: Long ago, in the infancy of human civilization way before : christianity there : were tons of religions. They were used as a way to help people understand : the everyday questions plaguing them, as well as a way to control behavior : en masse.
I agree in part. I see most religions as a set of rules for living, and an explanation of those rules. The explanation can be simple ie "God(s) said so" or complex ie just about any Greeek myth. However, I disagree about the "everyday questions". I don't think that ancient people pondered the nature of the sun on a daily basis any more than I ponder quantum theory while showering. Well, I don't most days, anyway. But the point is that most of these questions are of a "higher order of thinking" for lack of a better term. To me, the concept of an everyday question is more like, "what's for supper?" : Through the ages as human civilization became more scientifically advanced : (still before the rise of christianity), these questions were either : answered with a religious connotation (because the "wise" men had no idea, : or these ideas were given to them by temple elders or whoever), or the : problem was solved using practical methodology like: : 1. The rocks are made of metal that melts at a certain temperature : and solidifies at a certain temperature into whatever shape it is : poured in. : They didnt need to know what temperature, just that if you got it hot : enough, it would change. : : As times progressed (including the birth of the judeao-christian : ethos). The : old religions either: : 1. Died out as their follower's numbers thinned. : 2. Were destroyed by newer ideas mandated by conquerers : 3. Adapted and lived on Whoa, nellie. Besides the fact that many /much/ older religions are still around (Buddhism, Hinduism, etc) you've missed a very important one: adoption. Many religions adopted the beliefs of earlier ones for various reasons. One is familiarity -- changing the meaning of a ritual but keeping its trappings, for example. Another is that they worked -- like the Romans adopting much of the Greek mythos. Then you get into the idea of adapting into a totally new religion. Let's take this Judeo-Christian example you've brought up a couple of times. The most familiar difference between the two is the whole Messiah bit, but I would argue that that is not the most important difference between the two from a rational, analytical point of view. Christianity is in many ways a laid back version of Judaism. Why? Because that made it easier to convert the "pagans". For example, if you want to convert a bunch of pig farmers, a ban on pork is gonna make it hard. If you want to convert the Management, telling them that they (and by extension Labor) absolutely cannot work on the sabbath is not politic. Okay, I know I'm going to hear it about the above paragraph. Please keep in mind I'm not trying to be offensive, or tear down anyone's religion. And I'm pretty sure our resident experts on Judaism will be correcting a lot of that. :-) : No matter what happened, the sheer volume of questions society as a whole : had about it's world that could be answered in a theological : manner has been : decreasing ever since. No, just the number that can only be answered that way. Just because a question can be answered scientifically, that doesn't mean that the scientific answer is the widely believed one. : Until now it seems if there are really only two questions left : that could be : answered by our religions: : 1. Why are we here? : 2. What happens when we die? 1) To ask question #1. 2) We stop asking question #2. 2a) If we die and go to an afterlife, presumably there's someone there who will explain it. 2b) If there is no afterlife, we just stop. : Unless I am mistaken, these are the two issues addressed by all : of the major : mainstream religions. Are there religions that don't ask these questions? Not all directly address them (much less try to answer them) but it seems to me that these questions are at the root of religion itself, as all other questions eventually lead to them. : Okay. So that's my theory. I think that it is just a matter of time before : the current religions either adapt or die out. How would they : adapt? I have : no idea, maybe become more scientific. Who knows? If you knew how they would adapt, that's not adaptation, that's planned transition. :-) --BenD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 Signup for the Fusion Authority news alert and keep up with the latest news in ColdFusion and related topics. http://www.fusionauthority.com/signup.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
