Four questions religion must answer

[ShadarSiswai]

Four questions religion must answer

I believe that the four questions that every world-view must answer are these:

1. Origin, or where we came from.

2. Morality, or the difference between good or evil, or how the interpretation between right and wrong is achieved.

3. Purpose, or why we are here.

4. Destiny, or what happens to us when we die.

These are answered even by non-religious folk, and every human on earth has an answer to these questions.

[MaskedOne]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

Please, for the love of life, don't use yellow text. It doesn't carry over well. The other colors are legible, yellow I need to highlight.

[anunitu]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. How do you describe the human condition?

Indeed we are animal at our base,but within grows a spark of the divine.

2. Do you see yourself in need of salvation and how is that achieved?

What is described as "salvation" is little more than our inner fear that we are flawed beyond hope.

3. What is your vision of goodness?

Goodness is simply ascending above our egos,to see the beautiful in the mist of the madness that is modern life.

4. How do you understand the transcendent?

The transcendent for myself is the thought that I might leave my body and become pure energy and roam the stars forever.

[PsykhikosAnarchosNautikos]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. How do you describe the human condition?

Seeking to understand, be with or control the universe through acts of faith, magic and/or science.

2. Do you see yourself in need of salvation and how is that achieved?

If I thought I needed salvation I wouldn't deserve it.

3. What is your vision of goodness?

Being kind and simply observe but also speaking the truth and standing up for yourself and others if it will save you or another from mortal harm or false imprisonment (I can't think of the word right now).

4. How do you understand the transcendent?

Something beautiful and powerful that is beyond me, whether it is a higher Divine source or just my own mystical beauty that I have not tapped into yet.

[Wednesday]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. How do you describe the human condition?

Products of evolution and natural order the same as any creature or god, but with the ablitity to conceptualize wyrd and an abstract future. The human condition is to yearn to build something better, and to be recognized for your contribution to a story larger than our individual lives.

Or maybe that's my conditioning.

2. Do you see yourself in need of salvation and how is that achieved?

Salvation is more of a world-rejecting/world-indifferent concept; an idea of achieving some greater state and existence because this one (and one's self) is flawed. I'm more world-accepting; the world is what is and that's just fine. My body will walk here, my soul will walk here, and I'll be just who I am in life and in non-life and the world will keep doing its thing.

3. What is your vision of goodness?

Giving. Receiving. Support, instruction, and comfort. Creating family either by blood or friendship.

4. How do you understand the transcendent?

The what now?

[Shahaku]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. I think we are in general, free to make our own choices. However, I believe certain crossroads are set in our path and those situations are predetermined, are decisions at those places are our own.

2. Salvation. Not really. I don't think anything saves us. I do think it's important to develop an ability to step back, to learn from everyday lessons. In doing so, maybe we can become something more.

3. Goodness. I've tried for years to develop a sense of what is absolutely not acceptable under any circumstances. It's actually a complex question. Killing? No, what about self-defense? Murder? No, what about necessary assassinations, for the good of humanity? What about war? Killing children? Even that's in question since I've heard of soldiers who have had to face a tough decision when a kid is the one pointing a gun at them. Killing innocents? I suppose that would be unacceptable. But if that's all you're held up to, is that goodness? No, not really. Try to be a contributing member of society. Try to do your part to support a peaceful world culture. Do your best to cultivate understanding and compassion in your peers and yourself.

4. I believe that there is an ultimate divine. I believe it shows itself in many ways, that it is omniscient, that it created this world we so enjoy. And now it's sitting back to enjoy the show. And we will never completely understand it. I also believe there are lesser divines, like children of the ultimate for lack of a better analogy, more powerful than us mere mortals, more susceptible to mistakes than the ultimate, not quite omniscient. But powerful, influential, individual beings. I believe in a soul, and that that essence of us does go somewhere, even if it is just back into the cycle. I think that much of what happens to our soul is determined by which of the lesser divine we attach ourselves to the most and what we believe.

At least for now. I'm pretty flexible.

[RainbowDemonic]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. How do you describe the human condition?

If you mean summarizing human beings in general? Most of them are dysfunctional and utterly, incurably stupid. Some are tolerably ignorant. A small percentage are pretty damned cool. And a very tiny percentage are downright awesome. As a whole, we stumble along stupidly wielding our fancy toys and trying to evolve before we all kill each other over stupid insignificant things. We are one microscopic part in a gigantic machine rolling along the evolutionary path.

2. Do you see yourself in need of salvation and how is that achieved?

The best way a human can save himself is to be educated and perpetually expand said education.

3. What is your vision of goodness?

Goodness is highly subjective, situational and complicated. As long as one is seeking it intelligently, that's probably all that can be asked.

4. How do you understand the transcendent?

42.

[Yazichestvo]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. How do you describe the human condition?

As humans, we try to create purpose and meaning for ourselves and for others.

2. Do you see yourself in need of salvation and how is that achieved?

All people do things which make them feel in need of redemption, and that's part of life. The only salvation is to learn from your mistakes and move on, knowing that you'll never be perfect but still trying. Oh yeah, and to remember that humans like yourself aren't all that bad, overall.

3. What is your vision of goodness?

In a sentence- to bring happiness and prosperity to the world. That can be tricky in a world where one person's prosperity is often another person's pain, but it's up to you to weigh your decisions carefully.

4. How do you understand the transcendent?

I wouldn't claim that I do, exactly. I believe in other beings, and other worlds. Possibly some sort of monistic "source" from which all things emanate, as the philosophers of antiquity claimed. However, I have little faith in my ability to perceive details or characteristics about them.

[Doc_Holliday]

Re: Four questions religion must answer

1. How do you describe the human condition?
Start out neutral, make your own decisions. Forge your destiny, remember, the gods will judge you when you part, make them wisely.
2. Do you see yourself in need of salvation and how is that achieved?
Need of salvation comes with an inherent weakness. I need nothing but myself, I could be banished to the lowest of underworlds and I'd still have me. Although I will shoot for Valhalla of course.
3. What is your vision of goodness?
One who chooses to use his power/strengths for the strengthening and empowering of the world as a whole, even in the smallest of fractions. Although I don't believe good is best. And good is in the eye of the beholder. Bad has its purpose on this earth. I know this myself very well.
4. How do you understand the transcendent?
In my opinion all gods exist, minus a minor few who were crafted by man. And the gods have decent influences and powers. Your afterlife is defined by your personal gods. I dedicate to the Norse pantheon as befits my personality here in midgard.