Could Countries Today Restore the Religions They Had in Antiquity?

[theotherguy]

On 5/5/2021 at 5:27 AM, rashore said:

Hinduisim is ranked amongst the top world religions, not really the dying/dead religions like in the OP article. 

Sure. My thought was that "ancient" is relative, and just because it's ancient doesn't mean it's in danger. And if the religions are being brought back, is it from genuine belief or more of an acknowledgement of cultural heritage? (This is a genuine question. No judgement here.)

[jmccr8]

I doubt that there is enough documentation to bring back some of the old religions as their practices have been lost so likely all you would get is some new age mumbo jumbo.

jmccr8

[rashore]

8 hours ago, theotherguy said:

Sure. My thought was that "ancient" is relative, and just because it's ancient doesn't mean it's in danger. And if the religions are being brought back, is it from genuine belief or more of an acknowledgement of cultural heritage? (This is a genuine question. No judgement here.)

It seems to depend on the religion in question and where the religion is being revived according to the article. 

[Will Due]

 

Some day, instead of thinking about religion as something ancient, the day will come when it's thought of as something new. Something perhaps untraditional, but nonetheless true.

The religion of the spirit. The religion of Jesus. 

The religion of genuine personal experience with the natural indwelling presence of God.

 

 

[Abramelin]

Raptor Witness: I don't like preachers.

Sorry.

[Crazy Horse]

On 4/11/2021 at 3:31 PM, rashore said:

https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/2020/05/07/could-countries-today-restore-the-religions-they-had-in-antiquity/

 

Its not so much the names of past Gods that matter, more the attitude.

Love conquers all.

[+Hammerclaw]

18 hours ago, jmccr8 said:

I doubt that there is enough documentation to bring back some of the old religions as their practices have been lost so likely all you would get is some new age mumbo jumbo.

jmccr8

The old  gods were propitiatory deities--you had to bribe them on a regular basis for favor and to stay in their good graces. I don't think that would catch on, today.

[lightly]

In the Middle Ages one could purchase "indulgences" from the church. ..for forgiveness of sin, or a shorter stay in purgatory on your way to heaven.  !  

[RAyMO]

10 hours ago, Hammerclaw said:

The old  gods were propitiatory deities--you had to bribe them on a regular basis for favor and to stay in their good graces. I don't think that would catch on, today.

don't the representatives of modern day churches expect 'donations' on a regular basis? And they don't even throw in the possibility of a favour as far as I know.

Edited May 8, 2021 by RAyMO

[+Hammerclaw]

1 hour ago, RAyMO said:

don't the representatives of modern day churches expect 'donations' on a regular basis? And they don't even throw in the possibility of a favour as far as I know.

It's called tithing, where a congregation shares the expense of maintaining their house of worship and "doing the lord's work." The worship of the ancient gods required no house of worship. You made offerings and worshipped outside, at their shrines and temples whose inner chambers were reserved for the priests who benefitted from your largess and piety. For the good of the State, you were expected to appease the gods as a civic duty. Otherwise, the gods might send misfortune and calamity in punishment. That's what got Christians disliked, for abrogating their civic duties, inviting catastrophe by scorning traditional worship.

[RAyMO]

1 hour ago, Hammerclaw said:

It's called tithing, where a congregation shares the expense of maintaining their house of worship and "doing the lord's work." The worship of the ancient gods required no house of worship. You made offerings and worshipped outside, at their shrines and temples whose inner chambers were reserved for the priests who benefitted from your largess and piety. For the good of the State, you were expected to appease the gods as a civic duty. Otherwise, the gods might send misfortune and calamity in punishment. That's what got Christians disliked, for abrogating their civic duties, inviting catastrophe by scorning traditional worship.

I am aware of the real differences. I am just suggesting that they are not that far removed. Today worshippers are expected to donate to the upkeep of the buildings and infrastructure owned by an organisation or an individual other than themselves.  and to provide the income for those 'priests' or 'preachers' that ultimately promise heavenly rewards. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by RAyMO

[fred_mc]

On Iceland, belief in the Norse religion has been growing quickly during later years: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ásatrúarfélagið . Since 2002, the number of members has been growing by 6-24 % per year, which makes it the fastest growing non-Christian religion on Iceland. About 1.3 % of the Icelandic population are now members.

