What's unique to your religion?

[loverofhumanity]

All religions have things in common and things in particular, even unique sometimes.
A while ago I had the change to visit the Jehovah's Witnesses head quarters in New York and I was very impressed at how modern and organized everything was. What an incredible work, considering it's all volunteer work and the funding is done via donations that each member provides according to their means and personal situation (donations are anonymous and private so no one knows what others give). The coordination with the branches in different countries alone left me speechless.
Is there anything about your religion that you find unique, or particularly amazing?

Hi Vee. Glad you had a nice experience.

One of the unique things is we have no clergy. No individual has any authority. We are governed entirely by elected bodies democratically with no electioneering. We have study classes that are formulated by our House of Justice in Haifa, Israel.

The other thing is all our Houses of Worship read from the Holy Books of all religions each week in our services. That includes the Bible. No sermons only the Word of God is read. And the symbols of religions are inscribed on their doors also includes the Christian cross.

 

[Estro Felino]

Well...I guess Catholicism is unique for its devotion to the Virgin Mary and the Saints.
Within the context of Christianity, I mean...

 

[Gargovic Malkav]

Which then begs the question of why an atheist nation is spurning so many cool new religious movements, yeah?

I suspect one reason is because of the dominant position of Christianity throughout the ages.
Since Christianity is being demonized a lot these days, and historical Pagans in these rhetorics are often depicted as victims who who would only convert to Christianity at the edge of a blade, I think many people subconsciously make the link: If Christianity was an oppressive tyrant, then Paganism can't be that bad.

 

[Hockeycowboy]

I’m one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Our uniqueness includes....
1) Our global brotherly love, easily observed during times of conflict, civil war, etc.
The Rwandan Massacre is one example...
Genocide survivor tells of risk, rescue, and religion in Rwanda

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=heroism-science



2) Our worldwide political neutrality despite persecution . (Following Christ’s example — in no way do we foster division among our global brotherhood!)
Jehovah's Witnesses in the Holocaust



3) We “speak in agreement.” -1 Corinthians 1:10.
There are over 8.6 million of us in 240 countries, but if you ask a brother or sister in, say, Norway any question about a Scriptural belief, you’ll get the same answer from another anywhere in the world!
Different language, of course...lol.



I’m glad I chose Jehovah’s worship...His worship was made possible only through Jesus’ sacrifice.

 

[Samael_Khan]

All religions have things in common and things in particular, even unique sometimes.
A while ago I had the change to visit the Jehovah's Witnesses head quarters in New York and I was very impressed at how modern and organized everything was. What an incredible work, considering it's all volunteer work and the funding is done via donations that each member provides according to their means and personal situation (donations are anonymous and private so no one knows what others give). The coordination with the branches in different countries alone left me speechless.
Is there anything about your religion that you find unique, or particularly amazing?

Too bad we don't have any representatives from Scientology here because that group is pretty unique:

- The Sea Org organisation. Similar to the JW head quarters at New York in terms of purpose but on actual ships!
- Thetans and their whole history behind them.
- Their psychological monitoring examinations.
- Adherents must pay for courses so that they can attain levels in the group to have more things revealed to them.
- Tom Cruise as their alternative leader.
- Extremely aggressive towards those who criticise them. The actively defame critics and ex Scientologists characters to discredit their criticism.

 

[Samael_Khan]

I’m one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Our uniqueness includes....
1) Our global brotherly love, easily observed during times of conflict, civil war, etc.
The Rwandan Massacre is one example...
Genocide survivor tells of risk, rescue, and religion in Rwanda

https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1029&context=heroism-science

Other pascifist groups would have done the same. I don't think the Jains would have participated in war.

2) Our worldwide political neutrality despite persecution . (Following Christ’s example — in no way do we foster division among our global brotherhood!)
Jehovah's Witnesses in the Holocaust

JW's actively spoke out against Hitler and the Nazi's, which is political criticism. They even held placards in public, which worsened persecution against them.

