Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
here’s my even simpler take on that. when a person keeps their religion/faith/peepee etc as a highly personal article, it is best for mankind as a whole.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
dont lose never so fast. 
What make you think faith is not personal ??
My education is very personal to me, but if wanted to know any thing about it I would share.
More so, if you say math can not help do 2+2=4 I would say it does. Then it become matter of removing your misconception.
Are you suggesting we should feel guilt ? and hide it like a shame ??
that very fascist thinking.. dude..
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
dude.. i dont understand the first line. "dont lose never so fast ". total vat.
secondly, math is universal truth. 2+2 is always 4. faith is not universal or even truth, it is a manmade crutch, hope wrapped in pretty packages. one man’s god is another’s devil, hamburger, stone, colander, alien etc.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Peace queer
Actually that is the recipe for disaster. Common grounds of working, understanding, morality, social order are all stemming from a concept to universalise a set of principles to facilitate human life and interaction. If we personalise these without recourse to sharing them with others then we will live a life a fear and distrust of each other. Even your statement that people should keep religion personal is a statement that requires your value to be disseminated to all people. So here you are imposing your idea on others - saying no religious idea should be spread to others, but this idea should … on what grounds?
Whereas many religions may agree on some issues we can form common platforms. Sometimes people want to learn about other religions too, but this totally distracts from the original statement made by chintu_bhopali …
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
2 + 2 can also equal 11 (in base 3).
And I said this crutch of religion idea is not founded on historical or even rational evidence.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
and 11 in base 3 is still the same as number 4 in any numerical system greater than base 4. still universally true, no two mathematicians from anywhere on the planet would disagree.
now faith - you put two religious types in a room for a day, you get three sects and 2000 years of animosity borne out of nothing.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Actually the concept queer purposed, keeping religion a highly personal matter, has worked pretty well in many countries. Such as for example the scandinavian ones.
Use religion to only solve matters of spirituality, use worldly knowledge to solve worldly matters is quite a successful formula, there should be no shame in adapting it.
The opposite has proven to be recipe for disaster.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Then the same would apply for those who are not religious, or between a religious and non-religious person. There are certain matters like ‘being’ that are not black and white despite religion or no religion.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Peace Balthier
I disagree … Scandinavian countries are not examples ‘religion being kept a highly personal matter’ they are examples of atheism … And they instil atheism among themselves … There is high levels of racial hatred in Europe, there is a high rate of immorality such as incest, pedophilia and a lot of suicide …
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Religion is different things for different people. Some people treat it as one of the many labels they carry, just another group they belong to. Others take it a bit more seriously. I think a better question would be, “What is your religion to you?”
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Yes, this is a good concept, but it only really works if its coupled with complete freedom of religion. You must be allowed to select any religion, or none at all, whenever you like. No compulsion, no repercussion. Religion must be a personal matter, and not a matter for the society. The society or anyone else must never be in position to dictate your choice of faith for you. Opposite has proven to be a recipe for disaster in many countries.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
In Scandinavia you have complete freedom of religion, no religion or lack of religion, is instilled in anyone by the society at large. People are free to believe in whatever they like, whenever they like. Even if someone is Christian at heart, you will not come to know of this, unless you have a deep conservation on personal level with this person.
About racism, there is actually more tolerance for other religions and races in western Europe, than pretty much anywhere else in the world. Especially when compared to the muslim world. Incest, pedophilia etc. exist in all societies, so it can not in any way be correlated to lack of religion. On the other hand, pedophilia can actually be linked to some peoples interpretation of their religion.
The height of tolerance shown in Scandinavia is when the priest(ess) reads from the Quran in the church during Christmas mass. Book belonging to a religion which calls Christianity and the Bible corrupt. The reason they read from the Quran, is not to teach people about Islam, nor acknowledge Islams superiority, but rather show tolerance for people belonging to other religions. Human beings come first, religion comes second, the way it should be. There is also no widespread public outcry, nor any violent reaction due to this.
Simple point (and fact) is that Scandinavian countries figure at the top of most any index related to most tolerant, peaceful and humane society. One of the reasons for this is complete freedom of religion, and keeping religion a highly personal matter. There should be no shame in acknowledging this, nor should there be any shame in emulating this. Human beings need to learn from each other. When we have a recipe for success, then its only ignorant and counter-productive to ignore such a recipe, and keep on applying a recipe which has brought a lot of failure for many centuries.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
This sound like you: (prove me wrong by telling me that you critically consider concept of God with all honesty, if you again come up non relevant. smart socks one liner, read this)
“Those whose intelligence has been stolen by material desires surrender unto demigods and follow the particular rules and regulations of worship according to their own natures.”
[Bhagavad Gita 7:20]
stone and cow god(original message for people in india).
“Ekam evadvitiyam”
“He is One only without a second.”
[Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1]1
“Na casya kascij janita na cadhipah.”
“Of Him there are neither parents nor lord.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 6:9]2
“Na tasya pratima asti”
“There is no likeness of Him.”
[Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:19]3
"na tasya pratima asti
“There is no image of Him.”
[Yajurveda 32:3]5
“shudhama poapvidham”
“He is bodyless and pure.”
[Yajurveda 40:8]6
“Andhatama pravishanti ye asambhuti mupaste”
"They enter darkness, those who worship the natural elements" (Air, Water, Fire, etc.). “They sink deeper in darkness, those who worship sambhuti.”
[Yajurveda 40:9]7
Sambhuti means created things, for example table, chair, idol, etc.
The Yajurveda contains the following prayer:
“Lead us to the good path and remove the sin that makes us stray and wander.”
[Yajurveda 40:16]
Islams take on such matters:
And We have revealed to you the Book with the truth, verifying what is before it of the Book and a guardian over it, therefore judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and** do not follow their low desires (to turn away) from the truth that has come to you; for every one of you did We appoint a law and a way,** and if Allah had pleased He would have made you (all) a single people, but that He might try you in what He gave you, therefore strive with one another to hasten to virtuous deeds; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will let you know that in which you differed;
(5:48 quran)
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Agree with your post for the most part, except I’d use the word State instead of society. There shouldn’t be any laws that mandate or pander to a specific religion. People of all religions should have the right to practice, preach and congregate. And when those people start to infringe on the rights and freedoms of other individuals, the affected individuals should be given the legal recourse necessary to stop them.
Of course that’s easier said than done. I wouldn’t go to small town in Texas and start calling their god names, because all it takes is one nut job for me to lose my life. The American constitution does protect my right to free speech, but it can’t bring me back from the dead.
Re: What Is It? Is the Religion…
Explain these …
I agree there is a lot of stability in these countries … But how or why do you equate that with their stance on secularity? It is more to do with their economic model. They have tolerance … But that is not a credit to religion being kept a personal matter, but rather it is about sharing religious common ground.
Also, there is that annoying fact that it is that region that is responsible for producing the Islamic hate material … Cartoons, etc.
I’m not saying you’re wrong in what you said, except that I feel religion being a personal matter … is not what results in their success …