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Select the ones you agree with:

  • 01: Truth has nothing to do with Religion

  • 02: Righteousness has nothing to do with Religion

  • 03: Peace has nothing to do with Religion

  • 04: Love has nothing to do with Religion

  • 05: Non violence has nothing to do with Religion

  • 06: True Religion exists

  • 07: Superior Religion exists

  • 08: There are inferior Religions

  • 09: My Religion is superior

  • 10: My Religion is not superior


Results are only viewable after voting.

paarsurrey

Veteran Member
Is it smart to claim "my Religion is superior"?
And I do not.
"The I believe I can predict that in the end time fire will come upon the earth and burh you up but reincarnation will take a long time because Christians will not be having babies since they have eternal life and the few temporal people left are not having enough babies to accommodate all those wishing to return to life."
The poster #76 might be, if not certainly, just gossiping, or one could say for sure, as the emboldened is not from (Jesus) Yeshua- the truthful Israelite Messiah, please, right?
Poster #81 "I believe everything I say comes from Jesus."

What a gossip ^ of the poster , please, right?

Right?
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
I believe everything I say comes from Jesus.
1727906270199.png
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
Is it smart to claim "my Religion is superior"?



Poster #81 "I believe everything I say comes from Jesus."

What a gossip ^ of the poster , please, right?

Right?
Gossip is the wrong word. Gossip refers to making public information that is private, or the malicious spreading of lies about another. He was not gossiping since it is not gossip to make public one's own opinions.

Is there something alarming about his statement? Yes. It is concerning enough to suggest to him that he discuss this with his doctor.
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
The irony of his claim is that other Christians seem to believe they also speak for God, but their so-called divinely inspired messages are often conflicting.
Although most Christians certainly do also believe they are sharing what they think God wants them to share, they really don't think they are conduits for God in the way Muffled does.

Yes, I agree with your remark about the contradictions.
 

Sgt. Pepper

All you need is love.
Although most Christians certainly do also believe they are sharing what they think God wants them to share, they really don't think they are conduits for God in the way Muffled does.

Yes, I agree with your remark about the contradictions.

While I agree with what you said, I've known many Christians throughout the years who honestly considered themselves God's personal spokesperson.
 

Balthazzar

N. Germanic Descent
Why would anyone suggest truth not to be perquisite for any religious stance? Superior in what way? My own is superior to yours based on my subjective need to keep it real. I actually enjoy shrimp. I think the BBQ joint down the road has a sweet-smelling savor associated with it. Beyond this, the way I relate to my "God" is my personal relationship with God, so keeping it real by honoring this in spirit and truth, I will suggest my religion to be superior to any others as it pertains to me as an individual, individually.

The poll seems loaded and aimed to undermine religion, as if religion isn't associated with anything we could deem to be even remotely true.

Anchovies on pizza is still an unholy abomination to my pallet.

p.s. How smart would I be to claim your religion to be superior to my own?
 

IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
While I agree with what you said, I've known many Christians throughout the years who honestly considered themselves God's personal spokesperson.
And in those rare cases, I would give them the same response I gave Muffled -- they need to discuss this with their doctor :)
 

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
"Is it smart to claim "my Religion is superior"?"


No. It would be foolishness and braggadocio.
 

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
A wiser claim is "my religion is more preferable or desirable to me".
 

Balthazzar

N. Germanic Descent
"Is it smart to claim "my Religion is superior"?"


No. It would be foolishness and braggadocio.
If I claimed anything less than a superior stance for myself when it comes to my religion, why would anyone resist proselytizing attempts and conversion tactics to "teach me better" from their own religious pool and personal relationship?

Before my religious journey and after 30 years on my religious journey.

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Before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . After
 

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IndigoChild5559

Loving God and my neighbor as myself.
"Is it smart to claim "my Religion is superior"?"


No. It would be foolishness and braggadocio.
I originally posted this in #56, but it is worth repeating, and I would love your feedback.

Religion serves multiple purposes, and one religion may be better at any one thing than another. Before I begin, it is worth noting that atheism is not a religion, so I will not be discussing it.

1. Religions give people a way to express our awe, reverence, and adoration. Historically, this began with our awe of the powers of nature. As time went on, some cultures developed a more nuanced understanding, being in awe of some source outside of nature.

2. Religions give us ethical codes. Not universally, but certainly as time went on, the old religions that merely appeased fickle gods fell away, while religions that offered something more substantial flourished. Part of this is giving to its community the tools they need to become better people if they so wish.

3. Religions give us close knit communities where we thrive and care for one another. Within these communities, we experience love, joy, structure, and safety.

4. Religions explain the inexplicable (or at least try).

5. Religions help us cope with the struggles and suffering of life, from losing a job, to dealing with death.

6. Religions help us bring order out of chaos by offering a structured framework of beliefs and practices that give meaning and purpose to human experiences.

7. Religious communities, when healthy, increase our wellbeing. Those involved with healthy religious communities are more likely to have better health, longer lives, and a buffer against anxiety and depression.

Now, returning to the question at hand....

