What does Non-Revealed mean?

[TealLeaf]

What does it mean that Taoism is a non-revealed religion?

 

[Sunstone]

Revealed religions -- such as Christianity and Islam -- rest on the notion that god revealed his will or desires to someone who then transmitted god's revelation to others. For instance, Christians usually believe that god, in the form of Christ, revealed his will to his disciples, who then spread the word to others.

Taoism, on the other hand, is a non-revealed religion. This means there is no important revelation in Taoism that must be taught to others. Instead, everything that can be known about Taoism can be known by you without anyone else absolutely needing to tell you about it. You can learn it all on your own -- at least in theory.

 

[stacey bo bacey]

Cool, I never knew that!

 

[TealLeaf]

Okay. Well then why is Buddhism considered a revealed religion while Confucianism is considered to be non-revealed?

 

[Functionless]

Okay. Well then why is Buddhism considered a revealed religion while Confucianism is considered to be non-revealed?

Probably because the Siddhartha taught the religion, therefore revealing the middle way to all unenlightened beings.

 

[Willamena]

Okay. Well then why is Buddhism considered a revealed religion while Confucianism is considered to be non-revealed?

Just guessing, I would suggest that whoever said that Buddhism was a revealed religion considered the Buddha to be like the Christ, or even a "god". I don't think it is a relealed religion, and The Great Wiki appears to support that.

 

[TealLeaf]

It seems to me that "revealed religion" is a very arbitrary and functionless construct who's only purpose seems to be to belittle eastern religions and philosophy.

 

[zenzero]

Friend TealLeaf,
The mind is a maze.
Once you get caught up; make take a while to get out of it.
Howsoever it may be described revealed/non-revealed; if you have understood it, its over.
Love & rgds

 

[Willamena]

It seems to me that "revealed religion" is a very arbitrary and functionless construct who's only purpose seems to be to belittle eastern religions and philosophy.

I imagine a circle of people within which that statement is true, but to make it not true --to make "revealed relgion" useful again --just requires stepping out of that circle and into another.

 

[TealLeaf]

how is it useful to discern between the allegedly "revealed" and "non-revealed" religions?

They were all created or written by human beings. The only difference is their respective concepts of the divine.

The more you look at it the label "revealed" just seems like another star to stick on the belly of sneetches.

 

[Willamena]

how is it useful to discern between the allegedly "revealed" and "non-revealed" religions?

They were all created or written by human beings. The only difference is their respective concepts of the divine.

I, like many atheists I suppose, find the revealed religions to be less easy to grasp in terms of their symbolism, hence less believable, hence less useful, than the non-revealed. That makes for a significant discernment. I dare say, I didn't "get it" at all in terms of understanding a "god" (though I thought I had) until I was exposed to the non-revealed religions.

 

[Ozzie]

how is it useful to discern between the allegedly "revealed" and "non-revealed" religions?

Well in an arbitrary sense as Sunstone explained it, it is useful to discriminate here, because it makes a great difference in practice.

 

[TealLeaf]

Well in an arbitrary sense as Sunstone explained it, it is useful to discriminate here, because it makes a great difference in practice.

Sunstone's explanation doesn't address why Confucianism is considered to be non-revealed and only marginally explains why Buddhism is considered by many to be non-revealed.

Again it just seems to be another way to belittle the "heathens" that do not believe in a monotheistic God.

The non-believers of the non-revealed religions have no stars on thars.

 

[Scarlett Wampus]

Again it just seems to be another way to belittle the "heathens" that do not believe in a monotheistic God.

The non-believers of the non-revealed religions have no stars on thars.

I dunno TeaLeaf. If I had a badge saying "I follow a REVEALED religion" many of the people around me would read it as "I follow a RETARDED religion". Who belittles who?

 

[Student of X]

In my way of thinking, both revealed and non-revealed religions are based on mysticism. Revealed religions are based on mystical experiences of a certain kind, and non-revealed religions are based on mystical experiences of a different kind - The former with form (Jesus, Gods, etc) and the latter without form (the Tao, etc), in a nutshell. The form is secondary - all forms are immanent temporal manifestations of the transcendent eternal formless.

 

[invisible chzbrgr]

I, like many atheists I suppose, find the revealed religions to be less easy to grasp in terms of their symbolism, hence less believable, hence less useful, than the non-revealed. That makes for a significant discernment. I dare say, I didn't "get it" at all in terms of understanding a "god" (though I thought I had) until I was exposed to the non-revealed religions.

Apologies if I'm intruding here, but as an atheist it would somehow make more sense to me if a metaphysical "truth" were attainable solely by intuition, or by some sort of mechanism or experience that all humans may share.

A revealed religion (in my view) could not be universal, as its origins are anchored in a specific time and place; then one must depend upon humans throughout history transmitting this truth with fidelity.

It never did seem fair that if the truth resides in Christianity, we have millions and billions who will never see that truth, simply due to an accident of birth.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Okay. Well then why is Buddhism considered a revealed religion while Confucianism is considered to be non-revealed?

I agree with Willamena's view. Buddhism is not a revealed religion, but rather allows it's practitioners a method which helps the person out in "revealing" for themselves.

 

[LuisDantas]

Sunstone's explanation doesn't address why Confucianism is considered to be non-revealed and only marginally explains why Buddhism is considered by many to be non-revealed.

Again it just seems to be another way to belittle the "heathens" that do not believe in a monotheistic God.

The non-believers of the non-revealed religions have no stars on thars.

This is the first I hear of anyone considering thinking of Buddhism as revealed, actually.

Other than obviously wrong perspectives, that is, such as those who insist that Buddhism is a variety of Hinduism or even of Spiritism.

And I also agree with Willamena. Revealed religions actually seem weirder and less trustworthy to me.

I don't see how a non-revealed religion could be seen as lesser in any way just due to such an actually favorable circunstance.

 

[scottb]

I view the main difference between revealed and non-revealed as naturalism. Non-revealed faiths consider only natural truths as authoritative. Revealed faiths consider intermediaries between God and humanity as authoritative.

As for Buddhism, where did the belief in Buddhism of reincarnation come from? Who proved that reincarnation is a natural fact? If there is no natural proof of reincarnation, the belief is not a non-revealed truth. It may be that the belief in reincarnation is cultural. In that case the people of the culture are the prophets. So Buddhism must be a revealed faith.

I do see a problem with the way the forum separates revealed and non-revealed faiths. The division assumes God to begin with. A better division might have been naturalistic and non-naturalistic faiths. But the forum was set up the way it was and this setup probably will not be changed.

 

[Twilight Hue]

As for Buddhism, where did the belief in Buddhism of reincarnation come from? Who proved that reincarnation is a natural fact? If there is no natural proof of reincarnation, the belief is not a non-revealed truth. It may be that the belief in reincarnation is cultural. In that case the people of the culture are the prophets. So Buddhism must be a revealed faith.-scottb-

People get confused on this all the time. It's rebirth, not reincarnation. The majority of Buddhist's acknowledge the "intrinsic self", and is not a migratory essence that travels from body to body such that as found in Hinduism. -NM-