R E L I G I O N
"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man, living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of 10 things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these 10 things, he has a special place full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever til the end of time...but he loves you."
GEORGE CARLIN
GEORGE CARLIN
"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."
STEVEN WEINBERG - theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate
STEVEN WEINBERG - theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate
Judaism
An early Monotheistic religion which originated in the Middle East. Sigmund Freud makes a good case that it was descend from, or inspired by, the Cult of Aten which was founded by the Egyptian 'heretic' Pharaoh Amenhotep IV. The tribes who made the 'Exodus' were selected from the many Jewish groups domiciled in Egypt at the time by a charismatic leader who is most likely to have been an Egyptian Atenist priest. The mystical/magical wisdom of the Kabbalah which emerged in the middle ages is based on esoteric interpretation of the Torah and bears many similarities to Egyptian philosophy later termed 'Hermetic'.
An early Monotheistic religion which originated in the Middle East. Sigmund Freud makes a good case that it was descend from, or inspired by, the Cult of Aten which was founded by the Egyptian 'heretic' Pharaoh Amenhotep IV. The tribes who made the 'Exodus' were selected from the many Jewish groups domiciled in Egypt at the time by a charismatic leader who is most likely to have been an Egyptian Atenist priest. The mystical/magical wisdom of the Kabbalah which emerged in the middle ages is based on esoteric interpretation of the Torah and bears many similarities to Egyptian philosophy later termed 'Hermetic'.
Roman Christianity
Christianity grew around a politically inspired Roman reinterpretation of the enlightened teachings of a radical and charismatic Hebew preacher (who they had incidentally tortured to death). Given a beginning like this it will come as no surprise that the Church of Rome would preside over more than a millennium and a half of brutal repression which stifled spiritual, intellectual and scientific achievement. The inconvenient discovery of the Nag Hammadi Scrolls in 1945 reunited the world with the original teachings of the Rabbi Yoshua which had a distinctly 'Hermetic' flavour. Too late unfortunately, the damage had been done.
Christianity grew around a politically inspired Roman reinterpretation of the enlightened teachings of a radical and charismatic Hebew preacher (who they had incidentally tortured to death). Given a beginning like this it will come as no surprise that the Church of Rome would preside over more than a millennium and a half of brutal repression which stifled spiritual, intellectual and scientific achievement. The inconvenient discovery of the Nag Hammadi Scrolls in 1945 reunited the world with the original teachings of the Rabbi Yoshua which had a distinctly 'Hermetic' flavour. Too late unfortunately, the damage had been done.
Protestant Christianity
In the 15th century a suicidally brave priest called Martin Luther, reacting to the appalling venality and corruption of the Roman Church, triggered a breakaway movement - turned out to be quite successful. A large proportion of northern Europe was persuaded to the cause but, although there was a greater intellectual freedom under the new regime, the brutal repression of non-Christians continued. Due to the interconnectedness of church and state there followed centuries of warfare and mutual persecution. The austere nature of fundamentalist protestant beliefs was as repressive in its way as the Roman regime. Without a central organising body the movement fragmented into numerous sects; and so it remains today.
In the 15th century a suicidally brave priest called Martin Luther, reacting to the appalling venality and corruption of the Roman Church, triggered a breakaway movement - turned out to be quite successful. A large proportion of northern Europe was persuaded to the cause but, although there was a greater intellectual freedom under the new regime, the brutal repression of non-Christians continued. Due to the interconnectedness of church and state there followed centuries of warfare and mutual persecution. The austere nature of fundamentalist protestant beliefs was as repressive in its way as the Roman regime. Without a central organising body the movement fragmented into numerous sects; and so it remains today.
Islam
The beginnings of Islam did not bode well; Mohamed was far more successful than we expect of our religions leaders. This was due to his
undoubted charisma coupled with a truly ruthlessness pragmatism. The Prophet's inspiration was to embrace the leading figures of both Abrahamic religions; his genius was to instigate observances which would unite disparate peoples in a common identity. By enforcing strict observance of the second commandment (which forbids the representation of human or animal figures) Islam cast the majority of the Middle East into a realm of visual and intellectual abstraction which triggered an unprecedented flowering of the arts, architecture, mathematics, astronomy and medicine.
