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what would a new religion have to be like to replace all the other religions?
- Thread starter charles brough
- Start date
For a conservative Christian who knows about the Book of Revelation, this should have been pointed out:
Revelation 16
18There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men on the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. 19The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague is exceedingly severe.
Revelation 17
1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 2with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality. 3He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. 5And on her forehead a name was written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 7The angel said to me, Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. 9Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. 10They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. 11The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. 12The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. 13These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful. 15He said to me, The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. . . . World English Bible
The following which is about as short as you can get when looking at the book of Revelation, A Jet Tour Through Revelation will help explain some of the above.
Anyway what does it have to do with new religions? It seems as if all new religions, that are successful will have sex as an important element for their growth, A lot of sex so, for people who have started (and will start) new religions, they have taken note of this. Needless to say the one described in the Book of Revelation will be quite successful, at least for a short while.
Revelation 16
18There were lightnings, sounds, and thunders; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men on the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. 19The great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. 20Every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21Great hailstones, about the weight of a talent, came down out of the sky on people. People blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, for this plague is exceedingly severe.
Revelation 17
1One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, Come here. I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who sits on many waters, 2with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who dwell in the earth were made drunken with the wine of her sexual immorality. 3He carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet-colored animal, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. 4The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of the sexual immorality of the earth. 5And on her forehead a name was written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 6I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement. 7The angel said to me, Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns. 8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present. 9Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. 10They are seven kings. Five have fallen, the one is, the other has not yet come. When he comes, he must continue a little while. 11The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction. 12The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. 13These have one mind, and they give their power and authority to the beast. 14These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings. They also will overcome who are with him, called and chosen and faithful. 15He said to me, The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. . . . World English Bible
The following which is about as short as you can get when looking at the book of Revelation, A Jet Tour Through Revelation will help explain some of the above.
Anyway what does it have to do with new religions? It seems as if all new religions, that are successful will have sex as an important element for their growth, A lot of sex so, for people who have started (and will start) new religions, they have taken note of this. Needless to say the one described in the Book of Revelation will be quite successful, at least for a short while.
Surrealist Monk
Member
:clap first off, thanx for this topic . Ive been looking for a good topic for hours now
anyway i feel that a good religion consists of a few factors
1. it has to have a few ideas, reasons, theories of why certain unexplainable things happen in the world.
2. it has to be depicted in a way that everyone could understand. Meaning that it has be spoken in words that can be followed by someone with a high school diploma but can be taught to people as young as four
3. has to have elements in it that show people a new way of life
4. last but not least it has to have characters in it. Meaning people, Gods, or devils.
the reason for this is without characters or someone that the reader can realate to, it makes the story unbelieveable.Thus making it a story and not a scripture.
as long as you have these elements, you can wright about whatever you want.
anyway i feel that a good religion consists of a few factors
1. it has to have a few ideas, reasons, theories of why certain unexplainable things happen in the world.
2. it has to be depicted in a way that everyone could understand. Meaning that it has be spoken in words that can be followed by someone with a high school diploma but can be taught to people as young as four
3. has to have elements in it that show people a new way of life
4. last but not least it has to have characters in it. Meaning people, Gods, or devils.
the reason for this is without characters or someone that the reader can realate to, it makes the story unbelieveable.Thus making it a story and not a scripture.
as long as you have these elements, you can wright about whatever you want.
Surrealist Monk
Member
If that was the case then religion would be dying off instead of thriving and multipying. everyone wants to believe in something... whether its believing in a god or believing they are awsome, we as humans use this technique in order to explain the unnatural and cope with defeat. they use this in order to keep themselves from thinking of the worst
Tathagata
Freethinker
Your assertion is false. Christianity and Islam are not more advanced than those that predate them. The ancient religions of the East (Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Jainism) are more advanced than Christianity and Islam.
If youre still not convinced, look at the supposed "new, advancd religions" like Mormonism and Scientology compared to the much older Baha'i faith. Lets be real, newer
=/= more advanced.
.