3) We “speak in agreement.” -1 Corinthians 1:10.
There are over 8.6 million of us in 240 countries, but if you ask a brother or sister in, say, Norway any question about a Scriptural belief, you’ll get the same answer from another anywhere in the world!
Different language, of course...lol.

What do you mean by "Speak in agreement"? You guys have members who disagree (hence often excommunicated), which means that at any given time the group as a whole doesn't speak in agreement. Also, when new light gets revealed someone on the GB had a disagreement in doctrine and the rest of the JW's don't agree. When it comes to more complex teachings and beliefs and how long a person has been in the organisation, different people have different understandings based off of their level of ignorance. One example is when asking JW's who their mediator is, a lot will say Jesus, but the actual organisations teachings are quite different than what they expect. This shows that a blanket statement that JW's speak in agreement is incorrect. Even on this forum we have seen JW's disagree because they understand points differently. So are you referring to base teachings maybe?

 

[Marcion]

The unique thing about my path is that it combines the most excellent singular aspects of 5 different religions without becoming a religion in itself.

Another unique thing is that it includes a socio-economic theory.

 

[firedragon]

All religions have things in common and things in particular, even unique sometimes.
A while ago I had the change to visit the Jehovah's Witnesses head quarters in New York and I was very impressed at how modern and organized everything was. What an incredible work, considering it's all volunteer work and the funding is done via donations that each member provides according to their means and personal situation (donations are anonymous and private so no one knows what others give). The coordination with the branches in different countries alone left me speechless.
Is there anything about your religion that you find unique, or particularly amazing?

I am a Muslim. What I find unique is the Quran as of course most Muslims would say so and you probably are used to hearing that.

It is the only book as I know has carbon dating going back to the time of the source. And many other things I cannot cite in one post.

 

[Dawnofhope]

All religions have things in common and things in particular, even unique sometimes.
A while ago I had the change to visit the Jehovah's Witnesses head quarters in New York and I was very impressed at how modern and organized everything was. What an incredible work, considering it's all volunteer work and the funding is done via donations that each member provides according to their means and personal situation (donations are anonymous and private so no one knows what others give). The coordination with the branches in different countries alone left me speechless.
Is there anything about your religion that you find unique, or particularly amazing?

There are probably many aspects of the Baha'i Faith that are unique. I am the treasurer of our communities governing body so the voluntary giving and private giving is part of our faith too. What people give is between themselves and God. Other than God, I'm the only one who knows what each person contributes to the local fund. I have no right to approach any individual about their donations and instead educate the community about the spiritual nature of giving to the fund and the importance of sacrifice and generosity. The international centre of our faith is based in Haifa, Israel and has some very impressive buildings and gardens. We have members of our community in most localities across the globe. So what I might think is unique to my faith may not be at all to another.

 

[Clara Tea]

All religions have things in common and things in particular, even unique sometimes.
A while ago I had the change to visit the Jehovah's Witnesses head quarters in New York and I was very impressed at how modern and organized everything was. What an incredible work, considering it's all volunteer work and the funding is done via donations that each member provides according to their means and personal situation (donations are anonymous and private so no one knows what others give). The coordination with the branches in different countries alone left me speechless.
Is there anything about your religion that you find unique, or particularly amazing?

Many Christian sects proselytize door to door, and the residents feel like abandoning their houses and running away.

I like good discussions, so, those poor, beleaguered proselytizers generally run down the street with me close on their heels, saying "one last point."

I would say that discussion is unique to my religion. While many Christians hope to thwart First Amendment free speech, and burn books (like Harry Potter, or Catcher in the Rye), or prevent non-Christians from writing in Christian forums, or (like by college alma mater), have a single location for free speech, but book it up with Christian lectures continuously, so no one else is allowed to express an opinion. They entertain different opinions, as long as they can ostracize those who have those opinions. Some don't allow anyone to write the name of their God (spelled G_d by their beliefs). Trappist monks believe that one can focus on the cerebral if constant chatter is taken away. Yet, that cuts down on discussions of the bible, and that cuts down on understanding of the bible.

