Strangest religion

Strangest religion

Us heebs always get branded as strange, but we don't have shit on those zaney shiaa muslims:

wtf :spangled: crazy , any idea wot thats all in aid of ???

Andy circumcision prevents aids... whats strange about protecting yourself from a disease that threatens to wipe about our existence?

Andy do you install anti-virus software on your computer before or after it has been infected?

Why would you say that? HIV is one of the biggest threat known to humanity and an ancient practise can can help safeguard one from infection... There seems no logic to the act of circumcision and while there are recorded instances of pre-Abrahamic semitic people engaging in the act; it seem's bizarre to have it as one of the most important commandments.

Whatever your thoughts on religion, you cannot escape the fact the Jews have been practising a bizarre act that modern science is only just understanding the value of.

When carried out on an infant it is one of the safest operations one can undergo and their are clear medical benefits.

There are no medical benefits for whipping youself with chains and slashing your forehead.

Sadly not everyone uses condoms and theres no way of ensuring your offspring will not get drunk at a party and sleep with the local harlot... As a parent I would go to every length I could to protect my childs health.

In continuation to that argument: if there is a G-d why is there suffering, why don't we live forever, why do we feel emotional pain?

The religious answer is simple, Hashem created an 'imperfect' world for the advancement of his creations; the parent of a baby that has taken ill, gives that child some medicine despite knowing that baby's going to cry even more upon drinking that foul potion; but he still forces the infant to drink as he knows the suffering the child experiences is short lived and the results are better for the baby in the long term.

We are in essence G-d's partners in creation, he has created a world that can not only heal itself but advance itself.

You continuelly ask the predictable question and then for some unbeknown reason gloat about the questions a 5 year old could of concoted.

up there with islam:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6370991.stm

what does this have to do with religious leaders?!?!?

This isn't religious teachings, its the reaction of a society that feels threatened by the west.

roffle, we all know he hasn't come yet!

Joe,
I know you and I class you as one of my good friends, and I respect you and your religion. But, and there is always a but, you are an educated guy and I am to, but do you REALLY believe in your religion??

(Just as a really poor example) aztecs believed sacrifcing people would bring a good harvest that year, keep the sun god rising every day, in ancient times the greeks/aztecs/incacs/egyptions (the most advanced anciet civilisations), had moon/sun/sea/wind gods etc. which they had to 'keep sweet' in order for the covenant to survive.

These most advanced ancient religions (apart from the obvious ones, but u know what i am getting at) have been now proved by science and general common sense to be ludacris, (hehe). At what point in modern times are followers of any religion going to realise that any sort of god is a work of ancient fiction, and holds no power (other than by fanatics) will religion be anything other than a 'fall guy' per say ??

I do not have the answer to how the world/universe was made/formed but do you really believe it was created by ONE supreme power??. As for all the other religions around the world, they all believe 'their god' created the world. So does this on it's own not denounce that the universe/world/earth was created by one divine 'god'??

Joe I want an awesome (non waffle, laymans terms) response.

Very much aligned with my own sentiment after reading that article....

[ame="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dawkins-Delusion-Alister-McGrath/dp/0281059276/sr=8-1/qid=1171805922/ref=pd_ka_1/203-6719048-1876724?ie=UTF8&s=books"]The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine: Amazon.co.uk: Alister McGrath, Joanna Collicutt McGrath: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41cnlplDecL.@@AMEPARAM@@41cnlplDecL[/ame]

Incidentally, I saw this in Waterstones the other day Andy, it thought you might appreciate it, I choked when I read some of the reviews

i can't really respond in laymans terms, but I've gone over this theme a while ago - I'll repost my interpretation of my religion then ellaborate:

--

When considering the conception of the Universe cosmological consensus would imply that there existed an incredible profusion of energy, it is this energy that caused our Universe to come into existence and this same energy that constructs the present.

To better understand the implications of the above statement we must explore Einstein's equation: E=mc², which states that the energy (E) within something is equal to the inertial mass (M) of that thing multiplied by the speed (C) of light squared, this means that anything with mass also has energy (on an incogitable level). As a consequence we are not just surrounded by energy; we are made out of energy.

