I just wondered how much reading people do on other religions, most people seem to be well read on these topics, I myself would find it very boreing reading up on other religions, mine own included, but others find it interesting reading.

I find ancient religion interesting, the more modern ones tend to be a bit dull, and don't involve enough stories about sex, violence and monsters.

I have found out a little about religions by talking to my friends. I have friends who are jewish, muslim and hindu.

It also helps having kids in primary school who study every major religion going :D

At various times in my life I've found myself dealing with people from different religions, and so to avoid upsetting folks accidentally I read up. Sort of cultural sensitivity. :)

After the First Gulf War I read more about Islam and the Arabic world, and my interest in Jungian psychology led me by a rather circuitous path to reading about Buddhism, but I also have Muslim friends and a couple of Buddhist friends.

My knowledge of Hinduism is weak, as is my knowldge of Judaism, because I've had little exposure in my life to Jewish or Hindu people. I picked up a little knowledge of Shintoism when studying Japan, and have a smattering of knowledge about shamanistic cultures from anthropology stuff I read yonks ago.

And Christianity - as that's my Faith I guess that comes with the territory. :)

What I find truly fascination is the human mind's desire to believe in *something*. It seems to be hard-wired into us for some reason. (Cue host of replies saying "not me, i don't believe in owt!")

I am very ashamed to say that I am not very knowledgable about many religions, however I am always interested and open about increasing my knowledge.

I am very ashamed to say that I am not very knowledgable about many religions, however I am always interested and open about increasing my knowledge.

Well I'm ashamed (a bit) to say i'm only interested in the religious parts where they cut peoples heads for religious reasons, morbid things such as that, then it makes me sit up straight and pay attention:o

Well I'm ashamed (a bit) to say i'm only interested in the religious parts where they cut peoples heads for religious reasons, morbid things such as that, then it makes me sit up straight and pay attention:o

I wonder is there is a real danger in finding out about religions using the internet, perhaps because there are sites which like to show the seedy bits of some countries' version of a particular religion?

I remember learning about religions in school and Islam barely getting a mention because, at that time, it was of no significance. Since then I would guess that most of my information in recent years has come via the internet although I hope I can weed out some of the more ridiculous claims.

I wonder is there is a real danger in finding out about religions using the internet, perhaps because there are sites which like to show the seedy bits of some countries' version of a particular religion?

I remember learning about religions in school and Islam barely getting a mention because, at that time, it was of no significance. Since then I would guess that most of my information in recent years has come via the internet although I hope I can weed out some of the more ridiculous claims.

It's a good point - I've tended to get my knowledge of religions from good old fashioned books, with some academic pedigree.

Which unfortunately means that they can be REALLY dry sometimes. :)

And Buddhism seems to be singlularly lacking in the beheading and the begatting stuff. :)

It's a good point - I've tended to get my knowledge of religions from good old fashioned books, with some academic pedigree.

Which unfortunately means that they can be REALLY dry sometimes. :)

And Buddhism seems to be singlularly lacking in the beheading and the begatting stuff. :)


I have had a quick look round and, although the house is full of books, the only ones that relate to religion are the bible and some books from people like the mormons. I can't see any that deal with Islam. It is also fair to say that I haven't looked at the bible for some time. I have worked with muslims and hindus in the past and had the odd conversation about religion but don't recall every having such a conversion about Judaism or Buddism. It seems likeley that most things I have picked up have come from the TV and the internet as I rarely read the newspaper. There does seem to be a body of people, some of who you will have come across on this site, who do like to use some very suspect sites to prove points about one religion or another. I wonder how we get our children to distinguish what is the web equivalent of the BBC, what sites are suspect, and which ones just lie?

What I find truly fascination is the human mind's desire to believe in *something*. ....
Are you saying thats a negative thing?

Only on another thread you said this;
As a professional tarot card and playing card reader, I'm always interested to hear.....

Wouldn't that be believing in something?

I find ancient religion interesting, the more modern ones tend to be a bit dull, and don't involve enough stories about sex, violence and monsters.

or great big fountains of light whooshing out of your head.

Anyway, back to the original question...As most of you have probably worked out I'm a Christian so have studied that for years, and I have also studied and taught on (for quite a few years) Islam.

or great big fountains of light whooshing out of your head.

on the contrary ... try some schools of yoga or energy healing practises, eg reiki ...

heh heh, but you need to use your third eye to see it ...

