This is a thread to discuss every religion possible. There are at least more then 4000 religions that exist on this planet. I am sure I cannot talk about all of them in my lifetime, yet will introduce many to you each day, so don't hesitate to leave a comment, add more information, or even discuss or debate about them.

I personally believe it is good to learn the great many idealogies allowing us to broaden our knowledge and accept different cultures and belief system to ensure a better understanding of our neighbors and what I would like to say friends.

Please if you have a disagreement on a debate use the words "respectfully disagree with your idealogy because (your reason)" to ensure that this thread will last a very long time even after I have stopped posting in here.


So now to the title I wish to begin this thread with

THE FUTURE OF RELIGION

There is a universality contained in the answers, from whichever source one goes to, to the question: "What is the future of religion?"

In essence, the respondents advised that a considerable increase of mutual understanding around the world needs to come about - an understanding that the earth is occupied by a vast number of people with an equally vast number of beliefs, and respect should be paid to all.

It might seem a tall order to ask a Roman Catholic, for instance, to get an understanding of Buddhism or Deism, or the other way around.

It is less in my hopes that you as a person would try to become a "student" like I am and study to understand the world's religions, yet I can understand that it is not everyone's cup of tea; neverthelesss, the philosophy of the Golden Rule is implicit in virtually every religion in which Confucius (551 - 479 BC) in my studies it accord to be found first written. If you find the Golden Rules in a earlier religion then please post it here in the forum for us to learn.

In the many history books that I enjoy to read under a candlelight with a cup of cocoa, I come to discover that in times of trouble - either personal, national, or international - that the number of people who embrace a religion increases. Therefore, I can almost safely say that trouble doesn't seem to ever go away as long as humans will exist and therefore can also say that religion will also never go away. Both are to stay.

If you have comments on this please mention them.

Also here is but a small list of religions we can discuss if you like. If you are interested and have the time then please begin it with a introductory. Maybe describe its founding or its history ever since. What do you enjoy about it? Why did you choose it? What makes you most happy when practicing your belief system?

I am also interested in Atheists or Agnostic views.


Here is the list:

Christianity
Catholicism
Amish
Angilican
Baptist
Christian Science
Congegationalism
Jehovah's Witness
Mennonite
Mormonism
Presbyterianism
Adventist
Deism
Lutheranism
Methodist
Orthodoxy
Protestantism
Quakerism
Unitarian Universalist Association

Islam
Hinduism
Buddhiism
Judaism
Jeedism
Confucianism
Taoism
Jainism and Baha'i
Sikhism
Shinto
Hare Krishna
Pentecostalism
Rastafarianism
Scientology
Shamanism
Yoruba
Zoroastrianism
The Druids
Native American Religions *
African Religions
Australian/Aboriginal Faiths
The Maori Faith
Polynesian Religions
New Age Spirituality
Spiritism
Wicca and Witchcraft


** I will throughout the days while I am still online offer a small introductory of each religion for you to discover and understand.

By learning different faith systems in a world that seems to get smaller and smaller (meaning in transportation and technology allowing us to communicate with whomever in a blink of a second around the world) the education in understanding different faith systems will allow us to find peace or at least a better understanding of other cultures uncommon to our own.

With this I look forward to your wisdom, studies, discussions, debates, and even disagreements.

Your friendly neighbor with a great big smile

smiless

Good morning everyone. I would say you are quiet lucky to be alive today. Wouldn't you say? Let us be grateful that we can enjoy peace and harmony yet another day.

As I enjoy a bowl of Paul Newman's honey oats with soymilk, I shed a smile thinking that I would have never enjoyed this 15 years ago when I was so accustomed to cow's milk and a bowl of Captain Crunch instead. I needed the richness of that cow milk and the sugar of the cereal. Today I can't even digest that anymore. I guess it is a choice everyone takes in the long run.

Today I would like to start with Christianity. I think this is appropriate since it is probably the most practiced religion in the United States and the majority of the people that spend time on Mingle2 are either Americans or living in the states.


Let us begin: CHRISTIANITY

Christianity arose out of Judaism and rapidly developed as a faith with a separate identity, based on the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth (or so they say), who is also referred to as the Christ. There are many different denominations within Christianity. These have come about over the years often because of disagreements about teachings or through different ways of worshipping. Most, however, agree on the basic tenets of the faith. The story of Jesus' ministry and an early history of Christianity are contained in the New Testamment of the Bible.

ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT

In Palestine at the time of Jesus, the political situation of the Jews was chaotic. They had been in servitude for nearly 100 years, were being extensively taxed by their masters the Romans, and were suffering from increased internal conflict within their own ranks. The main source of this conflict was the rivalry between the Sadducees and the Pharisees.

The Sadducees were a priestly sect that had flourished for about two cenuries before the Second Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed by fire in August 70 C.E. The sect was made up of aristrocrat families and merchants, the wealthy elements of the population who clung to birthright and social and economic position. They tended to have good relations with their Roman rulers and generally represented the traditional view within Judaism.

