I think we need to have a religion? What do you think of it?

Question

I’m Bahai. We believe an educator is needed.
Education is of three kinds: material, human and spiritual. Material education is concerned with the progress and development of the body, through gaining its sustenance, its material comfort and ease. This education is common to animals and man.
Human education signifies civilization and progress - that is to say, government, administration, charitable works, trades, arts and handicrafts, sciences, great inventions and discoveries and elaborate institutions, which are the activities essential to man as distinguished from the animal.
Divine education is that of the Kingdom of God: it consists in acquiring divine perfections, and this is true education; for in this state man becomes the focus of divine blessings, the manifestation of the words,..This is the goal of the world of humanity.
Now we need an educator who will be at the same time a material, human and spiritual educator, and whose authority will be effective in all conditions...

Answer 1

During 1800s, Anthropologists had a problem as to
how to classify human beings. One researcher
proposed the expression "intelligent animal".
After advanced studies on monkeys, it was dropped.
Another researcher proposed "tool using animal".
After observing some animals making wooden tools
and sharpening them with knife like stones, it was
dropped. Another researcher proposed "weapon using
animal". A decade ago, a rare film was shot by an
amateur in an African forest. One short monkey was
hit very badly by a big monkey. The short monkey
prepared a wooden knife using stones and hid it on
the top of a tree. After some days, when the big
monkey came to attack the short monkey, it ran up
to the tree for the weapon it has hid and killed
the big monkey. The one thing that the
anthropologists found with any group of human
beings, even if they did not have contacts with
the out side world for thousands of years, has
spirituality with some form of religion. So, man
is a "spiritual animal" if you want to call him
that way.

The Upanishads say that "Manush" (human) was so
named because he has "Manas" a mind higher than
that of the animals which realizes the divinity in
creation. It was present since the creation of
human beings. Religion is the characteristic
feature of most of the human beings. It was not
attained through reasoning using mind. Illiterate
tribes located in inaccessible forests also have
religion. It is as eternal and and as unchanging
as the Almighty. Disbelief by a few will not
affect it.

"The percentage of atheists in the world is less
than 5%"

http://www.positiveatheism.org/india/s1990c48a.htm

"Atheists are all scientists" ?

http://www.non-religious.com/statistics.html

Religion is not a blind following. It is a sub-consciously driven
group ritual. It calms the 'collective unconscious' mind. The
religious culture brings unity and belongedness among the followers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_unconscious

" Are Atheists More Depressed than Religious People?

In recent years, the view that religious belief and
participation in religious acts of worship has a positive
effect upon the well-being of man..."

http://www.secularhumanism.org/index.php

"Is a Belief in God Beneficial? Or, What's an Atheist to Do?

1) Religious attendance is correlated with longevity.
2) Religious belief has been associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms.
3) Religious beliefs may help with addiction.
4) Religious attendance is correlated with lower blood pressure.

http://jewishatheist.blogspot.com/2006/01/is-belief-in-god-beneficial-or-whats.html

Although most religions and spiritual beliefs are
clearly distinct from science on both a
philosophical and methodological level, the two
are not generally considered to be mutually
exclusive. A majority of humans hold a mix of both
scientific and religious views. The distinction
between philosophy and religion, on the other
hand, is at times less clear.

Answer 2

Religion:- Religion is a system of beliefs and worships which includes a code of ethics and a philosophy of life. There are many religions in the world today. Some of these religions are of recent origin but most of them are very old. In fact we know from history that man has always had a religion. Even the primitive men living in caves or jungles had some sort of religion. The concepts and rituals in man's religion have CONTINUALLY evolved and become more rational and sophisticated as time went on. The primitive religions of the Cave Man and the Bush Man gave rise to the modern religions of the past three thousand years. Today, the major religions of the world include: World Religion ----- Originated in Zoroastrianism ----- Iran Confucianism ----- China Hinduism ------ India Taoism ------ China Jainism ------ India Judaism ------ Neat East Christianity ------ Near East Islam ------ Near East Buddhism ------- India Shinto ------- Japan These are the great religions of the world which are not only responsible for all our accumulated wealth of wisdom, philosophy, ethics, and social and moral codes, but have influenced the culture, the language and the moral attitudes of almost every PERSON living today. Difference between Religious and Non Religious Peoples. 1. The religious people believe in something while the others do not. 2. The religious people perform certain acts of worship while the others do not. 3. The religious people seem to follow a certain code for their social and moral behaviour while the others do not. 4. The religious people find a purpose of life and have a definite philosophy towards it, while the others do not.

Answer 3

Sounds like you need something called God. But WHAT to call him?

Allah is already taken and even if you take a shine to the name I do not believe you would last long enough on this mortal earth to get businsess cards printed up with his name on them.

