Moderation of Religion??????????

[morphesium]

The prophet says to keep your religious beliefs under moderation. Almost every religion makes such claims.
But if one is to perform prayers /rituals /religious acts upto 5 times a day, 365 days a year, and one is to chant a particular verse each time before/after or during a particular act ( to keep ones mind occupied with religious thoughts), how can one keep their religious thoughts moderated?

What about the priest / imams - how can they keep their religious thoughts moderated??

 

[George-ananda]

The prophet says to keep your religious beliefs under moderation.

I'm not so sure about your premise. It is more that religion should be fully integrated into your daily life and thinking.

 

[Quintessence]

The prophet says to keep your religious beliefs under moderation. Almost every religion makes such claims.

They do? It's puzzling that this is the first time I have heard of such a thing, then. It is apparently foreign to Paganisms, which are a pretty sizable chunk of the world's religions, both historically and today. Where, specifically, have you been hearing this?

 

[RedDragon94]

religious beliefs

Do you mean social ethics, I believe I know of a Xian denomination that says do everything in moderation.

Almost every religion makes such claims.

Can you give me a list of sources?

 

[muhammad_isa]

.. if one is to perform prayers /rituals /religious acts upto 5 times a day, 365 days a year, and one is to chant a particular verse each time before/after or during a particular act ( to keep ones mind occupied with religious thoughts), how can one keep their religious thoughts moderated?
...

It's not a matter of 'trying not to remember God' .. more one of cultivating a 'mellow character' through study and ponderance .. fair but firm .. consistant

"Truly in the remembrance of God will your hearts find rest"

Clearly, if you live in the middle of a war zone it will be extremely trying
Religion and war are often associated, but religion is not usually directly responsible ie. mankind has split their faith in God into groups forming tribes which 'when the going gets tough' become violent towards each other.
Hence, it's part of human nature, and tribes/nations have always fought each other, irrespective of religion

 

[leibowde84]

The prophet says to keep your religious beliefs under moderation. Almost every religion makes such claims.
But if one is to perform prayers /rituals /religious acts upto 5 times a day, 365 days a year, and one is to chant a particular verse each time before/after or during a particular act ( to keep ones mind occupied with religious thoughts), how can one keep their religious thoughts moderated?

What about the priest / imams - how can they keep their religious thoughts moderated??

By always using common sense, gratitude, forgiveness, mercy and compassion whenever possible.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

The prophet says to keep your religious beliefs under moderation. Almost every religion makes such claims.
But if one is to perform prayers /rituals /religious acts upto 5 times a day, 365 days a year, and one is to chant a particular verse each time before/after or during a particular act ( to keep ones mind occupied with religious thoughts), how can one keep their religious thoughts moderated?

What about the priest / imams - how can they keep their religious thoughts moderated??

What do you mean by moderation?

Our practices, I would assume most, can't be messured whether we are doing this ritual too much or two little. When it is a part of your life, like drinking soup, you soon to loose count of how many times you use your spoon. It comes natural.

I don't understand what you mean by moderation.

 

[Deathbydefault]

The prophet says to keep your religious beliefs under moderation.

Perhaps that is more inclined towards the mouthy zealots who speak the languages of ignorance and stupidity rather fluently.

 

[Noa]

@OP

Your premise is incorrect.

 

[morphesium]

I'm not so sure about your premise. It is more that religion should be fully integrated into your daily life and thinking.

I can't agree with that. The more religion is integrated into ones daily life, the more it is entrapping oneself. You should do this, not that; this way, not that way etc for no ( or some stupid or superstitious) reasons.

 

[Smart_Guy]

Hello Morph, how's it going? It's been a while

I hope I get your point of the OP.

I'm not sure about other religions, but in Islam a prayer can be postponed, done in a special way to meet the scenario, fasting can be postponed, pilgrimage can be completely dropped, alms dropped, and many other pardons can take place too.

Is this what you have in mind for moderation?

 

[Quintessence]

I can't agree with that. The more religion is integrated into ones daily life, the more it is entrapping oneself. You should do this, not that; this way, not that way etc for no ( or some stupid or superstitious) reasons.

You have a strange idea of how religion proper works when it is done as it should as an all-encompassing way of life. Religion =/= rigid fundamentalist dogmatism.

 

[morphesium]

Do you mean social ethics, I believe I know of a Xian denomination that says do everything in moderation.

Can you give me a list of sources?

Buddhism mainly. It greatly talks about moderation.
From the bible -" “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything."
and in some Hadith "Do not take your religion to extreme, because you will not be able to continue ." - I just searched the internet on this.
There is a wise saying on this - "too much of anything is not good". I was talking this with friend on religious matter and he told me it is there even in Quran - that the prophet said to keep moderation even in religion. Its only now i searched the web on this but, i didn't get any satisfactory results.

 

[LuisDantas]

I can't agree with that. The more religion is integrated into ones daily life, the more it is entrapping oneself. You should do this, not that; this way, not that way etc for no ( or some stupid or superstitious) reasons.