;)

I have had a quick look round and, although the house is full of books, the only ones that relate to religion are the bible and some books from people like the mormons. I can't see any that deal with Islam. It is also fair to say that I haven't looked at the bible for some time. I have worked with muslims and hindus in the past and had the odd conversation about religion but don't recall every having such a conversion about Judaism or Buddism. It seems likeley that most things I have picked up have come from the TV and the internet as I rarely read the newspaper. There does seem to be a body of people, some of who you will have come across on this site, who do like to use some very suspect sites to prove points about one religion or another. I wonder how we get our children to distinguish what is the web equivalent of the BBC, what sites are suspect, and which ones just lie?

good to see people looking about and not taking stuff at face value - a key skill of religious study, whether you get info from religious people, books, or the internet, is filtering the crud (and there's a lot of it)

can't say that i trust the bbc tho ...

I just wondered how much reading people do on other religions, most people seem to be well read on these topics, I myself would find it very boreing reading up on other religions, mine own included, but others find it interesting reading.

one thing that PROPER does my nut in is how people refer to "their" religion, and then it transpires that they know next to nothing about it

which implies that they "belong" to "their" religion because they have been told that they do from an early age

basic brainwashing, cattle keeping cattle in line :help: :gag: :loopy:

Are you saying thats a negative thing?

Only on another thread you said this;


Wouldn't that be believing in something?

I'm a very spiritual person - as a psychic & tarot reader I guess that's a given. I don't think having faith or believing in something is negative at all. Far from it. I was simply saying that it is part of the human condition to believe in *something*, whether that be christianity, islam, spiritualism, ufo's, or goodness knows what. And the notion that seems to be hard wired into our psyche would indicate to me a divine presence at work.

So quite the contrary!

on the contrary ... try some schools of yoga or energy healing practises, eg reiki ...

heh heh, but you need to use your third eye to see it ...

;)

Reiki and Yoga are not religions :huh:

There does seem to be a body of people, some of who you will have come across on this site, who do like to use some very suspect sites to prove points about one religion or another. I wonder how we get our children to distinguish what is the web equivalent of the BBC, what sites are suspect, and which ones just lie?

It's a good question and one that we need to put some effort in to answering.

I was reading a 'white paper' yesterday about the so called 'Deep Web' - the parts of the Internet that search engines can't get at but that is still publically available. It covers sites like academic libraries and databases, government statistics, all that sort of stuff - and is estimated to be about 500 times larger than the 'Googleable' web. More information, probably of higher quality, but we still have to find it and sort it.

We have all this information but we're not really taught how to process, handle and apply discrinmination to it.

I suppose one approach might be to adopt the 'wise crowd' phenomena - this is one of those oddities in which a sufficiently diverse group of people who can communicate with each other will often come up with the 'right' answer to something that they're asked, even if individually they have no idea what the answer is. Maybe Web 2 will allow us to put a little tick or cross on pages we visit, indicating that we think it's probably sound or we think it's utter codswallop.

Until then, we just have to rely on the Mark 1 Human Brain and a bit of judgement and common sense. :)

Sorry...went off topic. Good point though!

It's a good question and one that we need to put some effort in to answering.

I was reading a 'white paper' yesterday about the so called 'Deep Web' - the parts of the Internet that search engines can't get at but that is still publically available. It covers sites like academic libraries and databases, government statistics, all that sort of stuff - and is estimated to be about 500 times larger than the 'Googleable' web. More information, probably of higher quality, but we still have to find it and sort it.

We have all this information but we're not really taught how to process, handle and apply discrinmination to it.

I suppose one approach might be to adopt the 'wise crowd' phenomena - this is one of those oddities in which a sufficiently diverse group of people who can communicate with each other will often come up with the 'right' answer to something that they're asked, even if individually they have no idea what the answer is. Maybe Web 2 will allow us to put a little tick or cross on pages we visit, indicating that we think it's probably sound or we think it's utter codswallop.

Until then, we just have to rely on the Mark 1 Human Brain and a bit of judgement and common sense. :)

Sorry...went off topic. Good point though!
Perhaps some transcendental webitation might help?

Perhaps some transcendental webitation might help?

OUCH!

That's a bad one!

