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31st August 2004, 11:54 AM
| | Junior Member 58  | | Join Date: 31st August 2004
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Reps: 61 (power: 0) | | | What is religion and how did it exist  Religion is age old since the civilization came into existence. It began when human’s brain advanced to realize to have faith, and worship the systems of the society. Human lived in small groups, regulations and systems were formed to maintain discipline in the group. All small groups had own ideology that were obligatory to all group members. As they were too small in groups, system differed from group (society) to group. In order to initiate members to worship the system, an idol was formed that harmonized the ideology. Rituals were essential part that to be carried in occasions for rejuvenation. During this period their rituals were for natural resources like sun, moon, river, fire etc; spirits like group gods and character idols like devil or angel.
As I feel, ritual is a practice to follow the ideology and its inscription, like those who have faith in bible inscription are Christian and who have faith in Quoran are Muslims and have faith in veda are hindus. So Christianity is the system (religion) and Christians are society, bible is inscription and Jesus Christ is icon. A difference of opinion in society split up from Jews to Christianity or branches like Roman Catholic, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Pentecostal or others.
So religion is a system of belief in society. A ritual is main part of religion that builds citizens of the society to trust, respect the ideology of the society. Each religion has its own inscription for its group. When number of followers grew and opted to join the group that resulted to expansion of particular religion. On the other hand in many cases conversion method by force or temptation was/ is also adopted to expand its wings | 
31st August 2004, 09:19 PM
|  | Totally depraved 30 
| | Join Date: 6th November 2003 Location: Oxford, UK & Princeton, USA
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Reps: 85,556 (power: 96) | | | Are you saying that religion is always dependent on a society? | 
2nd September 2004, 12:25 AM
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Reps: 10 (power: 0) | | | Religion is man's attempt to communicate with God. Or to reach God. I'm not so familiar with other religions so I'll just talk about mine. This is what Christianity says in this regard: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". Jesus said these words. Pretty arrogant, you might say. The implication is that you cannot reach God via other religions. But, if Jesus is who he says he is (the Son of God), shouldn't we listen to him? | 
2nd September 2004, 03:21 AM
| | Junior Member 58  | | Join Date: 31st August 2004
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Reps: 61 (power: 0) | | Originally Posted by CSMR Are you saying that religion is always dependent on a society?  Religion was creation of society. No society No religion. | 
2nd September 2004, 03:33 AM
| | Junior Member 58  | | Join Date: 31st August 2004
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Reps: 61 (power: 0) | | Originally Posted by ecwashere Religion is man's attempt to communicate with God.  Which God do we know or see to communicate with?. Is God not the environment that we create? We practice what has been taught or familiarized by our parents or elders, without knowing what is god. Why there r different Gods to different societies. Is God not one for all human kind | 
2nd September 2004, 05:20 AM
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Reps: 10 (power: 0) | | Originally Posted by sadashivan  Which God do we know or see to communicate with?. Is God not the environment that we create? We practice what has been taught or familiarized by our parents or elders, without knowing what is god. Why there r different Gods to different societies. Is God not one for all human kind
I'm referring to Almighty God - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of the Jewish Old Testament. He is the God that created the heavens and the earth. | 
2nd September 2004, 05:21 AM
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Reps: 10 (power: 0) | | Originally Posted by sadashivan  Religion was creation of society. No society No religion. 
No God No society No nothing. | 
3rd September 2004, 02:53 AM
|  | Regular Member
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Reps: 295 (power: 0) | | | Thats not what religion is.
Religion is a way of explaining the unknown and your whole post to me sounds racist. | 
3rd September 2004, 03:14 PM
|  | Totally depraved 30 
| | Join Date: 6th November 2003 Location: Oxford, UK & Princeton, USA
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Reps: 85,556 (power: 96) | | | That's not a very good definition Nietzche. What if I don't know why my sister has taken the car and I explain it as her need to go shopping? Is that religion? | 
3rd September 2004, 05:37 PM
| | Devil's Advocate 26 
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Reps: 1,869 (power: 10) | | | If you know what happens when you die, then you aren't explaining the unknown now are you? Religion in my opinion is a set of beliefs about the way the universe works on the cosmic scale. Rituals almost always enter into the picture, spirits and such used to, but those beliefs seem to be dying out. Groups of people who share the seem beliefs tend to band together into societies, but that doesn't mean religion is dependent on society, though its rare, individuals with genuinely unique beliefs do pop up. | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes | Linear Mode | | | |