If youre still not convinced, look at the supposed "new, advancd religions" like Mormonism and Scientology compared to the much older Baha'i faith. Lets be real, newer
=/= more advanced.
.
Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
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StarryStarryNight
New Member
Sadly. I think that most people are often more impressed by who is speaking than what is being said.
If some one is rich, powerful, famous or successful in some other way aswell as charismatic;
it's these qualities that win people over. If a true prophet/prophetess wants to escape being
a Cassandra, then they had better be an Alpha male/female.
Think of the people who get elected President in America, for example.
If some one is rich, powerful, famous or successful in some other way aswell as charismatic;
it's these qualities that win people over. If a true prophet/prophetess wants to escape being
a Cassandra, then they had better be an Alpha male/female.
Think of the people who get elected President in America, for example.
Terrywoodenpic
Oldest Heretic
Any religion that was visibly and actively supported by God, would win hands down.
We might have a long time to wait....
God operates on his terms, not ours.
We might have a long time to wait....
God operates on his terms, not ours.
Freedomelf
Active Member
Buddhism and Hinduism are both far older and have a less violent history than the Middle Eastern religions. I agree with Otherright that Buddhism works well. I think Hinduism is much more encompassing; when others came to conquer them and force other religions down their throats, Hindus did the only sensible thing: they incorporated the conquerors' beliefs into their own religion and went on their merry way.
As far as the OP goes, I think that any religion, in order to work, must be flexible enough to accommodate the inflexibility of others. That's a tall order, and one size does not fit all. I think of the major religions, Hinduism comes close. So does Buddhism.
As far as the OP goes, I think that any religion, in order to work, must be flexible enough to accommodate the inflexibility of others. That's a tall order, and one size does not fit all. I think of the major religions, Hinduism comes close. So does Buddhism.
predavlad
Skeptic
I think that the next religious-related trend is lack of religion 
We started with Polytheism, and at the moment the situations stands something like this:
20% Polytheists ( 1+ gods )
60% Monotheists ( = 1 god )
20% Non religious ( = 0 gods )
So the inclination to move towards 0 gods is pretty clear.
We started with Polytheism, and at the moment the situations stands something like this:
20% Polytheists ( 1+ gods )
60% Monotheists ( = 1 god )
20% Non religious ( = 0 gods )
So the inclination to move towards 0 gods is pretty clear.
Freedomelf
Active Member
I believe that people have a need for God or Gods, whatever he, she, it or they happen to be. Without God, people would not be as likely to sacrifice for one another. But, I also believe there are more atheists now. One of my sons is an atheist.
DreadFish
Cosmic Vagabond
Unimaginably awesome and both instantly gratifying, as well as in the long term, with a wide scope so as to satisfy everyone's widely varying desires and inclinations while still uniting everyone under the banner of one religion.
Maybe secretly using some kind of drugs on everyone so that everyone feels just plain great and friendly as well as willing to follow one teaching without question.
Or maybe we can all agree that chocolate is greater, more transcendental and imminent than all the gods and teachers and make that our universal religion
The main reason why "Hinduism" can come closest is because there is a general acceptance of each individuals path as being legitimate in the long run, as all rivers run to the ocean. But "Hinduism" is not a single religion, and not all "Hindus" accept others paths as being legitimate. So really, we just need to adopt a universal philosophy that states that each religion is legitimate for the persons following it and serves it's purpose to them in the long run because we are all bound to end up in the same place.
As far as an actual single religion, even chocolate is not liked by everybody.
Maybe secretly using some kind of drugs on everyone so that everyone feels just plain great and friendly as well as willing to follow one teaching without question.
Or maybe we can all agree that chocolate is greater, more transcendental and imminent than all the gods and teachers and make that our universal religion
The main reason why "Hinduism" can come closest is because there is a general acceptance of each individuals path as being legitimate in the long run, as all rivers run to the ocean. But "Hinduism" is not a single religion, and not all "Hindus" accept others paths as being legitimate. So really, we just need to adopt a universal philosophy that states that each religion is legitimate for the persons following it and serves it's purpose to them in the long run because we are all bound to end up in the same place.