Yewah is taken already too.

Soooo......lets see. How 'bout Larry. Yep, there is a great name. Only two syllables and easy to scribe.

Please send ALL contributions to the House of Larry.

...gotta get an IRS 501 (c) 3 going tonight. Gonna be a hot time in the old Pay Pal account soon.

When I'm done with ya you gonna have an education like none other.

Answer 4

I don't need a religion, so therefore logically I am excluded from 'we' which means 'we' don't need a religion. Many of humankind find urgings towards a spiritual path,often other than the creed or radical beliefs inculcated into them as absolute truths promulgated by authority. The 'truth' is always true no matters who corrals it and wherever it may be found. After exploring many religions it seemed to me they were all hierarchical subscribing to the anthropological drive for power and dominance by the alpha (fe)male. Consequently they become rigid and controlling and lose sight of the message and the path. 'The singer not the song.'

Answer 5

"Deliver your souls, O people, from the bondage of self, and purify them from all attachment to anything besides Me." CXXXVI, "Gleanings."

Dvine education or true education is the greatest sphere, equivalent to "Love God completely." Within that, and continuing to "love God completely," one realizes Self, or One Mind Soul-individuation. That is the second, smaller, enclosed sphere, "love colleague as Self." Within that, is a third and least sphere, the sphere of material education, which, when in the Holy Spirit which Christ Jesus demonstrated, is "love as Christ Jesus, Truth, loves."

Anyone who is in the Will of God may ask of Jesus to be God-taught. This is a Living Presence. For those who are less developed, i.e., unable to receive Jesus as Presence with their Presence, a living Teacher is the next best option.

If Bahais need a teacher, then the Bahai structure ought provide same.

Would note four in the West who were authentic Living Teachers during their embodiments, and who left records which may be of some use to a general audience: Mark Prophet, "The Masters and Their Retreats" and "Climb the Highest Mountain;" Ann Ree Colton, "Men in White Apparel," "Kundalini West," and "Watch Your Dreams;" Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, "Looking into the Invisible," What Is a Spiritual Master?", and "A Philosophy of Universality;" and Paramahansa Yogananda, "Autobiography of a Yogi," http://www.yogananda-srf.org

cordially,

j.

Answer 6

EDUCATE comes from the term, to draw out. So not to teach us things we don't know, but let us realise things we have dormant in ourselves.
Material: Animal Instinct allows birds to build nests, and man to provide food shelter and clothing for himself.
Human: Music, Maths and Language are examples of setting ourselves beyond animals.
Spiritual: This is connecting ourselves to the reason we go beyond just self preservation to care for our emotions, our families, and our environement.

If Religion has been the cause of some of the World Problems, then it will be the Solution to those problems too.
Here in Melbourne area, we will host the next Parliament of World Religions in 2009. I hope you can come (see link below)

Answer 7

Yes. man is both human and divine. It is our nature to feel something for someone we do not see. The purpose of religion is to lead man to this invisible being. It is already proven that there is someone who made up this universe. There are different kinds of religion but all of these are longing for someone above. But the point is, though we differe in our faith, but still, we believe that there is someone better than us. We need religion because it is our way to the truth. Without it, we will just make some false conclusion according to our own interpretation. With religion, people will try to explain some phenomena which are beyond our imagination then they will study it. Then explain it to humanity.

Answer 8

I think you've been brainwashed by your culture and make generalized statements that not only have no meaning, but are not true; such as, "the goal of the world of humanity".
How unremarkable and unnecessarily wordy, you couldn't just say, goal of humanity? What's with the "world of humanity"?

You might not have noticed, but none of us have the same goals, except to stay alive, just like every other living creature. The thing that distinguishes us from the animal is our selfishness and ability to be cruel and to enjoy the cruelty.

You used a lot of words to say nothing, and are apparently incapable of critical thought, since most of them do not seem to be original.

I don't need any myth to make my life bearable. I need kindness, both to give and to receive, and I know I'll never find it from anyone like you and certainly not from any religion more interested in power and control and justification than in being kind.

Haven't you noticed that although the creators of the current gods in vogue attribute kindness and love to those gods they are just like people, demanding and selfish and vengeful and cruel?

People use religion to excuse any excess, any action, any failure to act; they use religion to keep away the demons that they themselves created, and no, I don't need it.

Answer 9

What r ya gonna do if I don't go along with your educator--throw me in jail? And who is going to choose him? You? Ha!
That is why our Founders recognized religious freedom.

Answer 10

we are humans and all activities done by us are material. we cannt perceive anything other than material. divine and spirutual are mere intangible thoughts and these also cannot be explained except by referring to material objects. what we need is social responsibility, honesty and community spirit and need not bother about spirutuality which means little.