One thing that I did find interesting with regard to the Buddhists and Muslims in my life is the way in which they actually helped me question my own beliefs. One of my Muslim friends and I used to car-share sometimes between Leeds and Sheffield, and we had some very interesting debates about Christianity, Islam and co-existence.

This was post 9/11 and pre-Iraq invasion, so it was quite interesting. I think that those free ranging chats where you're not trying to win an argument but are effectively laying your ideas and the tenets of your faith out for others to see can be quite instructional for yourself.

My Buddhist friends taught me a lot about peace, patience and acceptance in discussions.

The odd thing is no one ever suggested a reading list to me, and I think that that would be really useful for people - sort of follows on from Ken's point, really.

can i throw in the same question i asked in a previous thread, but that thread is a little to heated now.

How do you think the Qu'ran was written? Is it the word of God or have humans written it all themselves. The reason i ask is because apparently after 1400years its still unchanged to the letter.

I have been a best man at a Jewish (Reform) wedding, and I've also attended a bar mitzvah, so I learned quite a bit about Judiasm from my Jewish friends.

I used to work with a Sikh, and learned quite a bit about that religion from Singh.

I've got Muslim acquaintances, and I've been a guest at a Muslim wedding reception when I lived in Derby, and thus have learned bits about that religion. I also recently attended a Muslim organised inter-faith harmony conference, and learned quite a bit there.

I am a lapsed Methodist, former Sunday school teacher and chapel youth club leader, so I know a fair bit about Christianity.

Reiki and Yoga are not religions :huh:

yeah, i know, cheers

i've done both

i was having a bit of a play :thumbsup:

couldn't think of a religion that deals with energy in a way that might lead to an outburst thru the crown

maybe something non mainstream involving ritual magick?

Buddhism seems to be singlularly lacking in the beheading and the begatting stuff. :)
Maybe because it has no god and predominantly teaches you to look into and change yourself, not others.

What gets to me about people searching for information about religion is those who are lazily searching for something to define themselves.

If you want to read half a dozen books on wicca, throw in a bit of buddhism an introduction to reiki and a bit of crystal healing, fine. Only thing is don't then turn round and call yourselves a wiccan High Priest/Priestess.

There are 'proper' wiccans out there, who've been quietly doing following their path for years.

Those of us who were lucky enough not to have been educated at a 'faith school' will have had a (hopefully) unbiased grounding in the basics of comparative religion, and so know a bit about each of the big religions.

I started investigating the three Abrahamic religions when the Jehovah's Witnesses kept banging on my door every Sunday morning

or great big fountains of light whooshing out of your head.

or people having their hair turned into snakes, that kind of thing, much more interesting than modern religions.

I don't go out and read upon it specifically unless I encounter that particular subject in my life, at that time. It's hard to escape information about religion in general cos it's so 'in your face'.

I remember, I learnt a lot about Jehovah's witnesses when I was a student in Manchester. I came across so many in Chinatown ! Of all places. They seem to try and 'recruit' or 'convert' you in some ways by spreading Christianities. I also had discussions with my classmates who were Christians.

I studied a science degree, and the big bang theory does come up a lot, from my A-level studies to my degree. I also had a lot of Asian classmates, so their everyday heated discussions about whether to eat halah meat, or whether to drink alcohol was certainly an eye-opener to me.

I picked up a book on Taoism when I was young. So I kept that. Even on my travel abroad, I would learnt little snippets about the history of religions. Or how others interpret it. Like the Vatican in Rome. Italy in general, and as a whole. Huge historical 'Shinto' (?) temples in Kyoto. Big wooden structures with thousands of years of history.

Or media influences and coverage. Like the recent 'Da Vinci Code' phenomena. The new Pope's coronation (?). This finger relic Buddhist exhibition in HK when I was there.

Maybe because it has no god and predominantly teaches you to look into and change yourself, not others.

What gets to me about people searching for information about religion is those who are lazily searching for something to define themselves.

If you want to read half a dozen books on wicca, throw in a bit of buddhism an introduction to reiki and a bit of crystal healing, fine. Only thing is don't then turn round and call yourselves a wiccan High Priest/Priestess.

There are 'proper' wiccans out there, who've been quietly doing following their path for years.

Ummm....the smiley indicated a joke. :)

And as for Wiccans - fine, but don't mention them to me. Not something I'm interested in. The same thing applies to any religion of belief structure - just 'cos you know the words doesn't mean you have it in your heart and soul.