David_Jay: short answer. Is Judaism a religion or a culture and the same for Buddhism?? I thought Buddhism were the only religious group that does not perceive an eternal metaphysical aspect of the human personality in the same way that others do..
Do religious people fear that their religion may be wrong???
by James Mixon 49 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Cold Steel
As a Mormon I've never had the slightest doubts regarding my religion. I did a great deal of searching before joining it and a great deal of research since.
I didn't want a religion that condemned others who weren't of my faith, and though we believe that wickedness will be destroyed before Christ's return, we don't relish that destruction as the JWs do, nor do we covet the homes of the wicked as I've heard many dubs do.
Our eschatology is one that makes sense to me, but it's really cognitive dissonance that most people wonder about. That works both ways, actually. There are many satiated religious people of all religions, but I don't see how any JW could be happy with all those meetings, and with the counseling that goes on. I think if I'd gotten involved with them that I would have lost my privileges pretty quick. I wouldn't put up with an elder counseling me on my friends, my home, job, my education or my grooming.
I also find the gloating JWs do to be appalling. There's no real theology scholarship in subjects like Ancient Scripture, History and so forth.
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smiddy
I would think the more than 40,000 Christian sects would all believe they alone have the truth .
Granted , a small number of those would also believe that no matter what christian sect you belonged to , you would be saved.
While I cant speak for most other non christian religions ,
I`m bloody sure Muslims don`t fear their religion maybe wrong.and a good percentage of them are prepared to kill anybody who may speak otherwise including other muslims .
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Doug Mason
Does God "save" on the basis of the accuracy of one theology, eschatology, and soteriologogy? If so, what is the pass mark?
Is God a Christian? Or does he apply a different set of questions for other religions? How does he cope with the variety of beliefs between religions and within any religion?
Or is it all a means for the minority to manage and massage the minds of the majority?
Doug
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David_Jay
James Mixon,
Judaism is the religious practice (or expression) of the Jewish people. Like Buddhism, Judaism does not require a Jew to believe in anything specific as a requisite to membership. There are also no concepts of salvation or eternal damnation.
Taoism, Jainism and Hinduism are similar, though Hindus may incorporate theist belief. This aspect of Hinduism is similar to Judaism as Jews could technically "believe" in God, but as "faith" is disregarded in exchange for "faithfulness," one might say this is still a response as the central definition of the Jewish God is that YHVH is unknowable or inconceivable.
As for an eternal metaphysical aspect of the human person, this is hard to say. In some respects all these above religions do, and yet technically they don't. For instance, Judaism recognizes that God has future plans after this world (universe) is gone, but it also includes the concept of God being totally alone at this point too. We are unconcerned about the afterlife, and many Jews do not even hold to such a concept. This is similar to Taoism in some respects.
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David_Jay
Cold Steel,
Can a Latter-day Saint have doubt and even wrestle with their religious concepts and doctrines as Jews as encouraged to? Or is doubt to be avoided?
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DesirousOfChange
In a recent (somewhat heated) discussion with diehard JW family members, her ultimate rebuttal was "Don't come to me with all your negative things about the bOrg until you have beliefs to offer to me that are better!"
They don't care that the "hope" that they have of living forever in Panda Petting Paradise is bullsh!t. They DO NOT want to know that. They DO NOT want to face reality. They want to live (and die) in their fantasy hope.
Maybe they are better off with their fantasy. They are old (60s). Thus they are locked into the life they have built. They have a mortgage. They have fairly well paying jobs for having no advanced education. They have a network of (conditional) friends to associate with and who will assist them in a time of need. What would they gain by leaving the bOrg? Could they "better" their life at this point? Could they replace that huge network of "automatic" friends?
It's not too different from the situation that we found ourselves to be in. We are about the same age. There is not much of a chance to make huge changes in our life. So, what have we gained? If nothing else, we have gained back our Saturday and Sunday mornings! More importantly, our children and grandchildren will have a much greater opportunity in their lives. They will NOT be on the Cult Hamster Wheel.
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Cold Steel
David_Jay ยป Can a Latter-day Saint have doubt and even wrestle with their religious concepts and doctrines as Jews as encouraged to? Or is doubt to be avoided?
Absolutely. Someone once said, "Certainty has fools for children." One isn't born into a state of knowing. One must progress line upon line, precept upon precept until they come to a sure knowledge. To call doubt a sin is foolishness. The LDS must wrestle with their beliefs as anyone else must, but we also believe it's possible to perfectly know, which places knowledge beyond doubt.
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rebel8
Many members of mainstream religions I've known don't think of it that way at all.
They basically think of it as a club they belong to and participate in at arm's length. They don't agree with everything the club does or says or its rules. They just smile and participate to the extent they want to and shrug their shoulders at the rest.
I do believe most members of cults, deep inside, question the veracity of the "absolute truth" they are being fed. This is because cults are fundamentally different than mainstream religions in that they consume the cultist's entire lifestyle.
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David_Jay
Cold Steel,
Thank you for your comments.I appreciate your reply.
This is actually very different from Judaism which doesn't believe it's possible to perfectly know beyond doubt.
But I find it interesting that you and other LDS members have such a religion. I wouldn't subscribe to anything like that, but that is me.