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Forums - General - Why is it that when Religion is discussed here it is only Christianity mostly?

Torillian said:
Are there really a good percentage of other faiths in the Western world where most internet forums are based?

Let's just look at the two most well represented countries for our site specifically. According to census the USA identifies itself at 73% christian, while the UK is lower at 59.3%. That's the answer right there, because it's the most dominant form of religion in the Western World. I'm sure I'd be happy to debate with a buddhist about religion if I ever met one who wanted to do so, but I never have.

It's often difficult to start a dialogue between eastern and western religions. Moreso with Christianity and Islam, who are more fixated on the need to convert people to their one absolute truth which comes from the one true god. Judaism doesn't care about converting people, though still believes in the one god, whereas eastern faiths are much more potluck about this sort of thing. The core of Buddhism isn't even really a religion as such. The more religious aspects of Buddhism were tacked on later, mostly through the Mahayana path, which added in heavens and hells and beings such as Bodhisatvas.



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DaRev said:
NolSinkler said:

It is because Christianity is the most practiced, most powerful, most financially supported religion in the world. With the dominance of Western society, it is probably the most widely-known religion (as in, people know the most about it). Furthermore, most people on the forums here are from Western countries, where Christianity has historically predominated, has served as the base of much of modern philosophy, and so is prevalent in modern day Western thought. Finally, most other religions are not exclusive in the same way as Christianity. For example, in Islam, what is unforgivable is Shirk - the associating of partners with God (I.E., an active sin), whereas what is unforgivable for the Christian is Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is interpreted as an active sin by Christians ('an active resistance to the Holy Spirit') but in all seriousness includes such things as not affirming Christian doctrine as true (I.E. not knowing). Because of the exclusive nature of Christianity, which requires its adherents to conform to a certain specified set of thoughts and to affirm them as true (whilst simultaneously denying the validity of any contradicting ideas) many people no doubt feel the need to examine Christianity while not feeling the same way about other religions.

All of these, and more unstated, are reasons why Christianity is more commonly discussed on these forums (and elsewhere) than other religions.

Love God and Love your fellow man - there's really nothing more to Christianity. So are you saying that this differs from other religions?

Well, yes, this alone differs from other religions, in that many do not recognize a God at all, or their conception of God is far different from that of the Christian.  Which brings me to the point - a Christian, in order to be worshipping God, must have in their mind the correct conception of God; this is what the majority will tell you (and Paul would confirm this).  A correct Christian belief requires acknowledgment of the Trinity (for some, the Trinity is replaced by other doctrines, but these are certainly not the mainstream) and submission to it.  It is to accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice for you, based on faith - this is a part of 'Love God', which is the first part of what you've said is required for Christianity.  Those who do not know about Jesus Christ are unfortunately to be sent to Hell - and so are those who have heard the Truth but reject it or are not sure of it.  This is, of course, Pauline Christianity (which is the only branch of Christianity that was allowed to remain to the present day, the other branches being destroyed as heresy).

The Muslim, therefore, who practices his religion and does not worship Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is destined for Hell, through Christian doctrine.

Now I am not saying that Christianity is correct or incorrect, only that it is exclusive in nature, or rather, that the majority of practicing Christians would hold that it is exclusive.  There are less mainstream groups who would maintain that perhaps a correct belief in Jesus Christ is not necessary, or that the one who has not heard the Word of Truth may be saved, but certainly not the majority, whether scholars, pastors, priests, or laymen.



DaRev said:
NolSinkler said:
DaRev said:
M.U.G.E.N said:
Scoobes said:

Most of the people on the forums are from the US or other Western countries where Christianity is the the dominant religion. That also means that it's the religion that most people know about when criticising.


This :D 

btw for the record I'm a Buddhist

A few question, what, if anything, happens when you die according to your religion? Is there a Heaven or a Hell? Where did it all begin, life, the universe, etc. What do you say about Big Bang?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=buddhism

sorry tried that, didn't have anything on Big Bang. So?

 

Having researched Buddhism myself, though certainly not to the extent to which I have applied myself to Christian thought, and thus not as an expert, I will say that the belief in a Big Bang is irrelevant for the Buddhist.



It's probably because religious discussion on here is led by atheists. And most atheists tend not to know much about non-Abrahamic religions.
If out of the Abrahamic religions, you're wondering why it's Christianity, I'd wager it's because it's politically incorrect to attack Jews and there's plenty of hate for Islam already.



 

“These are my principles; if you don’t like them, I have others.” – Groucho Marx

DaRev said:
NolSinkler said:
DaRev said:
M.U.G.E.N said:
Scoobes said:

Most of the people on the forums are from the US or other Western countries where Christianity is the the dominant religion. That also means that it's the religion that most people know about when criticising.


