Cults and founded religions. what about modern religions starting as cults? what about modern religion becoming one day ancient mythology, like gree mythology was once accepted, standard religion?
2007-01-18 06:34:07 · 4 answers · asked by amiaigner 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
When I use the word myth as distinct from religion, it is to separate out descriptions of and stories about gods or legendary mortals from explicit tenets of belief, laws, or human actions. This is an ambiguous area. If the Son of God, Jesus, turned water into wine, should he be counted a supernatural being and therefore listed in myth? According to this treatment, yes. If the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, Moses, understood the speech of a burning bush is this not also a supernatural power? If Hercules, son of a mortal woman and the god Zeus, strangled snakes with his bare hands when he was newborn, doesn't that put him in the same category? On this site, the effects of Moses on the belief system of the Ancient Hebrews are considered non-myth. So also are attempts to draw up a chronology of the events in the life of or acts of Jesus. Almost everything else in this murky area -- like the stories told in the Bible -- is myth(os), but this doesn't mean it's either true or untrue, believable or incredible.
Working Defintion of Myth
"Myths are stories told by people about people: where they come from, how they handle major disasters, how they cope with what they must and how everything will end. If that isn't everything what else is there?"
2007-01-18 10:18:12 · answer #1 · answered by Banshee 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Myths are simply stories about gods, which most religions are. I've said it once and I'll continue to say that monotheistic religions are more susceptible to strict logical criticism than are polytheistic religions due to the levels of unnecessary suffering in the world. If you have one god, how can you say he's benevolent? If you have many, at least you can account for evil in the world by denying the complete benevolence of a multiplicity of gods. Therefore, Greek mythology would be a better logical system than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam.
What you're saying is true, I think, in that there is no difference between religions and cults other than the mass-organization of religion. Can any offer proof of their beliefs? By definition they can't because it is all faith-based. Why is Heaven's Gate (the guys who committed mass suicide and who thought an alien spaceship was trailing a comet) any more foolish than believing that there is an invisible being who had a son, that a man lived in the stomach of a sea creature, and that there is some magical place where we all go with our loved ones when we die?
2007-01-19 10:27:48 · answer #2 · answered by rawley_iu 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
All true. Add to the mix the general dislike or distaste of the religion with the larger following for the smaller one. Add the degree of dissonance between the beliefs. Publicity is a factor, or maybe notoriety.
2007-01-18 16:25:06 · answer #3 · answered by Philo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
what a question? in this modern age there is no talk of religion. all are human beeings.
2007-01-18 15:34:45 · answer #4 · answered by Dr.Durga Devi 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