do you believe that christianity is a true religion?
By scorpius
@scorpius (1792)
India
December 11, 2006 11:22am CST
i do not believe that christianity is a true religion in the sense that it was created more out of political compulsion rather than as a religious movement.for many christians who celebrate christmas,they may not realise that they are only celebrating the winter equinox and not the birth of jesus.
jesus was actually born on march-april.but dec 25th was choosen since it was a huge function for the jews as well as the romans,the winter equinox.
christianity as a religion changed the power structure of the romans and romans soon came to use christianity to thier advantage.even the bibke in use today is not the real bible .most of the sections written by many apostles were discarded including jesus version as well as the version of mary magadelene.
so many things are artificial about christianity as a religious movement.of course this does not mean that christianuty as a religion is not real.it is real except that the blind faith that people had in the vatican and the pope has been misused again and again.
christianity is more of a political movement rather than a religion which nearly tore rome up.
for the history buff's remember pharoh akhannaten and his sun religion.that too was more of a political movement than a religion and it nearly destroyed egypt.this was thousands of years before christ.christ was a messiah,a leader who lead his people.but to make him immortal and a religion-well i do not think that christ wanted to be idolised in this way.
if one reads the old testament as well as the new one one should be able to see that christ was against idol worship yet today he is idolised in the form of the cross.the cross was choosen as a symbol for his suffering,yet people wear it on thier necks,they make golden crosses,with valuable gems on it[ref: the bishops,arch bishops].all jesus wanted was for people to realise that the god of the jews wanted his people to obey his laws,make communion with the god,forgive the sins of man and give him entry to paradise.no where did jesus say that i do not want judaism but i shall create a new religion.
as a matter of record,the early christians that jesus converted to christianity were all jews.christianity in the beggining was open only to jews.christianity was more like a new thought rather tahn a separate religion.i am sure that this post is going to raise a lot of hackles,and i wuld like to say that i do not mean any disrespect to any one of any faith whatsoever .these are just my own thoughts and please feel free to respond!
thank you!http://www.grmi.org/Richard_Riss/evidences2/26onl.html
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_true.htm
http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/rr.html
76 responses
@jonas_71ss (174)
• Virgin Islands (U.S.)
11 Dec 06
I can tell you what I find disturbing .. the number of discussions geared toward undermining religion, Christianity, and other peoples' own religious views likes Judaism or Islam. Christianity seems to be taking the hardest hits. MyLot is slowly turning into nothing but a religious hate fest. It's one thing to have a discussion, but it's another to constantly incite hateful, slandering debate right from the start.
@scorpius (1792)
• India
23 Dec 06
mylot is all about freedom and democracy.just because a religion is a religion does not mean that people do not want to talk about it.thats what they are all doing,talking about it.as to beliefs,well in any discussions you really cannpot expect the persons to have the very same beliefs can you?
@shoreboy31 (1433)
• United States
12 Dec 06
How can a historian tell you what part of the year it was? there really is no written records as to when. I agree that it more than likely was not on December 25th. As another response said that the time around Christmas is also roughly the time of the Winter Equinox, and was celebrated as a Pagan holiday long before Christianity. The date that Christianity chose to Celebrate it is the same reason the Jews celebrate Hannukah, and also the same reason that Kwaanza is celebrated at the same time. The pagans were celebrating it first, The Christians wanted to compete with the pagans, so what better way to show them up than have a bigger bash at the same time, The Jews fell in line proclaiming the Miracle of the Lights happened around the same time...each trying to outdo the other...
@thatcrazyqbanita (3312)
• United States
11 Dec 06
no, it incites hatred and intolerance. i do not agree with it at all
@scorpius (1792)
• India
23 Dec 06
it is just a free discussion.it certainly does nt promote hatred.that i am against .but i ive in a democratic society and i believe that we hae the right to discuss all under the sun.also if you did noithave any positive inputs then why bother posting here at all!??
@shoreboy31 (1433)
• United States
12 Dec 06
No scorpius..I disagree with you...Methodist is a religion, baptist is a religion, Church of God is a religion, Christianity is the faith behind those religions.
