Another question for the people who believe in God

[utopiannative]

I used to be a strong believer in God, church-going and such. but things have changed.
Anyways, what happens to people of other religions when they die.
Think about this, you're raised in tibet, and your whole life taught to believe in buddah or what have you, you have never heard of any other way but Buddah. Then some guy you see for a few minutes tells you about Jesus, is that few minutes going to override what your whole life and culture has taught you?, no. So how then when you die can you go to hell, your whole life is judged by a few minutes during which some stranger preached to you .
In my humble opinion all that matters is that you do what is right to yourself and others, religion was fine. but people attach too many rules to them and make them complicated.

[Hedons]

In Judaism there is very little said about the afterlife. The concept is vague, as the focus is far more on this life. Judaism is more concerned with orthopraxis (correct behavior) rather than orthodoxy (correct belief) and as a consequence Judaism permits considerable freedom in the realm of ideas. It is true to say that there is no one correct Jewish answer to to such questions as to what happens when you die.

-Hedons

[Captain Cannabis]

In judaism theres very little good things said about the afterlife, but one thing that stands out was that the more wealth you accumulate within your life, no matter how you get it, you will be rewarded in the afterlife.


I dont know much about other religions, but in christianity, if you don't accept jesus as your personal savior, you go to purgatory or hell, right?

I dont question other peoples beliefs...

I dont feel the need to justify mine...

its not my problem what happends to them when they die...people who belive differently than me....

they live my life...as I live mine...

what ever happends...happends. ..

[DrChronic]

Originally posted by BodhiSvaha23
The thing is people dident attach those rules they were there from the beggining of those religions.

After all if nothing else what are 'holy books'? Sort of a rule book right? 'The book of rules to join the happy afterlife club' kinda. And none of them are written to suggest the majority of people get in to this 'club'

One thing all those books have in common is....

No breaking the rules is one of the rules!


Some rules can be 'forgiven', But there are always unbreakable rules as well. For example christianity, where jesus died for everyones sins there is the rule that if you 'sin' you must regret it and be truly sorry for it. Or else ya burn!

I don't agree with ya there. IMO the bible is like an inkblot test, you read it and then you pick out the aspect that appear most prominent to you and that gives you an image. Different people see different parts and interpret them in different ways.

Just like life (and beyond) the bible is what you make of it. Well that is my opinion anyway.

P.s. I am only reffering to the bible as i have little to no knowledge of any other religous texts so don't have a bitch at meh.

[Hedons]

Originally posted by Captain_Cannabis
In judaism theres very little good things said about the afterlife, but one thing that stands out was that the more wealth you accumulate within your life, no matter how you get it, you will be rewarded in the afterlife.

I see you've set aside this special time to show off your ignorance in public. Great!

-Hedons

[The Rev]

Originally posted by hedons
In Judaism there is very little said about the afterlife. The concept is vague, as the focus is far more on this life. Judaism is more concerned with orthopraxis (correct behavior) rather than orthodoxy (correct belief) and as a consequence Judaism permits considerable freedom in the realm of ideas. It is true to say that there is no one correct Jewish answer to to such questions as to what happens when you die.

-Hedons

Do you think that this difference explains why Jews have been more wealthy and successful on the average? One thing I have noticed about Judaism, as opposed to other religions, is the focus on education as well as it's open-mindedness. Freedom of ideas is the first step to any form of prosperity, as it, as a doctrine, allows greater access to reality.



The Rev

[Hedons]

Originally posted by The Rev
Do you think that this difference explains why Jews have been more wealthy and successful on the average? One thing I have noticed about Judaism, as opposed to other religions, is the focus on education as well as it's open-mindedness. Freedom of ideas is the first step to any form of prosperity, as it, as a doctrine, allows greater access to reality.



The Rev

Rev,

There is no question that these are a few of the factors which contribute to Jewish success and prosperity.

Yes, Jews value educational attainment. This is, in part, due to their tradition of pouring over holy books, a practice which clearly induces a love of study and learning. Like many Jews, my home is a place in which learning, above all other achievements, is highly valued.

Consider the conditions of the often hostile environments in which the Jews lived for two thousand years. Fighting for survival in foreign and oppressive territory for centuries, the Jews nurtured the life of the mind to persevere.

Raphael Patai, author of "The Jewish Mind", has called Jewish intelligence a result of "environmentally induced genetic development." At the very least, is it not fair to say that when a particular culture values certain activities that, after many generations, those activities become implicit features of the very identity of the people within that culture?

BTW, the consensus of anthropologists is that Judaism is not a race, since the only scientific category is the Semitic, which includes Arabians and Assyrians.

Unlike people of numerous other religious faiths, Jews do not have ambivalent feelings about wealth. In Judaism, poverty is not considered a virtue (it isn’t considered a bad thing either). While there are many Jewish ideals, asceticism and self-denial are not prominent among them.

Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that, in a world where one of the greatest human desires is to be fed lies, Jews adhere to reality. They have no choice. If they do not perceive and accept reality, then they disarm themselves in the face of the violent extinction which has consistently threatened them for thousands of years.

As Patai has written, the Jewish people "act to adapt themselves to reality or to adapt reality to themselves."


-Hedons

[SweetSativa]

Originally posted by utopiannative
I used to be a strong believer in God, church-going and such. but things have changed.
Anyways, what happens to people of other religions when they die.
Think about this, you're raised in tibet, and your whole life taught to believe in buddah or what have you, you have never heard of any other way but Buddah. Then some guy you see for a few minutes tells you about Jesus, is that few minutes going to override what your whole life and culture has taught you?, no. So how then when you die can you go to hell, your whole life is judged by a few minutes during which some stranger preached to you .
In my humble opinion all that matters is that you do what is right to yourself and others, religion was fine. but people attach too many rules to them and make them complicated.

i agree!!!

[El_Gallo_Prieto]

i find it ironic that all of "Gods" laws are very selective n the sense that they were supposedly heard from god and interpretted by the same groups of people who inheritly gain social advancement. and that kosher prohibits the foods that in "ancient" and modern times cause health problems such as parsites(pork) and diseases. That being said, and probaly wrong, i'd like to get to the subject of hell.

IMO there is no hell. Why would a god create a world where Satan can live and prosper. A place for the evil that corrupts mankind shouldn't be even allowed to exist. Thats like, no is, having to absolue power to completling destroy the worlds most terrible things and allowing them to congragate and plot against you. Why coddemn peoples to hell and feed your enemies ranks? thats not my God. i like to think that those who would go to heaven do and those that would go to hell don't instead they simply end. is that not just. Don't people who believe ingod have the image of a just and caring god who has compassion, not contempt, for his peoples?



or im wrong



El Gallo Prieto

[Hedons]

Originally posted by BodhiSvaha23
Hedons,

First off let me appologise for not knowing much at all about your religion.. To be honest i never bothered researching it since i already researched christianity and decided it wasent for me.. I figured same god, same deal. But i do have two questions for you though..

First off excuse my ignorance if this is a stupid one but..

Do you think jewish people are superior to other people? ie gods chosen 'holy people' or more intelligent or anything of the sorts.

And secondly..

Why did Moses spend 40 years looking for the promised land, than pick the only spot in the whole of the middle east where there's no oil?

BodhiSvaha23,

My Jewish identity stems from non-religious aspects of Judaism. As a result of my not being an observant Jew I will address your questions in terms of my personal opinions and ideas on the subjects.

“Do you think jewish people are superior to other people? ie gods chosen 'holy people' or more intelligent or anything of the sorts.”

If God exists, I have a feeling that it is not a personal God who takes an active or participatory role in our lives. Also, I do not feel that Torah is the word of God. In line with this viewpoint, I do not feel that Jews, as a people, culture, or religion, hold any special place with God or that Jews hold any special place or purpose in the universe. I do not believe that Jews are a chosen people.

Jews are not in any way superior genetically as Judaism is not a genetically identifiable race. Jews are not more intelligent or mentally superior than anyone else for that matter.

While any hint of superior intelligence might appear flattering to the Jewish people, I think the creation of such an attribute would only serve to isolate Jews and form an image of a people lacking virtue.

If my answer to Rev’s question hinted that I was thinking otherwise, then my choice of wording was poor.

But Rev’s inquiry wasn’t a question about superiority; it was a question about success.

Aside from the things I mentioned in my reply, I attribute the success/continued existence of the Jewish people to natural survival instinct.

“We might do well to remember that ethnic groups that suppress their survival instinct are displaced by those that heed it, and the Jews have been refining theirs for 3,000 years."
Quoted from “White Guilt And The "Holocaust", by Ian P. Mckinney

next question…

”Why did Moses spend 40 years looking for the promised land, than pick the only spot in the whole of the middle east where there's no oil?”

Contrary to a popular story, it’s NOT because the men in charge refused to ask for directions.

According to Torah, following the Exodus from Egypt, Moses led the Jews through the wilderness 40 years not because they were looking for the promised land. If you had just left Egypt in a direct line across the Sinai Peninsula, the journey to Israel would take around two weeks and surely with God helping Moses to find his way through the dessert he could have taken a more direct route.

Rather, the reason the Jews were made to wander the desert for 40 years was to give time for the old generation to die and for a new generation to enter the land of Israel never having known the bonds of slavery. God wanted a fresh start. Not even Moses entered the land of Israel.

I’ll leave you to speculate about the oil

-Hedons

[TetraHydroCannabinol]

any belief implies that you have doubt, true faith is knowing not believing. all religions started out as cults but not all religions are cults. a belief structure is due to fear of the unkown (usually unconsciously). unfortunately religions have always existed and always will. i dont think it is easy to change someone elses view on religion only your own view