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Why were the Western religions so much farther behind from the East in development?
The exception of this is the Jews, a very small minority. They had a very complex, ethical monotheism that was very spiritual and very different from the pagans. Jesus came and with his reform movement and created Christianity, which became the main religion of the western world. But this came from Judaism, which is the one exception I am speaking of.
As for the rest of the Western world, they hadn't developed anything beyond simple paganism. People made sacrifices in the manner of a business transaction, they did it in order to gain something worldly and keep the wrath of the Gods away. There was no type of spirituality or any notion of ethics.
The East on the other hand, was far more advanced. Thousands of years before Christ, a great religion arose in India. Because it was an institutionalized religion, it was corrupted, and the practices of the common Indian were not as advanced or spiritual as the ideal. But they had fascinated ideas on metaphysics, and the religion was extremely spiritual (much more than Judaism).
Then of course there was the reform movement that created another great religion, which had an even stronger code of ethics and was intensely spiritual.
On top of that, the Chinese had been believing in heaven for thousands of years and with Confucianism created a religion with a stronger, more detailed code of ethics than any religion on the planet. And besides that its philosophies enabled the largest nation ever to be a powerful, united empire for thousands of years, and for its society to hold together and change little. Even with western cultural hegemony, and years of trying to stamp it out, Confucianism still survives.
And, the Chinese also developed Taoism, another religion with a strong ethical code that was very spiritual and had some fascinating philosophies.
So, at the time of Jesus, the majority of the West had no sense of ethics or spirituality, yet the East had 4 major religions that were extremely developed in those categories. In fact, the only Western religion that was past the baby steps of paganism, could not compare to any of the four eastern religions in size, influence, complexity, philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, or spirituality.
Then of course came Jesus and Mohammed, and the West finally produced religions that rivaled the East. But it took a long time, and neither were nearly as complex as the eastern religions. In these religions, you do good stuff, and you go to heaven, you do bad stuff, and you go to hell. Yet one could spend lifetimes studying the metaphysics and philosophies of the Hindus.
Is there any explanation for this?
The exception of this is the Jews, a very small minority. They had a very complex, ethical monotheism that was very spiritual and very different from the pagans. Jesus came and with his reform movement and created Christianity, which became the main religion of the western world. But this came from Judaism, which is the one exception I am speaking of.
As for the rest of the Western world, they hadn't developed anything beyond simple paganism. People made sacrifices in the manner of a business transaction, they did it in order to gain something worldly and keep the wrath of the Gods away. There was no type of spirituality or any notion of ethics.
The East on the other hand, was far more advanced. Thousands of years before Christ, a great religion arose in India. Because it was an institutionalized religion, it was corrupted, and the practices of the common Indian were not as advanced or spiritual as the ideal. But they had fascinated ideas on metaphysics, and the religion was extremely spiritual (much more than Judaism).
Then of course there was the reform movement that created another great religion, which had an even stronger code of ethics and was intensely spiritual.
On top of that, the Chinese had been believing in heaven for thousands of years and with Confucianism created a religion with a stronger, more detailed code of ethics than any religion on the planet. And besides that its philosophies enabled the largest nation ever to be a powerful, united empire for thousands of years, and for its society to hold together and change little. Even with western cultural hegemony, and years of trying to stamp it out, Confucianism still survives.
And, the Chinese also developed Taoism, another religion with a strong ethical code that was very spiritual and had some fascinating philosophies.
So, at the time of Jesus, the majority of the West had no sense of ethics or spirituality, yet the East had 4 major religions that were extremely developed in those categories. In fact, the only Western religion that was past the baby steps of paganism, could not compare to any of the four eastern religions in size, influence, complexity, philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, or spirituality.
Then of course came Jesus and Mohammed, and the West finally produced religions that rivaled the East. But it took a long time, and neither were nearly as complex as the eastern religions. In these religions, you do good stuff, and you go to heaven, you do bad stuff, and you go to hell. Yet one could spend lifetimes studying the metaphysics and philosophies of the Hindus.
Is there any explanation for this?
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