@wyrdsister (584)
• Canada
11 Dec 06
Wow, that's quite the discussion you've started. I expect this one to have a lot of comments soon. :)
As for what makes a religion a "true" one: I think that in itself is rather subjective. I see religion as a way we make sense of and find meaning in our world. If we use that definition of religion, then I think Christianity holds up as a true religion in that case as people do find genuine meaning in it and find rules, principles, and strategies for making their way through life.
From what you've said above, you seem to think religion and political movements should mix. On the one hand, I agree with you - I'm not comfortable with a country or state having one religious doctrine that is considered "official" on which they base all their legal decisions. On the other hand, I see a deep connection between religion and what can be concidered "political" - peoples' rights and freedoms, the intrinsic value of all human beings and of all life, etc. Religions define the values of their adherents, and thereby influence their political beliefs. I don't think Christianity is unique in this way, and I also don't think it negates it's validity as a "real" religion.
All of what I just stated above is my personal opinion - I'm not trying to quote or paraphrase the thoughts of others, so YMMV.
Thanks for the interesting discussion!
BB,
~Wyrdsister
@scorpius (1792)
• India
12 Dec 06
thank you for commenting.yes as a topic this has been considered vodoo for quite a long time b8ut i think that it should have been explored in detail before itself.as far as what yuou have said,well i do agree with you only partly.i do not thnk that one person,or one state should be allowed to modify the religoius doctrines as they please so that they can control us more effectively eg: vatican!
@chukwudi (1098)
• Nigeria
12 Dec 06
you may be right in your thoughts be all it takes is whatthepeople want to hear what people need is miracles and they are seeing signs as it was promised ,please send me more fact about what you are saying ,how the bible was altered ,i want to be convinced
@langara123 (887)
• India
13 Dec 06
every Religion is true its the only thing that say human being is the best religion
@josephperera (2906)
• Sri Lanka
12 Dec 06
I am a Christian, and I belive in Buddhism which is a philosophy. But whatever it is religion is not what the people who belive in it do. It is the teaching behind the religion that matters. If the pope decided to conquer the whole world by war it has nothing to do with the religion, unless the religion teaches such a thing.
Even though Buddhism is a philosophy and Lord Buddah is not a God, but just a man, Buddists worship him and hold rituals and everything ignoring the basic teachings behind Buddhism.
Religion is nothing but the truth to the person of that religion, and a bunch of crap for the person who does not follow it. No one can prove it or disprove it.
Pesonally I follow my conscience. According to "Hethu Pala Wada" in Buddism every action has a reaction. There will be retribution for the wrong you do, and the good deeds will be rewarded. I think if you follow this concept to the best of your ability that is enough.
@sj_chaudhry (1537)
• Canada
12 Dec 06
all you siad is same as what our religion taught us that is ISlam. if you want further information just go www.askimam.com or www.quran-o-sunnah.com u'll find plenty of answers on tons of things.
@emisle (3822)
• Ireland
12 Dec 06
I'm a Christian myself (catholic) and your post if really interesting. I know myself that the story of Christ's birth was changed, there was no wise kings etc, and the date was changed to fit in with a pagan festival.
I think the Bible is also very suspect, the story of Adam and Eve was written to make women to look bad, and the whole thing about how we should fear God was concocted to keep people in line.
To me, God is about love, and as long as you are the best person you can be, that's all that should matter..:)
@scorpius (1792)
• India
13 Dec 06
thank you.wish you had posted eatrlier then i may have chosen your post as the best response.i have had a lot of resoponses,some of them outright calling me nanmes but yours has been a very +one and nt only that yoo seem to share some of my ideas regardingh christianity and all that.i do believe that god exixts in different forms for all religipons buit he is one and the same anhd hie is full of love and cares for all of us!
@treblem (316)
• Philippines
12 Dec 06
christianity today is not the group established by jesus christ. by the way jesus christ's hebrew name is Yeshua. christianity today is the present babylon. romans carried on their babylonian worship covered by christian names. christianity is in no way different from ancient babylon. christmas is the feast of saturnalia celebrated by romans every dec. 25. you are right that it is not the real birthday of Yeshua. many celebrations in christianity is babylonian. they celebrate christmas, new year, valentines, easter, all saints day etc. they do not know the law (Torah) of Elohim. they use God, jesus, bible, holy, christ etc which are greek names of their gods. i just pray they may come to their senses and get back to the original group of disciples established by Yeshua. have a pleasant day.
