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Do religions become more accepted as inspired the older they are? It often appears that the older a religion is, the more general acceptance AS a religion it has. Yet most have had a prime proponent, no matter what age. Christianity had Paul. Islam had Mohammed. Mormons had Joseph Smith. Seven Day Adventists had Ellen White. Jehovah Witnesses had Charles Russel. Scientology had L. Ron Hubbard. Falun Gong has Li Hongzhi.
Newer religions do not generally have the acceptance the older ones do. As example, Scientology (which is not recognized as a religion in many countries such as Canada, Finland and many other European countries) is often described as a cult. Yet in the USA it is protected by the First Amendment as a religion, at least since 1993 when it got tax free status. Christian branches such as Seven Day Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses all grew out of the religious movements of the 1800's in the USA, and all have had their detractors and controversies.
Why is that? Why are some of the newer religions or sects viewed as not being as "legitimate" as older ones such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism including branches of them which have broad acceptance such as the Christian's Mennonites, Islam's Sunnis or the Jewish Haredi? Those newer religions, and branches of them, often have adherents are just as strong in their faith as the older ones, so why are they often viewed as not as real?
How does a religion of any kind get acceptance as being "inspired" and why are others degraded as being cults or lacking legitimacy?
It is the customary fate of new truths, to begin as heresies, and to end as superstitions. Thomas Huxley
Substitute "truths" for "religions. Same difference.
I disagree. If you are discussing philosophical issues, sure. But they are not truths. Science provides truths, and if those are ever overturned, the new ones are immediately accepted. In religions, it is much more nebulous.
Do religions become more accepted as inspired the older they are? It often appears that the older a religion is, the more general acceptance AS a religion it has. Yet most have had a prime proponent, no matter what age. Christianity had Paul. Islam had Mohammed. Mormons had Joseph Smith. Seven Day Adventists had Ellen White. Jehovah Witnesses had Charles Russel. Scientology had L. Ron Hubbard. Falun Gong has Li Hongzhi.
Newer religions do not generally have the acceptance the older ones do. As example, Scientology (which is not recognized as a religion in many countries such as Canada, Finland and many other European countries) is often described as a cult. Yet in the USA it is protected by the First Amendment as a religion, at least since 1993 when it got tax free status. Christian branches such as Seven Day Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses all grew out of the religious movements of the 1800's in the USA, and all have had their detractors and controversies.
Why is that? Why are some of the newer religions or sects viewed as not being as "legitimate" as older ones such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism including branches of them which have broad acceptance such as the Christian's Mennonites, Islam's Sunnis or the Jewish Haredi? Those newer religions, and branches of them, often have adherents are just as strong in their faith as the older ones, so why are they often viewed as not as real?
How does a religion of any kind get acceptance as being "inspired" and why are others degraded as being cults or lacking legitimacy?
that's like saying that classical music written centuries ago is "real" and "accepted" as music, but rock and roll and contemporary songs are "not legitimate" "not real." Beethoven and Mozart are accepted, but Elvis and Abba are a cult and controversial.
for as long as humanity continues to find in them value, inspiration, meaning, and practical application in daily life, then various expressions of music, art, and divinity continue to flourish and have longevity.
Last edited by Tzaphkiel; 03-13-2021 at 10:55 PM..
Do religions become more accepted as inspired the older they are? It often appears that the older a religion is, the more general acceptance AS a religion it has. Yet most have had a prime proponent, no matter what age. Christianity had Paul. Islam had Mohammed. Mormons had Joseph Smith. Seven Day Adventists had Ellen White. Jehovah Witnesses had Charles Russel. Scientology had L. Ron Hubbard. Falun Gong has Li Hongzhi.
Newer religions do not generally have the acceptance the older ones do. As example, Scientology (which is not recognized as a religion in many countries such as Canada, Finland and many other European countries) is often described as a cult. Yet in the USA it is protected by the First Amendment as a religion, at least since 1993 when it got tax free status. Christian branches such as Seven Day Adventists, Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses all grew out of the religious movements of the 1800's in the USA, and all have had their detractors and controversies.