The beginnings of Islam did not bode well; Mohamed was far more successful than we expect of our religions leaders. This was due to his
undoubted charisma coupled with a truly ruthlessness pragmatism. The Prophet's inspiration was to embrace the leading figures of both Abrahamic religions; his genius was to instigate observances which would unite disparate peoples in a common identity. By enforcing strict observance of the second commandment (which forbids the representation of human or animal figures) Islam cast the majority of the Middle East into a realm of visual and intellectual abstraction which triggered an unprecedented flowering of the arts, architecture, mathematics, astronomy and medicine.
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. It is often referred to as Sanatana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning 'the eternal law') by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the "oldest living major religion".
Hinduism is the predominant religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. It is often referred to as Sanatana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning 'the eternal law') by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the "oldest living major religion".
Buddhism
Founded in India 2,500 years ago, Buddhism remains the dominant religion of the Far East and is increasingly popular in the West. Over its long history Buddhist has developed into a wide variety of forms, ranging from an emphasis on religious rituals and worship of deities to a complete rejection of both rituals and deities in favor of pure meditation. But all share in common a great respect for the teachings of the Buddha, 'The Enlightened One'.
Founded in India 2,500 years ago, Buddhism remains the dominant religion of the Far East and is increasingly popular in the West. Over its long history Buddhist has developed into a wide variety of forms, ranging from an emphasis on religious rituals and worship of deities to a complete rejection of both rituals and deities in favor of pure meditation. But all share in common a great respect for the teachings of the Buddha, 'The Enlightened One'.
Neo Paganism
Pagan is a term of abuse coined by early Christians meaning 'hicks from the sticks'. It's been reclaimed (in the same way that non-caucasians reclaimed the word 'black') as an umbrella term by the myriad of new age religions that cascaded from Gerald Gardener's reinvention of 'The Old Religion' in the middle of the 20th century. In terms of numbers they are not even significant enough to merit a place on the map (below) - gotta love 'em just the same.
Pagan is a term of abuse coined by early Christians meaning 'hicks from the sticks'. It's been reclaimed (in the same way that non-caucasians reclaimed the word 'black') as an umbrella term by the myriad of new age religions that cascaded from Gerald Gardener's reinvention of 'The Old Religion' in the middle of the 20th century. In terms of numbers they are not even significant enough to merit a place on the map (below) - gotta love 'em just the same.
...and what's religion got to do with magic?
Think of the major religions as competing fast food corporations. Take a ubiquitous food product such as a burger, give it a spin, buy global awareness with a truly massive marketing spend, ruthlessly drive local competitors out of business and voilà we are up to our necks in McDonalds, Burger King, KFC...And yet take the trouble, look through the recipe books, buy fresh ingredients, and you can prepare a better and healthier meal at home. Get caught doing it though and you'll be char-grilled at the stake - do you want fries with that?
Religions are just denatured, globalised magical franchises.
Think of the major religions as competing fast food corporations. Take a ubiquitous food product such as a burger, give it a spin, buy global awareness with a truly massive marketing spend, ruthlessly drive local competitors out of business and voilà we are up to our necks in McDonalds, Burger King, KFC...And yet take the trouble, look through the recipe books, buy fresh ingredients, and you can prepare a better and healthier meal at home. Get caught doing it though and you'll be char-grilled at the stake - do you want fries with that?
Religions are just denatured, globalised magical franchises.
"...I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."
PAUL - 1 Corinthians 9:22-23
PAUL - 1 Corinthians 9:22-23
Interesting to note a difference in the tactics of evangelism between the Roman Church and the Protestant Churches.
Roman Christianity adopted an essentially pragmatic approach to conversion. Working in concert with a secular power it would first subjugate the local population and replace the indigenous religion. Thereafter it would absorb local religious practices and syncretise local deities into its pantheon of saints and angels. Very bright move. This allowed the native populations to migrate (albeit by force of arms) to a new belief system and yet maintain their traditions and deities, for all intents and purposes, intact. A celibate priesthood, nevertheless, left a legacy of sexual guilt.
