Which religion has been the most beneficial to humanity overall? (translation, Mormons)

[Thomas R.]

A counter-balance.

My religion aside in per-capita terms I might say the "United Society of Believers" aka the Shakers. They invented a good deal of stuff, influenced Aaron Copland, opposed slavery, and were non-violent. There were apocalyptic OCDish celibates, but that had its advantages.

[kdbrich]

Christianity is responsible for man a hospital and other charities. It's impossible for a Christian to mistreat another human being if he/she is living out his/her faith.

[ptsum]

Originally Posted by Thomas R.

A counter-balance.

My religion aside in per-capita terms I might say the "United Society of Believers" aka the Shakers. They invented a good deal of stuff, influenced Aaron Copland, opposed slavery, and were non-violent. There were apocalyptic OCDish celibates, but that had its advantages.

Shakers came up with some pretty good furniture too and one of its women invented the circular saw.

[Fullback32]

Originally Posted by Thomas R.

A counter-balance.

My religion aside in per-capita terms I might say the "United Society of Believers" aka the Shakers. They invented a good deal of stuff, influenced Aaron Copland, opposed slavery, and were non-violent. There were apocalyptic OCDish celibates, but that had its advantages.

What's the difference between and Shaker and a Quaker? Are they the same, off-shoots of one another or are they not related at all? Just curious as Quakers were chosen by the US government to run the reservations. US Grant said,

"Gentlemen, your advice is good. I accept it. Now give me the names of same Friends for Indian agents and I will appoint them. If you can make Quakers out of the Indians it will take the fight out of them. Let us have peace."

From what I understand, the Friends ignored Grant and never attempted to convert the people They tried their best to treat those they acted as Indian Agents for with kindness and respect. They even fought for the people to get those things promised by treaty. The government usually did not provide the basic stores the people needed in reservation life. The Quakers complained and fought to get those things. For this, the US government removed them from the Indian Agent role.

[BergenCountyJohnny]

The shakers and quakers are both similar. I find their beliefs to be weird IRT the shaking and quaking but their principles were very Christian and they are most responsible for the good part of the formation of the US. In more recent times, Nixon was a Quaker. What he did that forced his resignation was terrible, but aside from that he was a pretty good president, and I'm saying that as a person who is often called bleeding heart liberal!

[MontanaGuy]

I think the Amish are also one of the better religions in terms of how they treat their fellow man and how they live their lives. They never bother anybody and they're a peaceful group of people who just have a very unusual lifestyle that rejects modern society.

[Thomas R.]

Originally Posted by Fullback32

What's the difference between and Shaker and a Quaker? Are they the same, off-shoots of one another or are they not related at all?

I've heard different things, but whatever the origins there's some noticeable differences.

The Shakers were all celibates and lived a communal life. (Or are, Sabbathday Lake has surviving Shakers) Their communal living and celibacy has drawn some comparison to monastics. They referred to God as Father/Mother from the beginning and in current form were founded by "Mother" Ann Lee. Ann Lee was deemed to be like a herald of the Second Coming of Christ so the Shakers had a strong messianic/millenarian element. The Shakers religious ceremonies could involve ecstatic dancing or marching. They also had art they believed to be inspired by angelic visitors. After leaving England they exclusively lived in America.

The Quakers have more conventional family lives and didn't live in communes. Their meetings are much quieter than Shaker meetings were, by some accounts much quieter than any Christian service, and do not involving marching or ecstasies. I think they're more about listening for one's "Inner Light." They're relatively non-credal (no "excessive" adherence to any specific creed or ideology except non-violence and the "Inner Light") and I've heard of Quakers who do not even deem themselves Christian, but I think that's a bit unusual. They remained numerous in England, had colonies in America, and reportedly have their greatest numbers in Kenya.

[InsaneInDaMembrane]

I'll give credit to the little mentioned Moravians. As a Caribbean native I am aware they played a key role in managing to convince slave masters to allow slave children to read and write. I understand that they came to my islands (the Virgin Islands) and I'm sure the other islands too, ready to become slaves themselves if that was the only way they could teach the slaves the Gospel.

Despite my aversion to religion and Christianity in particular, I give them respect for being THAT progressive in the context of that time. I am pretty sure they knew that educating slaves was a two-edged sword and they were not TELLING them what to believe, but rather, how to read and write for themselves.

I also understand that when a Moravian leader came to the Virgin Islands in the late 1700s, he was given a few petitions, written by slaves regarding their plight, to take back to Denmark to present to the queen. The Moravian leader took them back with him and handed them to the Queen as he promised he would. If I am not mistaken, they are still on display in Copenhagen. Slave letters were also set around the world to other Moravian Christians.

