This may sound hopelessly contradictory.
Every religion, I believe, is man-made.
The Bible, the torrha (not sure if I’ve spelled that correctly),
and the Qua’ran were all written by men, to help them,
I would think, to make sense of their existence.
To me its not a matter of choosing the ‘right’ religion, one can, in principal, find
Religious truth in whatever religion.
By ‘truth’ I don’t meen certainty, and I believe the creation myths,
of any religion, are just that… myths.
When I say ‘religious truth’ I meen the same sort of truth
that the ancient Greeks, may have, obtained from the old
Hero myths.
If one hears such a myth, or a story from the bible, it sound
fantastical, absurd, even downright silly. But when one
really listens, takes the message from these stories,
and applies it to ones own life, this is how one can obtain
‘Religious truth’.
Does this make sense?
Does anybody else believe there is such a thing as religious
truth, and that this is a fair description of what it may be?
I find this bit inaccurate. I think they were written when man had made sense of his existence, written because someone did understand something or other. Is the difference clear?
Otherwise I agree with everything you said. Of coures it makes sense; no it’s not contradictory; yes it’s a fair description.
Dan25 quote: “Does anybody else believe there is such a thing as religious truth, and that this is a fair description of what it may be?”
All religions are acceptances of somebodys opinion of what God does and what He wants. So a religious truth might be the truth of what the originator (s) of a religion say that the religion says, but it cannot be what is real, truth, almost by definiton. One cannot opinion about “what is.” It is what it is and it is immune from anyone’s opinion or belief.
Isn’t the sentiment undermined by the word “truth” though? I mean, is the philosophical background to this post the idea that there are no truths, or that there are no exclusive truths?
I’d be interested in a robust definition of truth, here, if a truth need not be exclusive. I’m not disagreeing with you by the way. But if a narrative can be both myth and truth, how is it that it is true? In what way is it true, if it contradicts scientific evidence, for example? Is it true because it’s meaningful? Is it true because a lot of people like the story? Is it true because it says something about human nature?
I should have given a definition of ‘‘truth’’, as used in the OP, at the start.
For the purpose of this discussion ‘‘truth’’ shall be defined as ‘‘that which is known to be helpful to the way we live our lives, interact with others, et cetra’’
I have recently realized, I believe, another ‘‘religious truth’’… that religion is one of the worlds biggest problems, humanities greatest mistake.
Religion is part of our search for meaning in the teeth of death. What of it makes your life meaningful for you is truth for you. In a larger sense it is respect for all that lives, which includes you. One of the best definitions of morality, since that is what religion claims to teach, is from the Wiccans:" Do as you will so long as it harms no one."
It makes sense to me. But, you haven’t really said what the religious truth that myth refers to is. Maybe you want to leave that category open. I have called it ultimate reality. Of course, the referent of that term is unknowable except from a POV that is itself not ultimate. That’s why mythopoetic language is necessary to talk about it, all such talk is provisional and speculative.
Well said.
My opinion is that religion predates texts and that it is an effect of our humble humanity, our openness to being, our realization of our mode of being. In a manner of speaking, religion is not found amongst the angels and next to god, but in the exile, in the open.
A new totalitarian orthodoxy? The end of free speech? The outlawing and persecution of religion? It’s been done before. Check your 20th century history [and 21st century China] to see how well that works.
IMHO, we are overlapping two things; Verdicts and facts.
Truth means fact not verdict. A verdict maybe a fact or maybe not. The same is applicable for science as well. We have witness that it keeps amending its verdicts continuously. So, where is the truth?
The truth is that we all die one day. The truth is that female gives birth not male. Truth should not be disputed and if it is so then it is not a truth. We cannot and should not labialize it.
So, there is no religious or scientific truth. All we have are assumptions. These assumptions are called verdict in religion while science labels those in the name of theory.
I am not saying that there cannot be truth. Both, science and religion are capable of doing that and they did it successfully many times in the past.
Religion has been causing wars all over the world, for all of recorded history, and was probably causing wars even before the written word existed.
In our own time religion is causing huge problems, 9/11 ring any bells? Religion needs to be eradicated, stamped-out!
What in all of ‘world history’ has caused anywhere near as much pain, misery and death as religion has?
We need to get beyond this superstitious nonsense.
Not at all so.
That is merely what happens when you let undeclared religions (government propaganda) control your perception.
The STATE of Israel wanted their neighbor destroyed.
It has nothing at all to do with religion.
Religion doesn’t even run the state of Israel.
Israel is a Marxist state run by its Socialist leaders.
The Communist Manifesto.
Politics.
Quantum Physics is pure superstition.
I don’t see the world getting past their natural tendencies to lust for world control through any means that seems to work.
Out of all of the wars that the USA was in, can you name even one that was about religion?
Quantum Physics is pure superstition.
I don’t see the world getting past their natural tendencies to lust for world control through any means that seems to work.
Out of all of the wars that the USA was in, can you name even one that was about religion?
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No I can’t, but the USA is only one country, and a very ‘young’ country at that. Religion has caused, and continues to cause, many wars- that’s as close to a ‘fact’ as any human being can give you, on any subject.
Oh really?
Name the last 20 wars throughout the world and show which were from religion rather than Communists trying to destroy religion.
Even the Crusades weren’t actually about religion. The Turks were invading a land that happen to be under the Pope’s rule. The Pope asked the King to help out. Because the Turks were not Christian and most of the population was and he had the Pope’s permission, all the King had to do was to say, “hey them guys ain’t Christian. Let’s go beat’m up!” If England had been Communist, the Communist leader would merely have said, “hey them guys ain’t Communist. Let’s go beat’m up!”
Socialism causes wars. And Socialism is all about domination and ultimate control, as is Communism. So they don’t get along. The religions have always gotten along with socialists structures, so they get dragged along to help lure in the population.
It is all political propaganda, no matter who is involved.
