Why do you think we have organized religion/so many religions?

Question

I was just wondering what your feelings are about various religions. I'm catholic, myself. Today in my Americaln Lit class we discussed Thomas Paine's view on organized religion. He said that he doesn't believe in it and that he just belives in one God and nothing else. In his opinion organized religion is used to confuse and scare people. He also couldn't understand why there were so many different beliefs. I thought some of his ideas made sense. What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

Due to time and circumstance, in different cultures and social milieus, various avatars are sent to attract the living entity back to the eternal realm, sometimes God comes himself and sometimes he sends his son, prophet or spiritual master to deliver the message that culminates in selfless devotion to the Supreme, this revives the original consciousness and provides revelation and perception to position a first class adherent beyond all doubts.

There is one verse from that great fountainhead of wisdom the Bhagavad Gita As It Is that describes this exalted state of consciousness, Chapter 6 Verse's 20 to 23

In the stage of perfection called trance, or samādhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.

To discuss further:-Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Answer 2

Thank you, Thomas Paine, you don't have to believe in it if you don't want to. And we don't have to believe in your one God, (although some of us don't believe in God at all.) I agree--to a point--that organized religion confuses & scares some people, but isn't that because they let it? Often, it's a way of relieving oneself from personal responsibility, and--dictates behavior for fear of--if I do something bad, God will smite me, & if I do something good, I'll be rewarded. Those should never, ( in my opinion), be reasons for the way one lives. Yet, I once knew someone who had the DESIRE to chop off someone else's hands, & the only thing that stopped him was fear of God! So there you go. So many religions--well--so many cultures, so much disparity in humans. I'm NOT being pejorative when I say this is not much different than some people prefer one food over another, because it's their taste. Also seems MOST people have an innate need to BELIEVE in something higher (bad word!) than themselves, to explain questions that have no reason to be asked, because there aren't any answers. Your question is a fascinating one, & much more exploration would be insightful. Hope you get some sane, relevant answers.

Answer 3

Paine was an honest and logical guy to be sure. I’m not sure organised religion is a bad thing because some people need others since they can’t think for themselves. Organised religion is simply for the masses. There are many religions simply because all religions were established by diverse cultures and are based on mythology. If any single religion was the true one it would stand out like dog’s balls, but as it is, they are all flawed. I’m a gnostic, and my religion is no exception.

Answer 4

I have heard that the Dalai Llama has said "many different people, so many different religions," or something like that. I think that's an elegant way of saying that there are many paths to truth, we take that which is suited to us. Most religions seem to share basic tenets, respect for life, believe in a loving diety (sometimes how that love is expressed varies).

Answer 5

particularly, the Christian God isn't 2,000 years previous, he is going back previous recorded historic past. additionally, his "e book dates" to Moses around to -1300- -1400 B.C.E. so it is historic certainly. additionally, "prepared faith" as you call it as we communicate isn't enjoyed or authorized of by using "God," in actuality, he discover's it (and rather a number of the Christianity practisced as we communicate, abhorrent and hateful) and could wreck it as he says in the e book of Revelation, Ch. 18, while he calls all prepared Religions, "the Wh*re of Babylon," "below the impact of alcohol on the blood of the martyrs, having fornicated with the governments" what he means by using this is that by using "prostituting herself with international government leaders and telling them for millinea" what they desire to pay attention, then going out and "killing people who communicate the reality approximately God (the martyrs) they're in actuality working against HIM. so as that they are as a Wh*re, and could be destroyed until now the tip time, and the international itself turning on the religions would be between the indications OF the tip OF the international. Hmmmm, what are Terrorist? religious enthusiasts? Christians kill abortion docs and say God approves? sounds like Terrorism to me. So, slowly the international is build up a hate for the bigotry and hypocrisy for religions, additionally, over seventy 5% of the international governments are already atheistic, so it should not be so complicated to push the the remainder of the international into following their leads. after all, what better thank you to end the conflict? do no longer think of i'm no longer ON GOD'S ingredient, i'm. in spite of the undeniable fact that, basically HE can be sure this conflict, and if HE demands the wh*re to die, she would be in a position to, no longer something we are in a position to do to give up it, no longer something. Babylon (historic) replaced into the BIRTHPLACE, of ALL fake faith, the bible says (seem it up) and so we see that on the endtime she is as quickly as back the area of all fake faith (even fake christianity), sorry there is not any huge is the path and rather some looking it, it is "narrow is the path, and few looking it." God HAS particular standards FOR HIS WORSHIP AND in case you may not meet those, he basically does not choose your worship. organic and straightforward. it is why he kinds out the "sheep" from the "goats."