That is an interesting thing to consider. There is the view that one can be "too" religious, and therefore there is virtue in being able to take it in moderation. There is also an opposing view that a "true" religion should be in some sense self-correcting and therefore moderation is not something to pursue.

I don't expect any particular level of mutual convincing to be reached any time soon.

 

[RedDragon94]

From the bible -" “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything."

This is 1 Corinthians 10:23. The Bible never says keep you religious beliefs in moderation. What Paul is actually talking about in the chapter is food. How do I know? 1 Corinthians 10:28. And he's talking about food offered to idols. If Paul wanted them to keep their religious beliefs in moderation, wouldn't he say go ahead and eat the food even if it is offered to idols? That's like saying we're doing all this for show. Christianity is an all or nothing religion, you can't be moderate in your beliefs about Jesus and be a Christian because to a Christian either Jesus has saved you from sin or he hasn't.

 

[morphesium]

By always using common sense, gratitude, forgiveness, mercy and compassion whenever possible.

Common sense? I believe common sense is against religion.
Gratitude, forgiveness, mercy and compassion ? Just a 150 years back, if you happened to say that the Sun is at the center of the solar system in front of a priest or church, the priest would have ordered to burn you at stake because you are talking against the bible. What crime have you done to be punished in this way? Even if one talks against the bible, should one be punished so barbarically?
Of course, If one speaks against the bible now a days, we really won't care and we won't even think of punishing him - because our religion is not controlling its followers they way it did in the past.
Gratitude, forgiveness, mercy , compassion etc are your (our) virtues - not your religions. Had it been the religions virtue, they wouldn't have tortured and killed people in the name of religion in the past.

 

[morphesium]

What do you mean by moderation?

Our practices, I would assume most, can't be messured whether we are doing this ritual too much or two little. When it is a part of your life, like drinking soup, you soon to loose count of how many times you use your spoon. It comes natural.

I don't understand what you mean by moderation.

I agree with you that there is no hard line here.
Moderation ~ "limiting onself from doing (something) too much". The reason why i said is this - if we like/long/ do something, and if we keep on doing it for 21 consecutive days, we have formed a new habit (this is human psychology). So if it religious beliefs, the more time one spends , the more addicted he becomes, the more entrapped he/she is. The more one is into a religion, the more apart this person is from another person who happened to practice another religion because they can/will have difference in opinion or opposing rituals.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I agree with you that there is no hard line here.
Moderation ~ "limiting onself from doing (something) too much". The reason why i said is this - if we like/long/ do something, and if we keep on doing it for 21 consecutive days, we have formed a new habit (this is human psychology). So if it religious beliefs, the more time one spends , the more addicted he becomes, the more entrapped he/she is. The more one is into a religion, the more apart this person is from another person who happened to practice another religion because they can/will have difference in opinion or opposing rituals.

Oh. That's a very limited way of seeing religion, though. Religion should do the opposite. It should be a part of a person's life to where it doesn't isolate the religious person from another person. If anything, their religion should develop more than just acceptence or tolerance to other people and other faiths.

My drinking soul everyday at 9am shouldn't isolate me from another person. It's just a habit that means something to me (nurishment) and because I am taking nurishment, I am healthy to interact with people more. It gives me energy (food does) to physically and if it's good food, psychologically interact with others. It doesn't entrap me.

Some people do not follow their religion in moderation or have a open perspective of how their belief affects others. They may push their faith on others; when, that isn't faith or religion is about. It seems to center around the people.

 

[morphesium]

Hello Morph, how's it going? It's been a while

I hope I get your point of the OP.

I'm not sure about other religions, but in Islam a prayer can be postponed, done in a special way to meet the scenario, fasting can be postponed, pilgrimage can be completely dropped, alms dropped, and many other pardons can take place too.

Is this what you have in mind for moderation?

Hello (one of the) Smartest_Guy. Its so nice to hear from you.
Its going fine here. how about you?

The reason why I wrote the OP is this.

if we like/long for and do something, and if we keep on doing it for 21 consecutive days, we have formed a new habit (this is human psychology). So if you like coffee and in the early morning you enjoyed a cup of coffee, - and if this process happens to be repeated for 21 consecutive days, you have formed a new habit. So, if on the 22 day if you didn't get a cup of coffee, you will feel like your whole day is ruined .

So if it is in religious beliefs, the more time one spends , the more addicted he becomes, the more entrapped he/she is. Usually, this may not create a problem, but it can. The more one is into a religion, the more apart this person is from another person who happened to practice another religion because they can/will have difference in opinion or opposing rituals.
I was thinking of the preists etc who has too much rituals to perform each day. Buddhism talks much about moderation (and i thought every other religion talks about this). So these two things are very opposing to each other. thats why I posted the OP.

 

[Quintessence]

So by moderation, what you're really interested in discussing here is avoidance of habit-forming behaviors? Would that be an accurate summary?