@moonflowerpixy (536)
• United States
12 Dec 06
Scorpius,
Merry Meet,
I started a similar disscussion. I agree with what you are saying. Knowledge changes everything. But I guess 'adam and eve' knew that too. Yes, religion is not a topic that most can disscuss rationaly and logically. My self,... I have tried many different religions. I was born presbyterian, baptized, went to mass with my godmother during the summers, was saved in a babtist church, and witnessed the methodist. I have now chosen the pagan religion for my own. There is good in all religions/faiths, but there is also a dark side. People should embrace each other regardless of who or what they believe in. Maybe one day we will all know the truth...
Merry Part
@shivendran (219)
• India
12 Dec 06
That was a great post.but i plead you not to turn this feeling into a rage.let the believers believe whatever they want.such beliefs,customs and religions are all about ha.ving faith in something to lead a peaceful life.Faith is life
@indianmathematics (48)
• India
23 Dec 06
Humanity is the best religion & it is above all religions.
om namah shivaya.
@anne_143god (5387)
• Philippines
12 Dec 06
Yes I do believe that it is a true religion and I dont know how did you arrive on that conclusion that Jesus birth is from Mar-Apr???. Where it is written that when Christ was born it is very cold on that time. The most coldest season is from Dec-Jan. So how come it become Mar-Apr.
@scorpius (1792)
• India
12 Dec 06
well as many historians would tell you that christ was nmot born on dec 25th but at a different date.the dec 25th date was choosen because it was a very important pagan holiday and they wanted to convert the pagans and choosing a common holiday would make the process much easier.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08377a.htm
http://petragrail.tripod.com/page5.html
@brettbum (304)
• United States
12 Dec 06
I believe that to put the words True + religion next to each other is an oxymoron as there is no such thing as a 'true religion'
@azadmohamed (128)
• Sri Lanka
12 Dec 06
What ever you are telling may be correct i think . I have no any knowledge about cristianity that much. but my view is, as a muslim it was the the religion given to one of our prophet Issaa(Alaihivassalam). That also Islam and real version of that was actually talking something same as Quran. Name of the holly book was given as "Ingieel". I think that is the one now people are using as bible with lot of additions.
But publicly criticising a religion is not a fair thing, I think. They belive their religeon WE belive our religion. What ever the religion yoo ar follwing, no problem. If you are following the thinks with real understanding of it. allways go for the truth don't follow a religion just for the shake of you born in that perticuler religion. find for the truth which religion you think it is true go for it.
@scorpius (1792)
• India
12 Dec 06
thank you for your response!first of all i am not criticizing christianity.i am a history buff and i am just pointing out a few arguments backed by certain historical facts.many christians do not know that dec 25th is not the actual date of birth of jesus christ,yet they celebrate it.
anyway i am just pointing out that christianity as a whole seems more like it is based on a political movement per se and not a religion.but like you say to each his own and everyone has a right to this own opinion!
@vngrape (20)
• Philippines
12 Dec 06
That's a nice insight you got there. But I think it depends on what you percieve the meaning of religion is. For me, religion is any belief in a higher being. Christians believe that Jesus is a higher being. So I think Christianity is a religion. I also think that it does not necessarily have to be correct to be a religion as long as someone believes it.
@pipin82 (42)
• United States
12 Dec 06
I always believed that,what the old testament was all about was Jesus coming and changing things,the whole other part of the bible is Jesus saying i know the old law was this way but i have come to give you a new law.The old way of doing things was obliterated,thats what the tearing of the holy cloth on the ark of the covanant was a symbol for.Jesus taught us that it wasnt about works and ceremony it was about believeing in Jesus as the Son of God and what the Father sent Him here to do.
I dont think i really believe in "the christian religion" i dont have a certain denomination of church that i go to,I take it day by day and try and trust what i feel God telling me is right,so many people use religion in general for their own gain and for things that religion was never ment to be about and that is sad.
