Is there a religion an intelligent person can follow?

[Dauphin]

BTW, are you looking to play the system?

[onodera]

Originally posted by about half of the posters
I'd say the religion I myself adhere to.

Catholicism, for example, has the Pope, the Mass, the Holy Trinity and other stuff that doesn't follow from the main postulates of it and doesn't really explain how the world works.
Fundamentalist religions are unacceptable by definition, as they expect you to use them to explain everything. I just want religion to explain things science cannot and refrain from introducing unnecessary concepts.

[SlowwHand]

[Ben Kenobi]

Catholicism, for example, has the Pope, the Mass, the Holy Trinity and other stuff that doesn't follow from the main postulates of it and doesn't really explain how the world works.

Did you even try reading the links? Catholicism is a way of life. You can't have the one without the other. What you see as 'unnecessary' is no different from anything else. Theories on physics attempt to describe the way in which the entire world works, and that often means that concepts which are considered peripheral on the outside are critical to the overall system.

Why do you see the Pope, mass and the trinity as 'extra bits'?

As for your critique that we are arguing in favour of our own religions, why wouldn't we? We've all chosen them for the same reason, because we believe they explain the world better then the alternatives. As you've stated, science cannot and does not explain everything.

I chose Catholicism because they uphold the core Christian teachings in a consistent fashion. They also ecompass the entire 2000 year period of Christianity, rather then just the last 400.

[Illyrien]

I met a girl that introduced Pastafariansm to me, ive been devout ever since. It is THE religion for us! Seriously, there is automatic entry into our heaven (unless you yourself want to get to hell) with a Beer vulcano and a stripper factory! :-)

Also Friday is a religios holiday. :-)

[Traianvs]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi


Did you even try reading the links? Catholicism is a way of life. You can't have the one without the other. What you see as 'unnecessary' is no different from anything else. Theories on physics attempt to describe the way in which the entire world works, and that often means that concepts which are considered peripheral on the outside are critical to the overall system.

Why do you see the Pope, mass and the trinity as 'extra bits'?

As for your critique that we are arguing in favour of our own religions, why wouldn't we? We've all chosen them for the same reason, because we believe they explain the world better then the alternatives. As you've stated, science cannot and does not explain everything.

I chose Catholicism because they uphold the core Christian teachings in a consistent fashion. They also ecompass the entire 2000 year period of Christianity, rather then just the last 400.

Yeah, consistency's important! A shame they didn't keep mass in Latin as well as all those saints that were introduced en masse in the late middle ages. Good thing many Christian holidays are merely pagan traditions that were incorporated in the all-new religion. Consistency ftw!

[Ben Kenobi]

Yeah, consistency's important! A shame they didn't keep mass in Latin

It's still there.

as well as all those saints that were introduced en masse in the late middle ages.

Yeah, that St. Thomas Aquinas really didn't measure up.

Good thing many Christian holidays are merely pagan traditions that were incorporated in the all-new religion. Consistency ftw!

Which is why Easter is always the same time every year, just like the Solistice?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Why do you see the Pope, mass and the trinity as 'extra bits'?

Well... they kinda are . He just wants a fill in the gaps religion. The Pope, mass, trinity, etc, are all unnecessary embellishments on that goal.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by onodera


Catholicism, for example, has the Pope, the Mass, the Holy Trinity and other stuff that doesn't follow from the main postulates of it and doesn't really explain how the world works.
Fundamentalist religions are unacceptable by definition, as they expect you to use them to explain everything. I just want religion to explain things science cannot and refrain from introducing unnecessary concepts.

Hinduism, I've heard it argued that the Hindu gods are actually metaphors for complex physics concepts.

Or you can join my made up religion that basically cuts all the crap from Hinduism and Buddhism. You don't have to do anything differnt either, because everything has already happened.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Which is why Easter is always the same time every year, just like the Solistice?

Like Christmas?

You were saying about consistency?

And I think the pagan backgrounds to many Christian festivals is undisputed. The Christmas tree and Santa Claus is a reference to German pagan traditions. The Easter bunny and eggs are references to the fertility festival of the pagan Goddess Eoster.

[Lonestar]

Church of the Salvation Emperor.

[Traianvs]

Just like the saints came in handy. There was but one god, which they could separate in three vague deities, but that wasn't enough. Worshipping Mary and a ****load of other saints solved the problem of monotheism

[Ben Kenobi]

And I think the pagan backgrounds to many Christian festivals is undisputed. The Christmas tree and Santa Claus is a reference to German pagan traditions.

0/2 for Catholic traditions. You think the Romans in the 2nd century put up Christmas trees?

They didn't become common in the English speaking world until Victoria became Queen, and had them.

As for Santa Claus, that too is a fairly modern innovation that doesn't predate the industrial revolution.

None of this is in the Catholic traditions, whatsoever. Christians may choose to honour them, but the church does not.

The Easter bunny and eggs are references to the fertility festival of the pagan Goddess Eoster.

Easter bunny is not that old, again, industrial revolution. The eggs with easter is an interesting one, and the longest standing one of all of these.

The point I'm trying to make is that the traditional date of Easter has nothing at all to do with pagan traditions, but actually the Jewish calendar.

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Santa Claus is a reference to German pagan traditions.

I thought Santa Claus was a modern reference to a Coke ad campaign who himself was a reference to a Turkish saint who died (Oddly enough in December) in 342 AD.

[Imran Siddiqui]

0/2 for Catholic traditions. You think the Romans in the 2nd century put up Christmas trees?

They do now. Or do you disagree that most Catholics don't have Christmas trees in their houses for the holidays?

And where do you think that came from? It's because the Christians were trying to convert the Germanic tribes and adopted their traditions. One of which was a big ass tree during the Solstice celebrations.

Christians may choose to honour them, but the church does not.

I would argue that what the believers tend to embrace is what is part of the tradition. It isn't like the Catholic Church is telling these people that they should stop at once because of its pagan backgrounds, after all.

The point I'm trying to make is that the traditional date of Easter has nothing at all to do with pagan traditions, but actually the Jewish calendar.

He didn't just say the date of the holidays . The fact that there was a spring festival to the pagan Goddess Eostre celebrated by the Anglo-Saxon pagans before Christianity spread there tends to show an adaptation of some pagan traditions in order to get the natives on board.