Religious Figures

[Xofenroht]

I go to Michigan State, we're called Spartans. Hell, the best thing about beer pong is (if you're feeling really cocky) you can just drink your opponent's beer on top of your's and your teammate's (if you have one). Of course, it comes in handy if you wanna flex your nuts a little too.

But yeah, I hear ye.

 

[BrianWilly]

Before I say anything, asking a devout believer in any religion gets you no where. They're biased from the start. Simply because they're DEVOUT.

Not if the entire topic at hand is the perspective of the devout. We can say "these people believe this about so and so" as much as we want, but if so and so is not actually what these people believe, then...well, how would you know any different? You're not the one who actually believes it. Completely disregarding a believer's opinions regarding their religion is really no more conducive to a conversation than being entirely beholden to it.

Now, I think a lot of people are missing the point I'm trying to make. That point being that no matter what, we're all people. Humans are inspired by what they see/experience in their environment (not just natural, but social, cultural, etc.). A lot of these religions began without the influence of the others. What you have are people interpretting the natural world in many different ways, based on region, culture, etc. (For instance, there only wolves in the myths which originated amongst people who lived in a region where wolves were commonly found in that time period, same goes for crocodiles and other influences)
So, that's why it can be the same SOURCE with the only difference being the differences in interpretation.

See, I don't see this at all. Imo that's far too broad of a spotlight resulting in a nearly tautological perspective. Yeah, sure, if we strip away every social and environmental detail from everyone then, yeah, sure, we're all human at heart. But that tells us nothing. Of course if we ignore a lot of things about people then we end up with a minimal similarity. But the fact is that we as humans do have social and environmental differences that significantly affect behavior.

Some religions vividly condone eating meat. Others are staunchly vegetarian. Some religions celebrate sex and sexuality. Others are repulsed by it. Some religions are warmongering. Others are pacifistic.

And so on and so forth. These aren't just trite surface details you can ignore, these are incredibly fundamental aspects of the practices that would vastly differentiate the worshipers' behavior. Maybe it all has the same source -- call it faith or instinct or psychological drive or what have you -- but different religions certainly do more than just call it different things.

 

[Xofenroht]

Yeah, you definitely missed what I just got done talking about.

And I didn't say they were called different things. I said they were interpretted differently. There's a difference.

 

[BrianWilly]

Then what is your point? Because I'm not seeing anything but a tautological stance on the human condition.

 

[Xofenroht]

From what I've posted here, my main point is that the Truth of religion is relative. Some religions work better for some than others, but there is no single religion that everyone can adopt and adhere to.

That's totally different from my understanding of why religion even exists in the first place. If you want that, PM me. If others on the board are interested in hearing it, I'll just post it here. I didn't give it originally because I think it's a lot to explain and that I'd be going out of my way considering that's not even the topic of the thread.

 

[BrianWilly]

Okay, then I wish you'd said that instead of, and I quote, "They are simply giving different names to the same Source/Force."

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

"Emmaculate Conception" refers to Mary being conceived without Original Sin, not her conceiving Jesus. Your statement makes no sense.

Sorry what I meant to say was "Virginal Conception" of the Angels.

 

[The Geek Vault]

which means what?

 

[Anubis]

Conception without sex.

 

[Xofenroht]

Okay, then I wish you'd said that instead of, and I quote, "They are simply giving different names to the same Source/Force."

Yeah, sorry. I was being a bit of a "devout follower" there.