Their immediate rivales. the Pharisees, claimed to be the authority of piety and learning. they were seen as a political party concerned with the laws of rabbinic traditions, especially its holiness code - including dietery laws about the purity of meals and agricultural rules governing the fitness of food for Pharisaic consumption - and the observance of the Sabbath and festivals.

The core of the differences between the Sadduccees and the Pharisees was over the interpretation of the content and extent of God's revelation to the Jewish people. It is notable that the Sadducees, because of their willingness to compromise with the Roman rulers, aroused the hatred of the common people.

A third group of Jews, the Essenes - a virtual monastic brotherhood of property sharing communities devoted to lives of disciplined piety - considered the world too corrupt to allow for Judaism to renew itself, so they dropped out of any conflict.

It was into this complex political/religious cauldron that Jesus injected a further element of dissension.

Note: The Essenes became widely known in recent times following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the late 1940s. Found in caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea by a Bedouin of the Taamireh tribe, they became known as the Qumran Scrolls, and are generally considered to be of Essene origin, although this hypothesis has been challenged by historians and archaeologists.


Tommorow we shall continue with "Jesus and the Early Years".

I hope you enjoyed this and if you have thoughts to share, or questions perhaps we can as a Mingle2 community give answers and further knowledge into the subject.

So it looked like that three different Jewish groups evolved over the years. We have the Sadducees, Pharisees, and later what I think Jesus was in (correct me if I am wrong) the Essenes.

This is interesting. For it showed that the Jewish community somehow couldn't get along with each other, perhaps of the ways of how Romans where governing the country that conflicted with Jewish views at the time.

What are your thoughts on this?

Hi.

Well hello there! Finally a friendly face to greet me

hi hun...sorry...i have the flu and not thinking clearly enough to read what you posted...but i will soon

Jesus basically held beliefs similar to the Phariess, if you actually take the time to find out what they believed. However, in modern terms, I think you have Reformed, Orthodox, Hasidic, etc. etc.

I got your message.

No problem. Your primary task is to get well soon.

Okay I see. Jesus followed the believes of Pharisees and not Essenes. Got it and very interesting by the way.

JESUS AND THE EARLY YEARS

Jesus was born a Jew in the Roman province of Palestine (present day Israel and Jordan) probably just before the first century C.E., during the reign of Herod the Great. The term Christ comes from the Greek Word Xristos, which means "the appointed one." It has the same meaning as moshiach or messiah in Hebrew. Christ is applied to Jesus as a title to indicate his status. It is not Jesus' surname; his full name is Jesus of Nazareth.

The Early Years

Jesus was born to a Jewish couple, Mary and Joseph, who were originally from Nazareth, but had traveled to Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. There is virtually nothing on record about his young life except that his father was a carpenter. It is presumed that Jesus took up his father's profession and it is also presumed that he was raised in the Jewish faith and educated according to Jewish laws and traditions.

In the book of Luke, one of the New Testament books of the Bible, Jesus was presented at the temple and interacted with the teachers there when he was twelve. It wasn't until Jesus was about thirty years old that he emerged as a teacher himself. It was then that he left Nazareth and began three years of traveling througout Judea.

What we know of Jesus' life is based on what is written in the New Testament, however these records are not objective and are often contradictory. Two things do seem to be reliable, however: Jesus produced no written works and his ministry commenced with his baptism by John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was a Jewish prophet who preached the imminence of God's final judgment. In preparation for this judgment day, John instructed people to repent for their sins and when they did so he "baptized" them by immersing them in water. Today the rite of baptism (from the Greek for "to dip") is part of many Christian traditions and may symbolize an induction into the faith (especially when an infant is baptized), purification, enlightenment, or the act of being "born again" as a Christian. John the Baptist is revered in Christianity as the forerunner of Jesus.

more to come..

The Teachings of Jesus

Following his baptism, Jesus began to preach, teach, and perform miracles, and as he did so, he recruited many disciples including a core group of twelve who are now referred to as the apostles.

Soon Jesus broadened his preaching to include non-Jews, known as Gentiles, His style of delivery was charismatic with great moral authority. He used parables - short tales or stories that illustrate a certain moral, ideal, or religous principle - to educate listeners and promp discussion and contemplation of his message. He was also a healer, who cured diseases and on at least on occasion was said to bring a dead man back to life. The gospels record that he was a miracle worker, that he calmed the sea, changed water into wine, and fed the mulititudes with only a few fish and loaves of bread. However, he often performed miracles on the sabbath, which was a violation of Jewish laws.

His message of moral reform was outlined in The Sermon on The Mount, wihci is recored in the first book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, Chapters 5 - 7. In the sermon, Jesus stresses selflessness and repentance.

more to come...

Was Jesus ever married?

Probably not, but some people believe that he married Mary Magdalene and had a son named Bar-Abbas.

The Crucifixion

As Jesus' fame and reputation grew, so did the resentment of the Jewish and Roman authorities, who were worried by the increasing influence of this charismatic preacher and teacher.

