why is every religion bastardized during the course of time?

Question

look at figures like Siddhartha , Jesus, and Mohamed do you think they would approve of what their people do today?
Siddhartha specifically said to not worship him and still people do it!

Answer 1

this occurs when the religion gets so many adhearents that those who started it, or those who have gained respect in it see the need for organization. that is the exact point where this occurs in all religions.
once this occurs there tend to be political leaders instead of fishers of men.
what people refer to as the church now days, would be denied by jesus, whether protestant or catholic.
all these are, are a bunch of politians out to control people's lives and therefore their money.

Answer 2

I appreciate someone who knows this about Siddhartha :-)

Mohammed would likely -not- be happy with the distribution of power and wealth in the world.

I think Jesus would go into a coma.

Religions get bastardized quite readily once adopted by the dominant power structure (politico-military). As history shows, these structures come, alter, and are replaced by new structures. Consider that Christianity was a religion for a persecuted and oppressed people. Jews were, by force, a part of the Roman Empire. Spartacus and his followers had been crucified less than a century before Jesus of Nazareth.

Dreams of liberation was not unknown in that age. What got Jesus into hot water was his 'turn the other cheek' philosophy, courageously carried out by his followers when they were taken to Roman colluseums to die for the amusement of the plebes.

It wasn't until shortly after Constantine adopted Christianity that Christians got to find out what it was like to feel the other end of the whip, and find they liked it. Look what followed: Gnostics wiped out, Arianism, Pelagism, heresies by the bucket full excommunicated and handed over to civil authorities for execution, the Crusades, Byzantium sacked, Knights Templar hunted down, Europe's Catholic/Protestant wars... the list is near-endless.

As power structures competed, they needed their own brand of Christianity so they could call on God before their people and motivate them to go to war.

Consider the Parable of the Tares, given during the Sermon on the Mount:
A man had his servants plant his crops in the field. Shortly after, an enemy of the man planted tares (a weed) amongst the crops, so that they grew together. When the servants discovered this, they asked the man whether they should rip out the weeds. The man said "no, if you do that you might also rip out some of the good crop. So here's what we'll do. We'll let them all grow together till harvest time. Then we rip everything out, and we can throw away the weeds without harming the crops."

Meaning of the story: don't try to pull out the weeds.

For an oppressed, power-less people, this was good stuff. God will judge you on your own merits, not collectively. You don't have to convert your neighbour. His judgment before God is between him and God, and your judgment and his are distinct.

So it didn't matter that Jews were living beside Romans who worshipped a variety of gods.

For a power-less people, this was good news.

But today, Christians are not power-less. Far from it. They control America.

They don't want to hear about not pulling weeds. They want to rip them all up and 'restore America to its Christian heritage'. You even hear some of them claiming that God will judge America collectively because America tolerates a variety of things considered un-Christian.

The original parable is ignored, its meaning ignored, and emphasis is placed on another part of the bible: the empire-building Old Testament. Throughout the early Old Testament (prior to the Jews being taken to Babylon) you have a -lot- of God collectively punishing people. Plagues killing the first-born, for example.

This is scripture for an up-and-coming people seeking empire and jurisdiction over all the world, as promised by God.

Perfect for Bush's America.

The bible covers a lot of turf, lots of things you can use as propaganda to serve the currently reigning power-structure. Don't even have to misquote, just emphasize some parts and ignore others.

Hope that helps.

(and no, this wasn't a cut&paste, you just got me thinking ;-)

Answer 3

Jesus told people to worship Him John 8:58

Answer 4

well, every generation comes with its own set of losers, and idiosyncrasies... It's well knows that God said things in the past and man didn't care, same thing with the generation today, they will do the same in every generation. We never learn from history, so we're bound to make the same mistakes.

Answer 5

Think about it like a big game of telephone. You never get out what was said at the beginning.

Answer 6

people get a hold of it that's why. Not just individuals like the scam televangelists but honest people trying to do the best they can but screw it up anyway.

Answer 7

Because a lot of people only want to use it for their own personal gain. Disregarding its original intent.

Answer 8

They start off that way.