What I like about other religions

M'kay.

 

Buddhism: basically everything

Islam: seems very practical and dedicated

Quakers: simplicity and rejection of dogma

Hinduism: huge diversity, nonviolence

Paganism: harmony with nature

(LaVeyan) Satanism: a "devil's advocate" (hardee har) to mainstream thinking

 

I'm quoting myself so I'll come up with some more/different reasons....

Islam - seven heavens

Christianity - parables in the Gospels

Judaism - Zohar, the Book of Splendour

Zoroastrianism - good thoughts, good deeds, good um... there were three, right?

Buddhism - the eightfold path

Hinduism - openness to other religions

 

islam: nothing

hinduism: nice and colourful, shaktipat, gurus, hashish

buddhism: nothing

christianity: Jesus, Salvation, the Truth, Miracles, Holy Spirit, Impartation, Prophecy, Healing, Slain in the Spirit, speakinging tongues "#!*"£&&!@~" , baptism, holy spirit baptism etc

paganism: fury goat legs and horns

satanism: for so being so radical

jws: my Grandfather

atheism: well its good for a laugh

New Age: for its freedom of thought

 

Absolutely Nothing, except for the community baptists do know how to put on the BEST halloween and harvest parties I have ever been to.

 

All other religions: They provide hope and guidance in people's journey to finding their better nature.

I have reason to like them all.

I have reason to respect them all.

I have reason to honor them all.

 

Lovely post CZ.

 

does that mean you believe in what they all say to believe in? like muslims killing people just for being gay?

 

Many things I have heard from Muslims are quite sublime. I have never heard one say that their religion advocates death to gays.

I would however find that aspect disagreeable, if it is indeed one of their beliefs.

But somehow... I doubt that it is.

 

Then you should watch the news more often because that religion does in fact hang gay people if their leaders find out. It was just two years ago Iran hung two boys under 16 years old because the religion says so. I have not watched to hear if they have done any more recently. So what about the excommunicating of those in the catholic religion for someone having an abortion? does that also bring honor & guidance to peoples journey?

 

I might have said the same thing as you 5 years ago. I had to answer honestly from the heart as well.

 

Judging from your outlook one would wonder how Islam and Catholicism have any members at all.

And yet they do.

And most of their followers lead good lives.

You seem to discount that.

 

That is because they are told to believe it or else go to hell at a very young age.

 

I've discarded many things told to me at a young age.

Most people do.

 

Most people dont. They tell the same thing to their kids that they were told, that is how they keep the religion going.

So why dont you join the religions if you like them all? Or you just like them even if you don't believe in them? I could never like something that I don't believe is true.

 

You seem to dislike many things.

 

That is what you said about me, not what I said or asked you.

I did not say I dislike many things and that does not answer the question.

This is what I 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.

 

Nonsense. All it says is we are all people and that many never grow out of wanting to believe in fairy tales. The religions are superfluities.