In this day and age is anything new? Is religion part of the new "retro" fad?

Question

Not that religion wasn't always based on outdated texts, but it was at least held in a practical level of reserve--fanatics were recognized as being fanatics by the majority of the memebers of their own church, and now the majority of the members are dangerously fanatic. Could this have something to do with all the remakes of old classic TV shows and movies and remixes of songs? Even our "new" tv shows are updated versions of old ones--the cop shows like csi and cold case are updated versions of Quincy and murder she wrote--It seems as though everything is done and there is nothing truly new to create, so people keeps seeking that happier time in the past--are we doing this with our religions as well?

Answer 1

Hi handsome. I wonder if there are more fanatics now or do we just see more of them because of our association to Q/A. I live in the bible belt and Texas has always been a politically conservative state for as long as I can remember. If anything is true, I see a change towards more liberal thinking down here. It will not be long, I hope, before more people wise up to the dangers of mixing religion and the law.

Answer 2

To some point.. However, the emergence and prolonged interest in New Age indicates that there is a large percentage of the population for whom the usual smorgasbord of religions has no relevance. And frankly, I think that the small pockets of fanaticism may in fact be a reaction to New Age as well as the growing secularism in Western society. Although religious values are frequently discussed in the media and most Americans are quick to declare a religion, the truth is that less than 30% of Americans attend church on a regular basis. Things are not what they appear to be.

Answer 3

each new version improves on the last in some way or other
We are growing, and I believe in a positive manner.
In Chinese philosophy there is the yin/yang symbol that represents the light within the dark and the dark within the light. The world kind of swings from one way to another like a pendulum.

Another analogy is of a woman in labour. There is something of this going on. The woman has fled into the desert, and the dragon is after her. She is about to give birth, and this woman is the church. You are witness to this conflict here and now. A woman in labour can barely move. She is at her most vulnerable at the time that she is about to give birth. It will seem at that time that whatever is the issue, it will appear as if it will be annihilated before it can breathe. However, this will not happen. There are other signs and portents. Wait and be patient. Watch, and see what happens. Prepare to protect those you love, and love all those who come under your protection. There is something coming. We can all sense it. We are all restless. Like a wind that springs unexpectedly from the South.

Answer 4

Hayden,

You keep hanging out on the Religion & Spirituality page, so I assume that you are restive in yourself assessment; you really are looking for answers.

Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 "That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So, there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one might say, "See this, it is new "? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us. 11 There is no remembrance of earlier things; And also of the later things which will occur, There will be for them no remembrance Among those who will come later still."

They may be "old texts" but there is nothing "outdated" about the Bible. It is more current that tomorrow morning's newspaper.

The old TV shows are better written and better acted. New ones are based on the old ones because the new writers are lazy, for one thing.

The other thing is that sin is just sin. As a philosophical negative, it has no force within itself, no existance outside the field of that which is right. Every sin is a negation of some good thing. Adultery and fornication are misuses of the gift of sex. Stealing is a misuse of the command to earn our living by the sweat of our brow, and a neglect of the rights of the other person; and so forth.

There is no evil that has a life of it's own. They are all a denial of the good. Evil is not the equivalent opposite of that which is good; ying/yang does not work, and is in fact a lie.

Answer 5

As some others have answered (based on the Scriptures), that there is nothing new. I don't think it is a fad. I think more than anything it is trying to balance out all of the wicked stuff in the world. For instance: now I have to censor my radio in my car b/c I am raising my son to be a strong Christian male, and I want him to know that saying some of these words that are no longer bleeped out on TV and in music is not acceptable. People always use the excuse that 'times change'. But God has never changed. Just b/c some video says it's okay for a girl to wear low-rise jeans with her undies showing does not mean that it is really okay to do. We religious folk are just trying to hold on and raise our families in these increasingly immoral times. Regardless which side of the fence you are on, there are always going to be extremists.

Answer 6

i think of a few people consult with faith as "brainwashing" simply by fact they for my area experience they have been inspired by utilising family members and society (predominately from an early age) to have confidence in a faith they could not thoroughly have confidence in. as a result, those every person is left with a feeling of being wrongly inspired by utilising the precise same people they have confidence. The term "brainwashing" is obviously an quite damaging term to throw around, and ought to be quite of an over-exaggeration, yet people for this reason tend to be describing the term from a private point.

Answer 7

King Solomon said, "There is nothing new under the sun. And what people think is new, has been around for a long time."
From our finite mind, that's nonsense. But in a Universe that's billions of years old, and full of worlds, other dimensions. It makes a lot of sense.
The "New Age" is just old information being made public.
Jesus predicted the "New Age", and "religion" is behind the times.
GET WITH THE PROGRAM!

Answer 8

"Not that religion wasn't always based on outdated texts"? Religion wasn't always based on outdated texts when the texts were new.

The answer to your question is: Truth is not outdated, and faith in Truth--i.e., Jesus Christ--isn't retro.

Faith in some old crap that seems cool to people just finding it--like teenagers finding their parents' Credence Clearwater Revival LPs--can be retro.

Answer 9

God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. He does not lie. He promises that whosoever believes in His son shall have eternal life.

Assurance, the same today as it was when Jesus went to the cross.

Answer 10

New Religion makes all things new in this glorious Age.