This :D 

btw for the record I'm a Buddhist

A few question, what, if anything, happens when you die according to your religion? Is there a Heaven or a Hell? Where did it all begin, life, the universe, etc. What do you say about Big Bang?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=buddhism

sorry tried that, didn't have anything on Big Bang. So?


haha no worries man I have no issues with you asking. 

So basically Buddhism has two major sects (pardon if I make mistakes here with the wording...trying to translate the word from my language to english is a bit difficult) ..one is Theravada and the other is Mahayana. To put it simply Theravada differs in the fact that they go by the scriptures and they are a bit less decorative in their approach to the religion. Theravada temples are very simple looking places compared to Mahayana etc...

The reason why I gave that is to let you know I am in fac a Theravada Buddhist. So my point of view is derived from that.

Life after death...yes we do believe in rebirth. As long as a person has desires they will be reborn. Their status or the situation in which they are born to is dictated by their actions. Good ends with good results and vice versa. As for where we will be born there are various categories of hells and heavens. All with their own specific nature that makes life better or worse. For example the worse the shit you have done in your life the worst hell you shall recieve and so on.

There are debates about this and my personal opinion (It's HEAVILY recommended that we form our own views and opinions on the teachings and not just follow them. Questioning it is encouraged, even at a sunday school level) is that both hell and heaven are places that exist within this same world. But that's just personal interpretation of it. 

As for Big Bang..honestly I'm not sure :D It's been ages since I have done any specific studying of the religion and I'm not the most religious person. So more likely than not I forgot. I am more than willing to look into it and let you know later if that's ok with you?

I do remember this though..there is one story in our books that speaks of a Monk who had this desire to find out where the universe ends. So what he did was using his mind he tried to explore the universe in order to find an end...in the end he failed and he got lost. Lord Buddha came to rescue him and he told the monk that it is an impossible task to do so he is better served trying to find answers to questions that are closer to him. ...at least that's the way I remember it hehe



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Mr Khan said:
Torillian said:
Are there really a good percentage of other faiths in the Western world where most internet forums are based?

Let's just look at the two most well represented countries for our site specifically. According to census the USA identifies itself at 73% christian, while the UK is lower at 59.3%. That's the answer right there, because it's the most dominant form of religion in the Western World. I'm sure I'd be happy to debate with a buddhist about religion if I ever met one who wanted to do so, but I never have.

It's often difficult to start a dialogue between eastern and western religions. Moreso with Christianity and Islam, who are more fixated on the need to convert people to their one absolute truth which comes from the one true god.

Not sure about Christianity, but Islam dictates no compulsion in religion so that statement would be incorrect.



i also use the big bang theory. i've tied all religions together, and the different faiths don't have the same god. even people in the same faith have different gods. you can't believe in the same god, less you agree with everything, and everyone of your faith.

it's black or white, not rainbow colored.

edit: sin is in and of the church. church is the haven of demons and sinners, and if you believe in the devil. church is his home, so stop worshiping him.



NolSinkler said:
DaRev said:
NolSinkler said:

It is because Christianity is the most practiced, most powerful, most financially supported religion in the world. With the dominance of Western society, it is probably the most widely-known religion (as in, people know the most about it). Furthermore, most people on the forums here are from Western countries, where Christianity has historically predominated, has served as the base of much of modern philosophy, and so is prevalent in modern day Western thought. Finally, most other religions are not exclusive in the same way as Christianity. For example, in Islam, what is unforgivable is Shirk - the associating of partners with God (I.E., an active sin), whereas what is unforgivable for the Christian is Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is interpreted as an active sin by Christians ('an active resistance to the Holy Spirit') but in all seriousness includes such things as not affirming Christian doctrine as true (I.E. not knowing). Because of the exclusive nature of Christianity, which requires its adherents to conform to a certain specified set of thoughts and to affirm them as true (whilst simultaneously denying the validity of any contradicting ideas) many people no doubt feel the need to examine Christianity while not feeling the same way about other religions.

All of these, and more unstated, are reasons why Christianity is more commonly discussed on these forums (and elsewhere) than other religions.

Love God and Love your fellow man - there's really nothing more to Christianity. So are you saying that this differs from other religions?

