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What is the best Religion?

What is the best Religion?

  • Islam

  • Christianity

  • Hinduism

  • Buddhism


Results are only viewable after voting.
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viole

Ontological Naturalist
Premium Member
I believe Christianity is the best religion because it is a living religion while all the others are dead religions.

It does not look much alive at all from where I come.

I saw dead people in better shape, actually.

Ciao

- viole
 

neologist

Member
Look around. See if your religion qualifies.
34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.(John 13: 34,35)
Show me a religious group whose members would rather die than go to war against another.
 

psychoslice

Veteran Member
The best religion is what is best for you and you only, and realizing this and letting everyone else choose their best is how true religion should be.
 

minorwork

Destroyer of Worlds
Premium Member
Get an experience like no other by whatever means, serious concentration exercises or drugs. Then look around for a system to modify to your experience and needs. Go to modifying yourself to the religion and, IMO, you're off the track.
 

Frank Merton

Active Member
The best religion of course does not exist. The rest is ego and the beliefs are based almost entirely on how we were raised.

That said, in my fantasy (not that I think it is real), the best religion would incorporate these notions"

1. There would be God or a god. We need this out of our submission instincts, and much better than submitting to some idol or ideology or leader or whatever (representation of this god with icons is even better). We leave to the theologians the debates about infinity and so on.

2. For the most part this god does not interfere via stuff like miracles. This shows favoritism, or whim or something silly, and is a noose for the superstitious to hang themselves. True there is suffering, but we must have problems or we would not have problems to solve.

3. This is not, however, a god of suffering. He needs and wants nothing from us except our well being. Martyrs and killing for him is not wanted and counter to his nature. Neither does he need monks and priests and others who separate themselves off from the rest of us as somehow more holy. Nor does he give special messages to special people. That would be a travesty of his universality.

4. He neither needs nor wants glory or worship or service. He is above that sort of petty human thinking. The way to serve this god, if one must, is to do good things and help others and create beauty (music, buildings, gardens, etc.).

5. In the end we can trust our souls or spirits are well cared for, but speculation as to how is at this level of our existence only something we can speculate about.
 

Moishe3rd

Yehudi
What is the best Religion?
You're a funny man.
I am curious why you would choose to ignore the Jews.
Seriously.
As neither Christianity nor Islam would exist without G-d giving His Torah to the Children of Israel - why would you leave out that option?

Plus, as Avraham Avinu (Abraham, Our Father) was indeed the first Jew, I have a theory that Hinduism, and therefore Buddhism, also descended from Avraham and therefore all extant religions of the world have their roots in the Jews.
IMHO....
 

Frank Merton

Active Member
You're a funny man.
I am curious why you would choose to ignore the Jews.
Seriously.
As neither Christianity nor Islam would exist without G-d giving His Torah to the Children of Israel - why would you leave out that option?

Plus, as Avraham Avinu (Abraham, Our Father) was indeed the first Jew, I have a theory that Hinduism, and therefore Buddhism, also descended from Avraham and therefore all extant religions of the world have their roots in the Jews.
IMHO....
Sorry to deflate your bubble, but it is getting too big. Judaism at this point has gotten down to the point where it qualifies as "others" like Caodaism or Jainism and so on. To set the facts straight, the religions that originated in India evolved from an underlying Indus Valley substructure (rebirth, enlightenment, meditation) mixed with the Indo-European mythic religion of specialized gods, Nirvana (Olympus), and miracles and that stuff. There is nothing of Judaism in all this, and, considering the jumble of inconsistencies that resulted, I'm surprised anyone would even want to associate themselves with it.
 

Moishe3rd

Yehudi
Sorry to deflate your bubble, but it is getting too big. Judaism at this point has gotten down to the point where it qualifies as "others" like Caodaism or Jainism and so on. To set the facts straight, the religions that originated in India evolved from an underlying Indus Valley substructure (rebirth, enlightenment, meditation) mixed with the Indo-European mythic religion of specialized gods, Nirvana (Olympus), and miracles and that stuff. There is nothing of Judaism in all this, and, considering the jumble of inconsistencies that resulted, I'm surprised anyone would even want to associate themselves with it.
Statistically speaking, Jews do not even exist. They do not even qualify as "Others."
However, for the last three thousand years, right up to the year of somebody's lord, 2016, humanity has had a problem denying the existence and, apparently importance, of Jews.
Jews and the Torah are the longest continuous existing people on planet Earth.