By stark contrast Protestant Christianity adopted a universally inflexible approach which had no place for local belief systems. This brutal approach cut off people from their important and psychologically supportive ancestral traditions and supplanted them with a religion which had been stripped of the (Roman) equivalents. If anything the Protestant puritans were even more hung up about sex than the Catholics and they too implanted the seeds of sexual neurosis. The psychological disintegration that this caused must have been very significant indeed.
The world maps below show [1] the world by religion [2] the incidence of serial killers. Christianised populations have by far the highest rate of offenders and populations dominated by Protestant faiths have dramatically higher rates than Catholic populations - the UK and the US being by far the highest.
Roman Christianity adopted an essentially pragmatic approach to conversion. Working in concert with a secular power it would first subjugate the local population and replace the indigenous religion. Thereafter it would absorb local religious practices and syncretise local deities into its pantheon of saints and angels. Very bright move. This allowed the native populations to migrate (albeit by force of arms) to a new belief system and yet maintain their traditions and deities, for all intents and purposes, intact. A celibate priesthood, nevertheless, left a legacy of sexual guilt.
By stark contrast Protestant Christianity adopted a universally inflexible approach which had no place for local belief systems. This brutal approach cut off people from their important and psychologically supportive ancestral traditions and supplanted them with a religion which had been stripped of the (Roman) equivalents. If anything the Protestant puritans were even more hung up about sex than the Catholics and they too implanted the seeds of sexual neurosis. The psychological disintegration that this caused must have been very significant indeed.
The world maps below show [1] the world by religion [2] the incidence of serial killers. Christianised populations have by far the highest rate of offenders and populations dominated by Protestant faiths have dramatically higher rates than Catholic populations - the UK and the US being by far the highest.
World Religions - click map to enlarge
Serial Killers* - click to map to enlarge
*Obviously there may be other contributing factors to the incidence of serial killers besides repressive religions; for instance McDonald's franchises have a similar geographic distribution. Supersize that one if you will!
The Missionary Church of Kopimism (in swedish Missionerande Kopimistsamfundet), founded by 19-year-old philosophy student Isak Gerson,[1] is a congregation of file sharers who claim that copying information is a sacred virtue.[2][3][4] The Church, based in Sweden, has been officially recognized by the Swedish Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency ("kammarkollegiet") as a religious community, after three application attempts.[1][5]
The followers of the religion are called Kopimists from copy me. According to the church, "In our belief, communication is sacred."[2] No belief in gods or supernatural phenomena is mentioned on their web site. CTRL+C and CTRL+V, familiar to those with rudimentary computing skills as the shortcut keys for "Copy" and "Paste," are considered sacred symbols.
All knowledge to all
The search for knowledge is sacred
The circulation of knowledge is sacred
The act of copying is sacred.
January 5, 2012, Kopimism was accepted by Sweden as a legitimate religion. The religion's association with illegal file sharing has been said to not be a sign that file sharing that steps beyond legal borders will be excused from Sweden's zero-tolerance approach to the matter.
?????? ??? (Vidya Daan), a concept in Daan, is a tenet of all Dharmic Religions that also values the sharing of information[citation needed]. In Christianity, it is also known as the Gift of Knowledge
The followers of the religion are called Kopimists from copy me. According to the church, "In our belief, communication is sacred."[2] No belief in gods or supernatural phenomena is mentioned on their web site. CTRL+C and CTRL+V, familiar to those with rudimentary computing skills as the shortcut keys for "Copy" and "Paste," are considered sacred symbols.
All knowledge to all
The search for knowledge is sacred
The circulation of knowledge is sacred
The act of copying is sacred.
January 5, 2012, Kopimism was accepted by Sweden as a legitimate religion. The religion's association with illegal file sharing has been said to not be a sign that file sharing that steps beyond legal borders will be excused from Sweden's zero-tolerance approach to the matter.
?????? ??? (Vidya Daan), a concept in Daan, is a tenet of all Dharmic Religions that also values the sharing of information[citation needed]. In Christianity, it is also known as the Gift of Knowledge