Well, yes, this alone differs from other religions, in that many do not recognize a God at all, or their conception of God is far different from that of the Christian.  Which brings me to the point - a Christian, in order to be worshipping God, must have in their mind the correct conception of God; this is what the majority will tell you (and Paul would confirm this).  A correct Christian belief requires acknowledgment of the Trinity (for some, the Trinity is replaced by other doctrines, but these are certainly not the mainstream) and submission to it.  It is to accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice for you, based on faith - this is a part of 'Love God', which is the first part of what you've said is required for Christianity.  Those who do not know about Jesus Christ are unfortunately to be sent to Hell - and so are those who have heard the Truth but reject it or are not sure of it.  This is, of course, Pauline Christianity (which is the only branch of Christianity that was allowed to remain to the present day, the other branches being destroyed as heresy).

The Muslim, therefore, who practices his religion and does not worship Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is destined for Hell, through Christian doctrine.

Now I am not saying that Christianity is correct or incorrect, only that it is exclusive in nature, or rather, that the majority of practicing Christians would hold that it is exclusive.  There are less mainstream groups who would maintain that perhaps a correct belief in Jesus Christ is not necessary, or that the one who has not heard the Word of Truth may be saved, but certainly not the majority, whether scholars, pastors, priests, or laymen.

WOW, you sound like someone that has actually read the bible, unlike most of people on this site. Anyways, I agree Christianity is exclusive, but unlike what some non-christians seem to believe, Chistians don't have a mandate to convert anyone. We can tell but not condem.



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M.U.G.E.N said:
DaRev said:
NolSinkler said:
DaRev said:
M.U.G.E.N said:
Scoobes said:

Most of the people on the forums are from the US or other Western countries where Christianity is the the dominant religion. That also means that it's the religion that most people know about when criticising.


This :D 

btw for the record I'm a Buddhist

A few question, what, if anything, happens when you die according to your religion? Is there a Heaven or a Hell? Where did it all begin, life, the universe, etc. What do you say about Big Bang?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=buddhism

sorry tried that, didn't have anything on Big Bang. So?


haha no worries man I have no issues with you asking. 

So basically Buddhism has two major sects (pardon if I make mistakes here with the wording...trying to translate the word from my language to english is a bit difficult) ..one is Theravada and the other is Mahayana. To put it simply Theravada differs in the fact that they go by the scriptures and they are a bit less decorative in their approach to the religion. Theravada temples are very simple looking places compared to Mahayana etc...

The reason why I gave that is to let you know I am in fac a Theravada Buddhist. So my point of view is derived from that.

Life after death...yes we do believe in rebirth. As long as a person has desires they will be reborn. Their status or the situation in which they are born to is dictated by their actions. Good ends with good results and vice versa. As for where we will be born there are various categories of hells and heavens. All with their own specific nature that makes life better or worse. For example the worse the shit you have done in your life the worst hell you shall recieve and so on.

There are debates about this and my personal opinion (It's HEAVILY recommended that we form our own views and opinions on the teachings and not just follow them. Questioning it is encouraged, even at a sunday school level) is that both hell and heaven are places that exist within this same world. But that's just personal interpretation of it. 

As for Big Bang..honestly I'm not sure :D It's been ages since I have done any specific studying of the religion and I'm not the most religious person. So more likely than not I forgot. I am more than willing to look into it and let you know later if that's ok with you?

I do remember this though..there is one story in our books that speaks of a Monk who had this desire to find out where the universe ends. So what he did was using his mind he tried to explore the universe in order to find an end...in the end he failed and he got lost. Lord Buddha came to rescue him and he told the monk that it is an impossible task to do so he is better served trying to find answers to questions that are closer to him. ...at least that's the way I remember it hehe

Awesome

If you do find out what your religion says about Big Bang or any other type of Science vs Buddhism/Religion then I'll love to see how they deal with it.

You mentioned Lord Buddha, is this like the Christian God, i.e. creator of all? Is there an equivalent figure to Jesus aka God in human form, in your religion? Sorry for all the questions, Google is broken



Nintendo Network ID: DaRevren

I love My Wii U, and the potential it brings to gaming.

CyclonePS said:
Mr Khan said:
Torillian said:
Are there really a good percentage of other faiths in the Western world where most internet forums are based?

Let's just look at the two most well represented countries for our site specifically. According to census the USA identifies itself at 73% christian, while the UK is lower at 59.3%. That's the answer right there, because it's the most dominant form of religion in the Western World. I'm sure I'd be happy to debate with a buddhist about religion if I ever met one who wanted to do so, but I never have.

It's often difficult to start a dialogue between eastern and western religions. Moreso with Christianity and Islam, who are more fixated on the need to convert people to their one absolute truth which comes from the one true god.

Not sure about Christianity, but Islam dictates no compulsion in religion so that statement would be incorrect.

No compulsion, but active efforts at reasoning conversion because, under either system, the only way to achieve salvation.



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.