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Necessity of ritual in religion
- Thread starter Burchfam
- Start date
RevOxley_501
Well-Known Member
blocked on my server at work---will check it out when i get to the house--and i like to have hard copies---im on the computer 12 hours a day i like to read physical books instead of ebooks
Green Gaia
Veteran Member
The Unitarians and the Universalists emerged from the radical free church wing of the Protestant Reformation where all types of religious ritual and liturgy were suspect. We UUs today still retain some of that suspicion, as we avoid rote ceremony or ritual for its own sake. Although we do attempt to make meaningful those rituals and symbols we do use, we don't wish them to become ends in themselves.
BruceDLimber
Well-Known Member
Greetings, greetings! 
(Actually, Scott, there are five--and only five--rituals in the Baha'i Faith: you overlooked the daily recitation of "Allah-u-Abha" <"God is Most Glorious"> 95 times and the annual fast. But it is true that we Baha'is have no other rituals, and creation of new ones is expilcitly discouraged.)
And to the person who asked if these are mandatory for all believers, the answer is yes, although there are certain exceptions for special circumstances (these are explained in our scxripxtures).
Regards,
Bruce
(Actually, Scott, there are five--and only five--rituals in the Baha'i Faith: you overlooked the daily recitation of "Allah-u-Abha" <"God is Most Glorious"> 95 times and the annual fast. But it is true that we Baha'is have no other rituals, and creation of new ones is expilcitly discouraged.)
And to the person who asked if these are mandatory for all believers, the answer is yes, although there are certain exceptions for special circumstances (these are explained in our scxripxtures).
Regards,
Bruce
Popeyesays
Well-Known Member
BruceDLimber said:Greetings, greetings!
(Actually, Scott, there are five--and only five--rituals in the Baha'i Faith: you overlooked the daily recitation of "Allah-u-Abha" <"God is Most Glorious"> 95 times and the annual fast. But it is true that we Baha'is have no other rituals, and creation of new ones is expilcitly discouraged.)
And to the person who asked if these are mandatory for all believers, the answer is yes, although there are certain exceptions for special circumstances (these are explained in our scxripxtures).
Regards,
Bruce
True, though I do not consider the Fast a 'ritual', (personally) and I do the 95 Greatest Names with my daily prayer, so to me it's not seperate.
Regards,
Scott
Milton Platt
Well-Known Member
Rituals are necessary in religious ceremonies in order to make the person performing the ritual think that he is actually accomplishing something with his time spent there instead of doing something else.
It also is useful as a means of divisiveness so you can feel a part of something special and sets you up for the "us versus them" mentality when in reality the only difference is you are doing the rituals and they are not. It plays the same role as, say, wearing a tie because you work in an office and are in management. The tie could be considered ritualistic behavior because it isn't necessary to perform the job and you would not otherwise be wearing it.
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
if you are trying to prove your devotion to God by repeating the same action or prayer over and over then I think God gets just as tired of it as you do. use your time for something better. just like when some people repeat the :Lord;s Prayer" ten or twelve or twenty times, I think God would rather hear something new and personal instead of the same thing over and over.
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
suppose you are a parent with a child living in another city. yor child calls you on the phone and says"Hello parent, How are You? I am fine. Hope to see you soon." and hangs up. a few minutes later he calls again and says the same thing. then a few minutes later, again. this happens ten or twelve times. You would think your child is crazy or something is wrong. and yet people call God in prayer and repeat the same prayer over and over. God probably thinks you are crazy or something is wrong.
arthra
Baha'i
I noticed some of my Baha'i friends posted on this thread away back in 2006.. One of them Scott has passed away ..
Rituals can be for some merely a repetitious exercise meaning very little.... but for others, a daily prayer is for our benefit... It reminds us of our relationship to God and encourage us to be humble before the Almighty. It depends on the heart. Another way to look at it is that you know your body needs nutrients to survive.. When your tummy growls you get the message it needs food.. The soul is somewhat similar however the hunger of the soul isn't as obvious as your tummy. Daily prayers and devotions can fill the need of your soul.
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
there is a difference betweena daily prayer in which you express your own thoughts and feelings and simply repeating the same thing over many times in a short period of time. I think God gets tired and bored hearing the same thing repeating over and over
Milton Platt
Well-Known Member
What's worse, is if he knows the future, he already knows you are going to do this......
lostwanderingsoul
Well-Known Member
Do you know how you train an animal? you repeat the same thing over and over many times until the animal can't think of anything else. it seems like some churches use rituals in the same way. if it can get you to repeat the same ritual over and over your brain will not be able to think of anything else. you will not even be able to question if the ritual is really accomplishing anything