Some religions are clearly going to excel at some things while others flounder.

For example, one religion may meet quite regularly and worship with incredible beauty, and have an abundance of festivals, holy days, and other joyous occasions. Other religions, hmmm not so good. Maybe they meet in a warehouse because they find no meaning in beauty. Maybe they don't sing. Maybe they have no holy days. But if I could use a metaphor, they are simply more plain and grey.

Another example... One religious community may be extremely loving, making all feel welcome, caring about the health and well being of all, even welcoming difficult questions. Another religious community may be a place of fear, where problems and doubts are kept secret lest one be shunned, where only the right kind of person is accepted.

You get the idea.

Now, apply the same sort of evaluation, but "add the scores" for all the purposes of religion. No religion is going to be perfect. But some will "score" better overall than others. Ideally, a person should be convinced that their religion is the one that scores highest, and then work from within on the areas that need improvement.
 

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
If I claimed anything less than a superior stance for myself when it comes to my religion, why would anyone resist proselytizing attempts and conversion tactics to "teach me better" from their own religious pool of personal relationship?
Taking a "superior stance" means to others you have something to prove and thus something they could possibly tear down.

Taking an assertive stance makes it more difficult/less possible for another to attempt conversion. It's not that they may not try. But you would have left them on the defensive.

I call this, Kung Fu. ;)

That "superior stance" seems more like a chip on a shoulder and less like a foundation to stand upon.
 

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
I originally posted this in #56, but it is worth repeating, and I would love your feedback.

Religion serves multiple purposes, and one religion may be better at any one thing than another. Before I begin, it is worth noting that atheism is not a religion, so I will not be discussing it.

1. Religions give people a way to express our awe, reverence, and adoration. Historically, this began with our awe of the powers of nature. As time went on, some cultures developed a more nuanced understanding, being in awe of some source outside of nature.

2. Religions give us ethical codes. Not universally, but certainly as time went on, the old religions that merely appeased fickle gods fell away, while religions that offered something more substantial flourished. Part of this is giving to its community the tools they need to become better people if they so wish.

3. Religions give us close knit communities where we thrive and care for one another. Within these communities, we experience love, joy, structure, and safety.

4. Religions explain the inexplicable (or at least try).

5. Religions help us cope with the struggles and suffering of life, from losing a job, to dealing with death.

6. Religions help us bring order out of chaos by offering a structured framework of beliefs and practices that give meaning and purpose to human experiences.

7. Religious communities, when healthy, increase our wellbeing. Those involved with healthy religious communities are more likely to have better health, longer lives, and a buffer against anxiety and depression.

Now, returning to the question at hand....

Some religions are clearly going to excel at some things while others flounder.

For example, one religion may meet quite regularly and worship with incredible beauty, and have an abundance of festivals, holy days, and other joyous occasions. Other religions, hmmm not so good. Maybe they meet in a warehouse because they find no meaning in beauty. Maybe they don't sing. Maybe they have no holy days. But if I could use a metaphor, they are simply more plain and grey.

Another example... One religious community may be extremely loving, making all feel welcome, caring about the health and well being of all, even welcoming difficult questions. Another religious community may be a place of fear, where problems and doubts are kept secret lest one be shunned, where only the right kind of person is accepted.

You get the idea.

Now, apply the same sort of evaluation, but "add the scores" for all the purposes of religion. No religion is going to be perfect. But some will "score" better overall than others. Ideally, a person should be convinced that their religion is the one that scores highest, and then work from within on the areas that need improvement.
In other words, it's "my religion is more preferable or desirable to me". All the things you mentioned are subjective completely up to individual discretion.


"Superior" seems to carry a lot of weight when it's really just part of the air. It's a word that doesn't float very long.
 

Balthazzar

N. Germanic Descent
Taking a "superior stance" means to others you have something to prove and thus something they could possibly tear down.

Taking an assertive stance makes it more difficult/less possible for another to attempt conversion. It's not that they may not try. But you would have left them on the defensive.

I call this, Kung Fu. ;)

That "superior stance" seems more like a chip on a shoulder and less like a foundation to stand upon.

Mine is superior to me and for reasons personal, which I wouldn't pretend to claim the same as not being true to others for themselves, as it pertains to their own religion.

Preference is a good term but may not be adequate. Assertive how? I don't care how anyone else relates to their perceived God. It's personal and I'm fairly certain it always has been. We take superior stances for ourselves, although some may try to project that unto others of different varieties.
If it's the term superior that throws you off, I could utilize the term better and apply it the same way. I could state its more beneficial and it would still be true. I could suggest it's not better than theirs, and not as beneficial, and not as good, but what would that say of my conviction and sincerity?

She said: "Yeah ... well my religion is superior to your religion for me. "

I said: "I would hope so. It's a perquisite if you truly believe in it"
 

Viker

Your beloved eccentric Auntie Cristal
She said: "Yeah ... well my religion is superior to your religion for me. "
For me.

The context is that it's better for her. It's a sloppy way to say "preferable for me". It usually works. A really determined proselyte would find a way past that.
 
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