[elwill]

i have to introduce islam as a religion which was very benificial to humanity over all

The ‘Dark Ages’ of Europe was extinguished by the Light of Islam , and the entire world has ignored the historical facts of how Europe came to power
A clear study of European history shows that Islam gave birth to the Renaissance, and the Muslim contributions were carried over to Europe.


“It must be owned that all the knowledge, whether of physics, astronomy, philosophy or mathematics, which flourished in Europe from the 10th century, was originally derived from the Muslim schools, and the Spanish Saracen may be looked upon as the father of European philosophy (John Devenport, quoted by A. Karim in Islam’s Contribution to Science and Civilization)

It is highly probably that but for the Arabs, modern European civilization would never have assumed that character which has enabled it to transcend all previous phases of evolution. For although there is not a single aspect of human growth in which the decisive influence of Islamic culture is not traceable, nowhere is it so clear and momentous as in the genesis of that power which constitutes the paramount scientific spirit…What we call science arose in Europe as a result of a new spirit of inquiry: of new methods of investigation, of the method of experiment, observation, and measurement, of the development of mathematics in a form unknown to the Greeks. That spirit and those methods were introduced into the European world by the Muslims”. (Robert Briffault, The Making of Humanity, p. 52)

Islam told the Arabs to leave their corrupt practices by recognizing the existence of their Creator, by obeying the God Who built them and their world. It stated that recognizing the proper position of God in relation to man was a great advance in thinking. It claimed that God Himself is the Creator of the mind, and therefore is the ultimate source of all knowledge. Claiming that God is inseparable from man and this world, Islam negated the concept that God is a reserved Being sitting on His unreachable throne, His being actively and intimately connected with all the proceedings of this world. Thus, the Muslims felt that as God holds the keys to knowledge, man’s purpose was to open the doors of ignorance by spreading this knowledge. This led them to view the entire universe as a divine gift for them to study in developing moral and intellectual strength to the utmost. In searching for knowledge, Islam strongly demanded that man study the sciences, since science itself is thought of as a divinely established system. To them, if God is the Creator of the elements on which chemistry must rely, He is also the Constructor of the solar system which the astronomer beholds, as He is the builder of the human biological system whose mind intrigues the philosopher, and to whose physiology the physician responds.

This was the mentality of the early Muslim chemists and scientists whose work is to be presented here. It is miraculous that the mental giants of whom we will speak developed their skills with little resource except the inspiration derived from their beliefs.

Since the Muslims possess the Quran, a book which they regard as unaltered divine revelation, this text became their starting point. The Quran instructed them to seek knowledge in all fields. Thereby stimulated, the Muslims went directly to the earliest sources of knowledge. Masterpieces of Greek, Persian, Egyptian, Syrian, and Indian science were recovered, translated, and where relevant, assimilated. These resources were easily accessible to them as even the storehouse of Greek manuscripts was found in the Near East, not in Europe. True, there were some Greek writings to be found in Medieval Europe. But these lay covered in the dust of monasteries, the keepers of which were too ignorant to understand their meaning, or to propound their contents.

Thus, the Arabs preserved the earliest works available on the sciences. In chemistry, they found that few texts described it as a true science, most subscribing to the cult of alchemy. The Muslim chemists generally negated the validity of this practice, claiming that God Alone can create the uniqueness of the elements. They dealt instead with practical applications of this science, studying the nature of matter, and applying positive effects to beneficial fields of study such as pharmacology and medicine.

It is important to discuss further the contributions made by translating the early works. The works they preserved from the East as well as those of the Greek were at that time repudiated by the West as heresy. In fact, Europe completely neglected the translation and preservation of scientific knowledge in this era. Scientific inquiry had virtually no support in Western society from the 7th to 13th centuries. Bigoted Ecclesiasticism dammed the flow of free thought, blocking the seepage of knowledge within Western societies. Any bits of scientific knowledge that existed in this era were systematically exterminated by the ruling class and clergy. Under Constantine, public libraries were dissoluted or destroyed, while Pope Gregory eliminated scientific studies from Rome and banned the study of all Greek writings. Learning was branded as magic and treasonous, and was punishable by torture or death. Francis Bacon, a noted father of science, was considered a heretic and was forced by the rulers of England to give up his efforts in scientific study. Bruno was burned at the stake for the crime of claiming that the earth rotates about its axis. It was in this, the West’s lowest era of moral and intellectual desolation, that the Islamic world upheld the knowledge by salvaging the ancient works of the Mediterranean world from historical doom.

[kdbrich]

It's the muslims that are cutting people's heads off. Not Christians, budhists, mormons, or anyone else. Christians didn't fly those planes into the trade center towers. Christians don't practice sharia law that states you should be killed if you convert to another religion.