Once our Universe had come into existence the laws of thermodynamics ensured that within this space-time continuum energy is eternal, with this knowledge we can conclude that any energy in existence today (both kinetic and potential) was also here at the dawn of time.

In an age of mortality this is an enchanting revelation; generations of secular logos has instilled in us a belief that after death there lies nothing, yet this modern concept of energy introduces us to a new school of thought: not only were we here at the beginning of time - but we shall also be here at the end.

It is the eternal nature of energy that nudges the discourse into a spiritual dimension, Ein Sof is a Kabalic term that is used to loosely describe G-d; literally meaning "without end", this description correlates with our understanding of energy… However, while energy may be G-dly; it is not G-dlike as it relies on external laws and forces to incarnate itself as matter.

An occidental conditioned mindset may grapple with the concept of a deity as the evolution of secularism has instilled a great distrust in that which logic cannot explain, yet the more enlightened man becomes the more perceptive he is to theories of an extraneous evolutionary catalyst.

"Try and penetrate with our limited means the secrets of nature and you will find that, behind all the discernible concatenations, there remains something subtle, intangible and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything that we can comprehend is my religion. " – Albert Einstein

Material existence is reliant upon an enigmatic force which scientists have clumsily branded 'energy', yet this nugatory noun fails to capture the entirety of the subject which brought about our existence and defines our future. To declare this force a G-d is too great a compliment as there are strict laws controlling its behaviour, while isolating it in the scientific domain detracts from the entirety of this omnipresent entity. Personally, I like to think of it as an extension of an incomprehensible presence, an extension which is best described as the pabulum of existence.

--

From the above you would be safe to assume that my G-d (and the G-d of most Jews) lacks the mortal qualities ascribed to the ancient G-ds of the people you described, but rather it is an incomprehensible force that sparked existence.

When you ponder on why rational thinkers project spiritual tendencies, you correlate their G-d with your own primitive interpretation of historical G-ds... The reality is there lies a huge chasm betweem your perception of a G-d and Judaisms interpretation of it's G-d.

When we talk fo a G-d, we don't think of a bearded dude sitting in a cloud zapping those that are stupid enough to eat pork; we think of the laws of nature, the conception of matter, the harmony that resonates throughout existence... But these are not my thoughts, it is the sentiment of the great Jewish sages that lived thousands of years ago; long before the era of science.

And again you take my words out of context, I said in the infancy of a religious movement rebellions must be put down - in the biblical era rebellious movements were put down with force.

Today, perhaps they would be handled in a different way... But they would be handled none the less.

This has nothing to do with how Hashem may interact with his creation (and I am not ascribing human characteristics like gender and emotion to Hashem, I am speaking of him as the Torah does in language that we can comprehend).

how can you proclaim bullseye when you haven't read the book?

It has nothing to do with a "zap", ignoring the vast variations between interpretations of the text, it is clearly stated that the people of Sodom had been condemned to die for their evil acts, those of merit would survive and the immoral would perish.

We do not know the reasoning (if indeed Hashem "reasons") or the process in which Lot's wife was transformed to a pillar of salt, the Torah merely provides a vague narative which functions as an example of the awesome nature of Hashem delivered in a style which followers of Jewish thought would be able to connect with throughout the ages.

why?

rebelions by their nature threaten that which they revolt against, Franco's revolution put an end to liberalism in Spain and introduced an era of fascism; on the contrary Guy Fawkes revolt in the UK was crushed and democracy, protestantism & the monarchy were saved.

This idealogical Jewish rebellion was no different.

so basically it was nothing to do with god, it was the early jews who were threatened and responded with violence.
god would certainly not be threatened as he is omnipotent.
seems to have echoes today to me. israel threatened, respond with violence and claim god is your right to do so.

And yet again you've taken the event out of context, the nation of Israel had just entered into a covenant with Hashem; In choosing the hebrews G-d would deliver them from bondage and they would deliver Torah throughout the world... Minutes into this deal there was rebellion that threatened this holy mission.

The stoning of the man on Shabbat has nothing to do with his individual rights, but to do with the influence his actions would have on the future of Judaism.