New definition of religion?

[hammer]

Hey I just had a thought...
Could the core of religion be defined as your own personal truth - on life, the universe and everything?

What do you guys reckon?

[InLove]

Hi, Peace

Yes, Hammer--I believe that religion can be anything you want it to be (if it will cooperate).

Religion aside, I also believe that faith can be personal, but it never seems to be any good without love which extends every which way...I mean, the universe and everything....

InPeace,
InLove

[Saponification]

It's not so much about the quest for truth as it is the quest for happiness.

[dayaa]

hi hammer

well that's a tricky one. i'm very confused about that myself. i sort of hope we can follow our own beliefs and i'm sure God knows everything. i've wondered if God gave us all an instinctive awareness of him and minds to think....because i can't seem to settle to a religion and accept it all as absolute truth. there are things which make me raise an eyebrow in all of them. yet having said that, when i look at modern secular society, with all it's freedoms for everyone to act according to their own opinion.....it looks like a bit of a disaster to me. although actually thinking about it religious governments past and present don't have a very good track record either. maybe it's just simply that any system can be abused. well, i don't suppose that helps much except that you're not alone in thinking these thoughts

[Bandit]

Originally Posted by dayaa

i've wondered if God gave us all an instinctive awareness of him and minds to think....because i can't seem to settle to a religion and accept it all as absolute truth. there are things which make me raise an eyebrow in all of them. yet having said that, when i look at modern secular society, with all it's freedoms for everyone to act according to their own opinion.....it looks like a bit of a disaster to me.

i can totally relate to all of that. so we search it out for ourselves & ask God to help us & guide us into His truth.

[jaxree]

The trouble with defining religion as anything you want to believe is that it ends up including a lot of things that common sense would tell you is not religion. It could mean just about anything that ends with an "ism:" captialism, socialism, facism, idealism.

There have to be some criteria, or the word is meaningless. The 20th century theologian Paul Tillich defined faith as "the state of being ultimately concerned." In other words, concerned with death and life after death. So one of the main criteria for religion in his view was that it deal with "ultimate concern." That might be a good starting place.

I think religion also has a social aspect. So there should be a mechanism to share the belief system with others and pass it on to other generations.

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Obviously defining religion is a bit more complicated. But I do think for the concept to have any value, it needs definite limits.

[Bandit]

Originally Posted by jaxree

The trouble with defining religion as anything you want to believe is that it ends up including a lot of things that common sense would tell you is not religion. It could mean just about anything that ends with an "ism:" captialism, socialism, facism, idealism.

There have to be some criteria, or the word is meaningless. The 20th century theologian Paul Tillich defined faith as "the state of being ultimately concerned." In other words, concerned with death and life after death. So one of the main criteria for religion in his view was that it deal with "ultimate concern." That might be a good starting place.

I think religion also has a social aspect. So there should be a mechanism to share the belief system with others and pass it on to other generations.

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head. Obviously defining religion is a bit more complicated. But I do think for the concept to have any value, it needs definite limits.

that sounds like a good start to me. way too much ISM. throw out all the ism & see what is left.

i see a social aspect also. my church is probably the loudest church in the world prior to a service. (more like a baseball game) you walk in & you hear hundreds of people jabber jawing. they are friendly, social & fellowshipping & i see that it is something we all need.
most churches give a musical prelude. where i go, we get a very loud talklude .
but i like to hear there voices all at once, reminds me of the sound of many waters & it comforts me.

as far as i can see, any & all beliefs can become/ ARE a religion, even without realizing it. so i dont think that everyone is religious in the sense, but when we put too many demands right off the top, it is religion.
so yah, divide up all the (isms) & (ists) then see what is left.