is that the Head Office has an INDIVIDUAL plan for each of us. The Jews have been punished for 2,000 years for forgetting this. Evidently the memory is coming back.
I was having a long eyeball conversation the other day with a Christian who had been reading me for a long while but who had never met me. He was totally surprised when he asked “Are you a Christian?” and I replied “No.” The First Mate then chimed in, “I am.” Another surprise for him.
Despite what is written in books Jesus is not the ONLY way. And I have no objection to those whose way is Jesus. Obviously.
I will say this though. The only WAY is the WAY of LOVE. I’m told Jesus was big on that.
Let me put it as clearly as possible.
True religion is not about market share.
[…] worry here. By saying what I think, did I just ridicule people’s religious beliefs? Honestly, I don’t mean to do that, but with all due respect, it is my opinion that those who think the world is actually 6000 years […]
What is true religion? Here is John Wesley, as quoted by UM Bishop Ken Carder:
–begin–
Here we see what is real religion: a restoration [of humanity] not only to the favor but to the image of God, not bare deliverance from sin, but being filled with the fullness of God. Nothing short of this is Christian religion. … It runs through the Bible from beginning to end. Beware of taking anything else than this for religion, not anything else: do not imagine an outward form, a round of duties, both in public and private, is religion! Do not suppose that honesty, justice or whatever is called morality is religion. And least of all dream that right opinions [or] faith is religion. Of all religious dreams, this is the vainest.
–end–
Do you object to this understanding?