Finding that a temple in Jerusalem had been occupied by merchants to conduct their business, Jesus cast them out,s ayitn ghtat the temple was a house of prayer and not a den of thieves. Wheh he was questioned by Jewish leaders, his answers riled them: He claimed that hewas the Son of God and that the highest commandment is to love God.

Not long after, during the Passover seder meal - one of the more important observances in the Jewish religion - Jesus had his twelve disciples around him. Taking the unleavened bread served at the seder he broke it into pieces and shared it with the others, saying "This is my body." Then he poured the wine and shared it, saying, "This is my blood." To this day, these words and actions are repeated in Christian churches around the world during the sacrament known as Eucharist, or Holy Communion, a symbol of the death of Jesus on the cross. The meal at which Jesus first performed this rite is known as the Last Supper.

Yet even among Jesus' closest circle - the twelve apostles - there were those who could be tempted to aid in this downfall. The Jewish authorities convinced one of Jesus' closest friends, Judas Iscariot, to betray him and assist in his arrest. Brought to trial before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, Jesus protested his innocence of the charges of blasphemy and violating the laws of Moses. Even though Pilate admitted the evidence against Jesus was not convincing, he was swayed by popular opinion - the screams and cries from the crowd demanding Jesus' execution - and he sentenced him to be crucified.

more to come...

The Resurrection

Jesus was hung on a cross of wood and left to die. One of Jesus' followers requested and received from the Roman governor permission to bury him. So he laid Jesus' body in a cave and covered the opening with a heavy stone. Two days later, when people arrived to prepare his body for burial, the stone had been rolled away from the entrance to the cave. An angel then appeared and told them Jesus was alive, that he had risen from the dead.

Jesus revealed himself first to Mary Magdalene, one of his closest and mostdevoted followers. Later, Jesus appeared to his discipled and commanded them to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. During the weeks that followed, any who had known Jesus reported seeing him alive; they believed he had risen from the dead. Forty days after his resurrection, the disciples said they saw Jesus lifted up into heaven. That was the last time they saw him.

End conclusion of Christianity

Christians believe that Jesus died for humanity's sins and that God's love has the strength to overcome the worst of human sin. According to Christian belief, God can forgive the sins of anyone who truly repents and wishes to lead a new life, hence the expression "born again."

Christians also believe in a single God - one all powerful creator. However, unlike Jews and Muslims, Christians also believe in the divinity of Jesus as the Son of God' and the belief that Jesus rose from the dead is central to Christians.

However, the most important belief for Christians is that the world and everything in it was created by God and is an expression of God's power and love.

So that is the introductory of Christianity for you. If you are interested in learning more about it then there are many threads that ask questions and have answers in the Christian forum.

So what do we have next on the long list I posted. I will try to go through all of them (one by one) for each day. Each religion is interesting in their own way.

Tommorow I will write about Catholicism. Eventually I hope I will make it to the last one called Wicca.

Have a great day and don't hesitate to add to what I write. Ask questions, add information, or even make corrections if you see something is not right.

It is my belief that current religion will go the way of past religions. They will become a myth just like the greek/roman, Norse, egyptian and other gods/goddesses did. These were religions once and were overthrown by christianity....eventually christianity will be overthrown by another religion. No, this is not an aetheists POV, this is the POV of someone who has studied mythology for 20+ years. Christianity is not the first religion nor is it the last. Religions came long before it and will come long after it.

For over a year I have stated what you have just written when this site was called Justsayhi. You maybe right about your predictions. I know I cannot see the future of Christianity and will not know until I see it. It seems like it may become a mythology one day. Some say in a hundred years from today. There is one thing I know for sure and that is many people believe Christianity belongs to mythology already, as of many people believe that Christianity is the way of life and a faith to follow.

I have also done a mythology thread awhile back for a few months. I stopped it because I was primarily the only one writing in it. I can do that on my words document instead since most never replied to anything I wrote concerning greek, norse, african, or even celtic mytholgy. lol

Mythology is very interesting and I have also read many articles as of books about it. It helps me write my fantasy books that has been my hobby for over 20 years now.

In the end I will go down the list of religions I presented to introduce a short basic history of how and why they started for educational purposes. I hope many will add to it.

I must add that I am primarily interested in each religion for its historical references and how it effects society then and today. It is very interesting when one can go to the core of each religion and see why they evolved and for what reasons.

That may take a while, but many more modern religions are starting to take hold, the one that comes mind at the moment is the wiccan religion. Though its newness it would seem is matter of debate. I wonder though if the dominant religions will be evolutions of older religions on not so much conquerors. There are several men who claim to be the resurrected Jesus and they have many followers. That is an interesting direction that christanity could take. It would not be all that different from the origin of christianity. Jesus was to many in his time just another wannabe who had many followers, but they evolved into the christianity we know today. Mormons and the christian scientists are two other direction for the evolution of christianity.