Why is that? Why are some of the newer religions or sects viewed as not being as "legitimate" as older ones such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism including branches of them which have broad acceptance such as the Christian's Mennonites, Islam's Sunnis or the Jewish Haredi? Those newer religions, and branches of them, often have adherents are just as strong in their faith as the older ones, so why are they often viewed as not as real?
How does a religion of any kind get acceptance as being "inspired" and why are others degraded as being cults or lacking legitimacy?
For starters, Judaism is real, and Christianity is the natural progression of it when the Messiah came.
So if Christianity is true, why would anything that contradicts it not be false?
I disagree. If you are discussing philosophical issues, sure. But they are not truths. Science provides truths, and if those are ever overturned, the new ones are immediately accepted. In religions, it is much more nebulous.
Norm, EVERY religion started as heresy and ended as superstition. Go talk to those who still believe in old Greek or Scandinavian gods. Just as example.
In several hundred years, same will happen to religions, majoring now. New ones will appear, old ones will be laughed at.
Has none to do with philosophy. Sic transit gloria mundi. So does pass glory of any religion. Sooner or later. Where are mighty Ra or Osiris now? And for 3 thousand, if not more, years, they were the gods of everything. And now Osiris is claimed to be Christ prototype....while Hollywood shoots stupid movies about them, or Zeus or else.
Seriously, Norm. Try a WIDER historical perspective. 10-20 000 years...
For starters, Judaism is real, and Christianity is the natural progression of it when the Messiah came.
So if Christianity is true, why would anything that contradicts it not be false?
Not really. Christianity took a Jewish fable about obedience to God and why snakes crawl on their bellies and women have birth pains and are subject to men and turned it into a completely different story about how mankind is stained by sin by virtue of being human.
How is completely changing the meaning of an ancient cultural/religious tale a natural progression?
And if Judaism was real, why did Christianity alter it in that way?
And then Islam came along and furthered altered Christianity and formed a new religion.
that's like saying that classical music written centuries ago is "real" and "accepted" as music, but rock and roll and contemporary songs are "not legitimate" "not real." Beethoven and Mozart are accepted, but Elvis and Abba are a cult and controversial.
for as long as humanity continues to find in them value, inspiration, meaning, and practical application in daily life, then various expressions of music, art, and divinity continue to flourish and have longevity.
Yes. I have been thinking about this thread. There IS a deep and venerable tradition of thinking that ancient wisdom must not only be very deep, but closer to the truth because it is is uncluttered by later social complication and nearer the Reality.
This is of course Balls. It is more likely to be rather primitive, short of reasoning and facts and very much the life of crap, animal skins and stone tools projected into the sky, the river, the mountain or anywhere else conveniently out of sight.
I do think that more understanding of 'spiritual evolution' as Mystic calls it has rather undermined this undeserved credit for the Ancient, but there is still a tendency of Some to rather batten on the gullibility of some of the more vulnerable to make claims of Ancient Wisdom, which, because it is Ancient, most be treated with respect, if not Awe.
You mention music which is a very good point. The discovery of an Anglo Saxon chant or a Roman melody or an Ugaritic hymn (1) is as awesome as finding the buried crown of a Babylonian king.
But the fact is that those old songs are not that special. The equivalent of 'Jesus wants me for a sunbeam' 'God save the King' and 'Sing little birdie'. Well, maybe that's unfair - maybe back then they were Good which is why they were preserved, but they are crud compared even with Mozart's 'Musical Joke'. I recall the kerfuffle when the Ugarit hymn was decoded. Scarlatti k87 it wasn't ...so when it was 'presented' in a full concert piano version (2) before an audience dressed like it was Wagner night I fell about laughing.
There is indeed a bit of a tendency for the Awe for Antiquity to become Fraudulence for the Foolish.
(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AKedKrxoLI
ok, I want to be sympathetic - it's an Arrangement, and at least one recognises the tune, and it's anyway better than smashing the carving up because It's Un-Islamic.
Last edited by TRANSPONDER; 03-14-2021 at 10:05 AM..
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