Does the age of a religion contribute to your belief/disbelief of it?

[Delta4Embassy]

Related question: Does the number of followers contribute to your belief/disblief?

 

[mamooth]

It matters a little. If a lot of people are into something, I'll at least check it out to see what the deal is.

 

[PostmodernProph]

Related question: Does the number of followers contribute to your belief/disblief?

I would be reluctant to accept a divine revelation that didn't show up until last week and only convinced a dozen people.......

I think good deities should be more efficient than that......

 

[Delta4Embassy]

I used to assume the older or more followers lent to a faith's credibility. But as a Jew I see now the more followers a religion has simply reflects how easy it is to follow. Generally speaking, Christianity has no hard and fast rules or requirments. Say "I accept Yeshua as my L-rd and Saviour" and you're Christian. Whereas to be Jewish (like Yeshua) and you're obligated to obey hundreds of commandments. Over 2 billion Christians (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox) vs 14 million Jews. You'd think Christianity was more true given how many identify as such. But I think instead it's just easier. Membership doesn't involve much or demand much of the followers. Of course if it's wrong, and they actually are supposed to obey all the commandments they might be in trouble.

 

[PostmodernProph]

Of course if it's wrong, and they actually are supposed to obey all the commandments they might be in trouble.

I suspect even if you believe salvation hinges on obeying all the commandments and you try, you're still in trouble......my wife used to have a magnet on the refrigerator.....it said something like "Lord, so far today I have violated none of your commandments. I have not resented my husband. I have not been angry with my children. I have neglected nothing. But I am about to get out of bed and all that is going to change. Give me strength".........

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Ultimately I don't believe in the religious ideas of gods. But I know 'the rules' and enjoy the discussions.

We're just another kind of animal. I believe that when we die all thought and experiences ends. It's why we look both ways before crossing a street and try to eat and live healthily, to forstall this end as long as possible.

I wish I believed in G-d and afterlife, I'd probably be a lot happier, but darn it that college education.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Ultimately I don't believe in the religious ideas of gods. But I know 'the rules' and enjoy the discussions.

We're just another kind of animal. I believe that when we die all thought and experiences ends. It's why we look both ways before crossing a street and try to eat and live healthily, to forstall this end as long as possible.

I wish I believed in G-d and afterlife, I'd probably be a lot happier, but darn it that college education.

I think just the opposite - that if I believed in a god, I would be afraid and unsure.

 

[DGS49]

Let's see, where do I start?

"Christianity has no hard and fast rules or requirements." You are joking, right? You have never heard of the Roman Catholic Church? Commandments, precepts, teachings? Maybe you are thinking of Jimmy Swaggart. In his church, all you need is FAITH to be saved.

Ironic that I'm reading this on a Friday in Lent - a day on which I am prohibited from eating meat. Not sure which of the original Ten Commandments that one comes from, but it must be one of them.

As for the Jews being "required to obey hundreds of commandments," one can only say, Would that it were true.

Some Christians believe that we will ultimately be punished (physically, literally) for our sins - at least those that are unresolved or unforgiven at the time of our death. Obviously, this is not a universal belief among Christians, but we all retain some sense of tangible accountability for our sins either now or in the afterlife.

It is my impression that Judaism harbors no such concept or threat, which renders the "hundreds of commandments" rather impotent. Indeed, we all know people who consider themselves "good Jews," who ignore all the dietary laws, ignore most of the traditions, and conduct business happily on the sabbath (or worse, pay goyim to do so in their stead), and appear to have no pains of conscience as a result.

Eh?

 

[DGS49]

(I should have said "pangs of conscience." My bad).

But to the OP, essentially all religions that are not humanist or naturalist rely on tales of supernatural events, beings, and conditions. While their origins are often laughably dubious (Christ walking on water, Mohammed relocating a mountain, and so on), over time, these become somewhat believable and "cast in concrete."

A person starting a new religion in contemporary times has the dual problems of science and credulity to overcome. If they purport to, say, raise someone from the dead, they'd better have a videotape and a statement from a reputable physician, both before and after.

This is why LDS is such a bizarre and inexplicable phenomenon. Joseph Smith founded his religion in 1830 on ridiculous claims that have since been pretty much proven false. There were no golden plates, no migration of Hebrews from the Middle East to Central America, and there is no such language (and never has been any language) called, "reformed Egyptian" (the language of the Book of Mormon). In fact, Joe Smith was proven to be a linguistic fraud when he "translated" an Egyptian papyrus into the "Book of Abraham" and it was later found to be nothing of the sort.

And yet, apparently sane and intelligent adults (e.g., Mitt Romney) continue to profess this ridiculous farce of a religion.

Go figure.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Related question: Does the number of followers contribute to your belief/disblief?

^ Anti Kwanzaaite

 

[peach174]

Ultimately I don't believe in the religious ideas of gods. But I know 'the rules' and enjoy the discussions.

We're just another kind of animal. I believe that when we die all thought and experiences ends. It's why we look both ways before crossing a street and try to eat and live healthily, to forstall this end as long as possible.

I wish I believed in G-d and afterlife, I'd probably be a lot happier, but darn it that college education.

Their are Millions if not close to a Billion Christians who are College Educated. Dr. Ben Carson being one of them, and the Pope being another one.
Not to mention that vast majority of our Presidents, including the one we have now and Jimmy Carter.

 

[Avatar4321]

The truth is the truth regardless of age. Why on earth do you think it matters?

 

[DGS49]

Presumably when we speak of religion it means a theistic religion.

It makes no sense that "God" would not waitmuntil, say, 2014 to reveal anything important

 

[Avatar4321]

Presumably when we speak of religion it means a theistic religion.

It makes no sense that "God" would not waitmuntil, say, 2014 to reveal anything important

What makes you think God is not continually revealing important things to people who listen?

 

[Politico]

Nope.

 

[DGS49]

"God" may be communicating to a lot of people all the time, but the basic truths must have been exposed some time ago. The idea that someone can come out now and say, "Everyone else has been full of shit for all of human history, and I now know what's right.."

I realize it happens (e.g., Joseph Smith), but it is not believable.

 

[Mr Natural]

Not at all.

I believe they're all baloney.