As far as the Indus valley goes - here are my thoughts on the matter - take them or leave them as you will....


Genesis 25:1-6:
"Abraham proceeded and took a woman whose name was Keturah. She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan, and the children of Dedan were Ashurim, Letushim, and Leummim. And the children of Midian: Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Elda'ah; all these were the descendants of Keturah. Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But to the concubine-children who were Abraham's, Abraham gave gifts; then he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, eastward to the land of the east."

Here is the Torah analysis of the above passage:

Our rabbis ask (Miizrachi):

"What gifts did Abrahham have left to give? He had previously given everything he owned to Isaac?"

(Rashi) explains: "according to the Sages (Sanhedrin 91a that gifts are not to be understood in the material sense, but rather) He imparted to them the secrets of the impure or unclean arts."

This refers to the knowledge of demons and sorcery, etc. He imparted this knowledge to teach them to counteract sorcery, and exorcise demons which enter into men (Gur Aryeh)

According to the (HaKsav V'haKabllah), Abraham imparted this knowledge to them so that they would know how to guard themselves from substituting impure names for hallowed names and inadvertently worshipping them.

(Rashi) also adds: another interpretation: Gifts refers to gifts which had been given to him because of Sarah (20:14,16 - Abraham's soujourn in Egypt where Sarah kidnapped by Pharoah), and the gifts he received from others. All of these he now gave to them since he wished to derive no benefit there-from. (Previously he had give Isaac all the wealth he had earned)

He sent them "eastward to the east country." The "land of the east" would have been Charan in Amram Naharaim and Ur Kasdim. These were the lands where Abraham's kin lived and came from. The geographical area that this would have encompassed in modern day terms is Syria, Iraq and even tribal lands in Iran.

He sent his concubine children there, confident that his kinsmen would welcome them and offer them greater friendship than they would have found elsewhere. (Radak)

(Chiizkuni) explains that Abraham sent them there to claim the ancestral inheritance that was due to him for his own family.

Now, according to the Torah, Abraham was renowned throughout the world as the Founder of Monotheism, the belief in the One, True G-d. He had great, great wealth much of it in the form of cattle. Much of the cattle he got on account of Sarahin Egypt, and as gifts from neighboring kings.

Therefore, his concubine children would have gone out as Princes of Abraham; with the knowledge of the G-d of Abraham; with much wealth in cattle; with powers given to them by Abraham to defend themselves against the idol worshippers; to claim their ancestral lands towards the East.

If they were able to claim their lands in the East, they would have become leaders of the Peoples in the lands to the East; the early Persians and Medes


Abraham lived from 1813 BCE to 1638 BCE.


Somewhere between 1700 BCE and 1200 BCE, the Aryan People descended from the Khyber pass and invaded India. They had traveled from the West, first taking over what is now Afghanistan and then moving on to India.

They were a racial mixture of Persians and Medes. They had great herds of cattle. They conquered the Indian civilizations with relative ease. They brought their gods with them into India.

This became the "Dark Ages" of India, but, as with the "Dark Ages" of Europe, it was also a time where new cultures and religions were fashioned. It is called the Vedic Age by the Hindus. Somewhere between 1200 BCE and 600 BCE, the religion of Hinduism came into being.

It was a melding of the new gods of the Aryans and the old animist worship of the Dravidian Indians.


This is what I believe happened:

The children of Abraham became the tribal leaders of the Peoples of the East. They believed in the G-d of Abraham and they knew the Names of all of the Demons and Lesser Powers that could be used to help or afflict man.

They became the Aryan race that migrated East.

As the centuries went by, the G-d of Abraham became the G-d, Abraham.

This, in turn, eventually became G-d Brahman.

In Hinduism, Brahman is the the "First Cause;" the unmanifested reality of everything.

When it manifests, it is the Creative Force, the deity, Brahma.

The wife of Brahma is Saraswati. In Hinduism, this is the feminine Creator.

Saraswati is a river in India with a minor tributary called Hakara.

Sarah was Abraham's wife. Her slave; his concubine, was Hagar.

The Hindu pantheon - Shiva, Vishnu, Kali, Yama, Krishna, Ganesha, Lakshmi, Agni, just to name of few of the hundreds, if not thousands of Hindu deities, are all considered "Lesser gods." Some are demons. All are aspects of other deities. All are subservient to, or part of, Brahman.

These could have been the names of the Lesser Powers and Demons that Abraham gave his children power over....