[lightly]

16 hours ago, lightly said:

In the Middle Ages one could purchase "indulgences" from the church. ..for forgiveness of sin, or a shorter stay in purgatory on your way to heaven.  !  

And that ^ practice...was one of the things that sparked the Protest ant Reformation...which  (in a nutshell). ..sparked the ThirtyYears War...which sparked the Enlightenment...which sparked the industrial revolution... which, eventually, completely corrupted human society and invented amplifiers. .and MEGA BASE ..which can be felt for  4 to 6 miles.    

Edited May 8, 2021 by lightly

[+Hammerclaw]

8 hours ago, RAyMO said:

I am aware of the real differences. I am just suggesting that they are not that far removed. Today worshippers are expected to donate to the upkeep of the buildings and infrastructure owned by an organisation or an individual other than themselves.  and to provide the income for those 'priests' or 'preachers' that ultimately promise heavenly rewards. 

Not in Protestantism. That's in the tenets of Roman Catholicism which is a syncretism of Roman polytheistic and Christian beliefs. Protestantism requires no intercessor between the believer and their God and no man or priest has the earthly power to either give or take away the salvation of Jesus Christ.

[lightly]

30 minutes ago, Hammerclaw said:

Not in Protestantism. That's in the tenets of Roman Catholicism which is a syncretism of Roman polytheistic and Christian beliefs. Protestantism requires no intercessor between the believer and their God and no man or priest has the earthly power to either give or take away the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Yup.  ..and Protestantism introduced the idea that kings had no Divine right to rule... It introduced the age of Reason.

it's interesting,  that same 'argument' between religion and pure logic and reason has still not been  settled.  We hear it all the time in here .    

This thread piqued my curiosity so I've been reading and learning and relearning a little ... I was a little surprised how popular Human Sacrifice was, in one form or another, all over the earth !  In ancient times, and up until very recently actually.  We are strange creatures !

[+Hammerclaw]

19 minutes ago, lightly said:

Yup.  ..and Protestantism introduced the idea that kings had no Divine right to rule... It introduced the age of Reason.

it's interesting,  that same 'argument' between religion and pure logic and reason has still not been  settled.  We hear it all the time in here .    

This thread piqued my curiosity so I've been reading and learning and relearning a little ... I was a little surprised how popular Human Sacrifice was, in one form or another, all over the earth !  In ancient times, and up until very recently actually.  We are strange creatures !

Humans are very irrational creatures, yet quite adept at rationalizing their irrationalism. Encapsulated in each of us is the biological, social and intellectual evolution of our species. Extant human behaviors are just as much relics of our past, as is any material artifacts from an archaeological dig.

[spartan max2]

I think there has definitely been an uptake in pagan followers in recent years.

I don't quite understand if they truly believe or just enjoy it though

 

[Abramelin]

19 hours ago, lightly said:

Yup.  ..and Protestantism introduced the idea that kings had no Divine right to rule... It introduced the age of Reason.

it's interesting,  that same 'argument' between religion and pure logic and reason has still not been  settled.  We hear it all the time in here .    

This thread piqued my curiosity so I've been reading and learning and relearning a little ... I was a little surprised how popular Human Sacrifice was, in one form or another, all over the earth !  In ancient times, and up until very recently actually.  We are strange creatures !

Wasn't Jesus' death a human sacrifice in a way? To appease 'the one and only true god'?

[lightly]

2 hours ago, Abramelin said:

Wasn't Jesus' death a human sacrifice in a way? To appease 'the one and only true god'?

      Ya, I'd say it was modeled on that practice...with the added feature/belief that Jesus was both man And God ?

God in the flesh? Flesh taking on, and dying with, the sins of the world ...to be Resurected in Godly perfection.   And then man can, symbolically with the communal bread and wine, partake of and take on that flesh and blood thereby joining with the perfect body of Christ .  ?

So , it's  human sacrifice and cannibalism !  ...  The old ways die hard !   

[lightly]

On May 8, 2021 at 5:31 PM, Hammerclaw said:

Humans are very irrational creatures, yet quite adept at rationalizing their irrationalism. Encapsulated in each of us is the biological, social and intellectual evolution of our species. Extant human behaviors are just as much relics of our past, as is any material artifacts from an archaeological dig.

 I think  ^ that's brilliant . .and it might hold true for religions as well?  ...   it appears to me that, the old ways never really died completely...but have been absorbed into, and remain vital elements of, our current religious beliefs.     ??