As far as an actual single religion, even chocolate is not liked by everybody.
Freedomelf
Active Member
That's exactly what Calyr believe; that each religion is legitimate for the persons following it because we all wind up in the same place (if we strive for good). I'm glad you put it so succinctly.
shivadas
Member
people think that a new religion has to sell something new...
As if its any different of a goal than there predecessors..
A new religion forms when people need a new way to be with God (or become enlightened)
Its just fresh so it wont have as much Bull ****..
One notable characteristic of new religious movements (compared to older movements) is that they focus more on personal experience rather than temple duties.
As if its any different of a goal than there predecessors..
A new religion forms when people need a new way to be with God (or become enlightened)
Its just fresh so it wont have as much Bull ****..
One notable characteristic of new religious movements (compared to older movements) is that they focus more on personal experience rather than temple duties.
bulmabriefs144
Member
To replace all other religions? It'd have to be open.
Paradoxically, because human beings want to control each other, the older religions would immediately oppose this religion (this is what happened in Maryland, Calvert founded the state based on religious freedom, and was a Catholic. Years later, the Protestants took power and made it illegal to be a Catholic except in one's home).
So you'd have to make some sort of thing where "you can believe whatever you want, but technically, you're part of my religion."
Yes, but I think as people realize they now don't have an excuse to get out of work, this might start to reverse.
Paradoxically, because human beings want to control each other, the older religions would immediately oppose this religion (this is what happened in Maryland, Calvert founded the state based on religious freedom, and was a Catholic. Years later, the Protestants took power and made it illegal to be a Catholic except in one's home).
So you'd have to make some sort of thing where "you can believe whatever you want, but technically, you're part of my religion."
Yes, but I think as people realize they now don't have an excuse to get out of work, this might start to reverse.
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I think Buddhism's the best choice. It has values every religion can agree on (awareness, lovingkindness, patience, peace, compassion, respect, honesty); it's not so concerned with the "why" we're suffering so much as the "how" to rid ourselves of it; one can insert their God(s)+Saints+angels as a source of help and assistance; rebirth can be interpreted any number of ways, including both literal "we have multiple lives and we're reborn as different beings" and metaphorical "each 'life' is just a new state of mind"; Buddhism can also jive with about any cosmology and way to salvation you want, if you work with it for a little.
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Ketoujin12
Member
Shiranui,
An excellent synopsis - I believe much the same way. Whether one calls oneself a "Buddhist," "Hindu," "Christian," "Muslim," "Devotee of the Most Holy Pink Flamingo," or whatever, if one is refraining from evil, doing good, and purifying the mind of its defilements, which would include keeping some basic ethical precepts well, then I consider them of "my" religion....I suppose I think of it simply as a religion - or rather a philosophy more accurately - of good people.....regardless of the precise label avowed by any particular person.
As for reincarnation, I was listening to a recent talk by Ajahn Brahm - a Buddhist monk in Australia - and he was deconstructing ideas of rebirth and the issue of conditioned existence specifically. He said that in his view and the view of Theravada that the self is really non-existent as it constantly changes with every new life so the "self" is always a processional entity and not an unchanging one.
Overcoming suffering is the root of the issue for all of us I think no matter if one self-identifies as a polytheist, pantheist, mono-theist, atheist, or agnostic.
Best,
Gunnar
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Freedomelf
Active Member
Many religions are dying off. Atheism is growing by leaps and bounds, especially in Europe, where traditional Christianity is dying out.
Yes, there is some growth in some areas. Buddhism, Wiccan and New Age religions are gaining followers. Islam is growing as well, mainly because the birth rate of Muslims creates more followers. Hinduism is maintaining its base. Christianity is among the few religions who are losing followers in a big way worldwide, despite the fact that some churches see an upsurge in members when they switch to rock music. Statistics show that the music attracts people, but it does not hold them. The statistics are very clear; Christianity is dying off and it must change to survive (and I do believe in Jesus, btw.)
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