In Judaism, there are many Aspects of G-d. And, they all mean specific, different things, but they are all G-d.

We say the G-d of Avraham; the G-d of Yitzach; the G-d of Yaakov; G-d the Father; the G-d of Mercy; the Redeemer; the Creator; the All Supreme G-d; the G-d of Forgiviness; etcetera.

It is all one G-d. There are many Names.


Lastly, in Parshas Lech Lecha, (Genesis 12: 1-3) the Torah proclaims:

Hashem said to Abram, "Get yourself from your country, from your relatives, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation; I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse; and all the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you."

My theory would take care of that other one third of humanity that is not Christian or Muslim...

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. ;)
 

Frank Merton

Active Member
You make claims based on the unhistorical and mostly mythical claims of your religious tradition and then use these same sources for your proof. The fallacy here has many names, circularity immediately comes to mind.
 

Frank Merton

Active Member
Well I'm glad you qualified that, as atheism is an opinion approaching belief about just one aspect of religion, whether or not there are gods. One can and many are religious, spiritual people who think the subject of gods is irrelevant to us, and others who simply understand the absurdity.
 

Norbert Tinca

New Member
Let God to explaint what is the best religion

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.

But understand this somebody? Who are the fatherless or who are the widows?

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation
 

Kirran

Premium Member
In Hinduism, Brahman is the the "First Cause;" the unmanifested reality of everything.

When it manifests, it is the Creative Force, the deity, Brahma.

The wife of Brahma is Saraswati. In Hinduism, this is the feminine Creator.

Saraswati is a river in India with a minor tributary called Hakara.

Sarah was Abraham's wife. Her slave; his concubine, was Hagar.

The Hindu pantheon - Shiva, Vishnu, Kali, Yama, Krishna, Ganesha, Lakshmi, Agni, just to name of few of the hundreds, if not thousands of Hindu deities, are all considered "Lesser gods." Some are demons. All are aspects of other deities. All are subservient to, or part of, Brahman.

These could have been the names of the Lesser Powers and Demons that Abraham gave his children power over....

In Judaism, there are many Aspects of G-d. And, they all mean specific, different things, but they are all G-d.

We say the G-d of Avraham; the G-d of Yitzach; the G-d of Yaakov; G-d the Father; the G-d of Mercy; the Redeemer; the Creator; the All Supreme G-d; the G-d of Forgiviness; etcetera.

It is all one G-d. There are many Names.

To clarify: the Creator, Brahma, is hugely unimportant to almost every Hindu. He's not really worshipped as a central deity, although he is revered. Saraswati is also not really individually revered as a Creator.

Shiva, Vishnu, Krishna and forms of Mother are certainly not considered "Lesser gods" by most Hindus. In fact, the largest denomination of Hinduism believes that either Vishnu, Krishna or Rama is the true form of the Supreme, of the One God. The second-biggest believes the same about Shiva. The third-biggest about Shakti, Mother, in her different forms. The fourth-biggest believes many different forms can be worshipped as the One God.

For me, as a Shiva-worshipper of that fourth-biggest group (Smartism), Shiva is the Creator, the Preserver and the Destroyer, as well as the Concealer and the Revealer.
 

LuisDantas

Aura of atheification
Premium Member
Does anybody really think God has a favorite Religion?
That would present a very low opinion of God.
Hypothetically, if there is a God somewhat similar to those proposed by the revealed religions, then discriminating among proper and mistaken believers is actually one of his most consistent traits.

So yes, in practice he would have a favorite religion, at least in terms of approving of the teachings of some above those of others and, if there is such a thing as divine salvation, it would be basically certain that it would happen far more often to those of certain specific flavors of revealed religion than to others.

It is difficult to imagine an alternate scenario that does not involve the revealed monotheisms being significantly mistaken about their own core beliefs.
 

Flankerl

Well-Known Member
You're a funny man.
I am curious why you would choose to ignore the Jews.
Seriously.
As neither Christianity nor Islam would exist without G-d giving His Torah to the Children of Israel - why would you leave out that option?

Why would you want to be included into this silly thread? You can only lose and not win anything.

See it as an honour while others ridicule themselves.


Plus, as Avraham Avinu (Abraham, Our Father) was indeed the first Jew, I have a theory that Hinduism, and therefore Buddhism, also descended from Avraham and therefore all extant religions of the world have their roots in the Jews.
IMHO....

Oy vey.
 
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