Jews constantly argue their religion. Some think that such argument hurts the religion. Yet, even under torture, in Nazi torture camps, Jews held fast to their beliefs. It is because they discussed until all of their doubts were removed. Discussion irons out difficulties. This doesn't mean that everyone agrees with our positions, but it does mean that everyone is very set in their ways.

 

[Clara Tea]

There are probably many aspects of the Baha'i Faith that is unique. I am the treasurer of our communities governing body so the voluntary giving and private giving is part of our faith too. What people give is between themselves and God. Other than God, I'm the only one who knows what each person contributes to the local fund. I have no right to approach any individual about their donations and instead educate the community about the spiritual nature of giving to the fund and the importance of sacrifice and generosity. The international centre of our faith is based in Haifa, Israel and has some very impressive buildings and gardens. We have members of our community in most localities across the globe. So what I might think is unique to my faith may not be at all to another.

What a beautiful spirit and religion. Not focused on killing the enemies, nor raising money for television broadcasts, nor duping donors out of their cash so they can buy fancy planes and stay in mansions. Thinking of others, not oneself.

Very few raging Christian monsters realize that they drive people away from their God by their actions. It is the kindness of God that attracts them. Rules of God structure our world.

 

[Clara Tea]

I am a Muslim. What I find unique is the Quran as of course most Muslims would say so and you probably are used to hearing that.

It is the only book as I know has carbon dating going back to the time of the source. And many other things I cannot cite in one post.

But which source? First their were Jews, and Christians spun off, then Muslims spun off. So the source of the Muslim religion (from the Christian religion) is rather recent. Yet, much is borrowed from older religions from which Islam was derived.

Dating dispute over 'oldest Koran'

From the link above, you can see that the carbon dating is hotly debated and highly questionable.

 

[Vee]

There aren't still a lot of churches in Great Britain? I am surprised. I wonder what happened.

I'm not sure if it's the same in Britain, but in Ireland many church building have been sold and converted into something else. The Church Bar in Dublin is amazing.

 

[Vee]

Too bad we don't have any representatives from Scientology here because that group is pretty unique:

If what I learned about Scientology is true, they worship money and the power that comes with having lots of it. I thing most of us in RF wouldn't qualify.

 

[Samael_Khan]

If what I learned about Scientology is true, they worship money and the power that comes with having lots of it. I thing most of us in RF wouldn't qualify.

The leadership worships money and power. The believers think that the group is righteous and think that the leadership are saints. They are discouraged from viewing criticism because they dont want to be exposed.

I don't think that there would be scientologists on RF because they would encounter criticism.

 

[Vee]

The leadership worships money and power. The believers think that the group is righteous and think that the leadership are saints. They are discouraged from viewing criticism because they dont want to be exposed.

I don't think that there would be scientologists on RF because they would encounter criticism.

It makes me really sad when people take advantage of someone else's faith for their own gain.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I don't think that there would be scientologists on RF because they would encounter criticism.

It appears there were once upon a time.

Scientology DIR

 

[Samael_Khan]

It appears there were once upon a time.

Scientology DIR

Fascinating!

 

[Aupmanyav]

Is there anything about your religion that you find unique, or particularly amazing?

My religion, part of Advaita Hinduism, has no component of faith. It requires one to be atheist.

 

[SalixIncendium]

My religion, part of Advaita Hinduism, has no component of faith. It requires one to be atheist.

Just to be clear, this is Aup's particular brand of Advaita.

Advaita Vedanta, as a philosophy, does not require one to be atheist, but one may be if one so chooses. There are many Advaitins that are theists. As an Advaitin myself, I identify as neither atheist nor theist.