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Following a religion in 2021

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
For many of us who follow a religion or has faith in spiritual teaching there are scriptures that are hundreds if not thousands of years old, and often we can hear "how can you follow a teaching that is so outdated"

In the past i got frustrated with this kind of questions :) But then i started to think ( YEY i am thinking :p )

So the Question for this thread is: When following an "older" religion and its scripture, can we follow it as described but "update" it within our self (not the text it self) to go more along with the thought of 2021 modern world?
Or do we have to live in the "stoneage" as some people like to call it :)
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
I think it's a case of finding that balance between having set dogmas and values, traditions etc. along with a more flexible legal system that can work with modern problems and situations. A good living tradition that can re-evaluate and update understanding as necessary without losing sight of what it stands for as a whole.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
I think it's a case of finding that balance between having set dogmas and values, traditions etc. along with a more flexible legal system that can work with modern problems and situations. A good living tradition that can re-evaluate and update understanding as necessary without losing sight of what it stands for as a whole.
Yes, i agree with you here.
The teaching in it self stay the same, but the way we act toward others may have changed over the time since the teaching was first given :)
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
For many of us who follow a religion or has faith in spiritual teaching there are scriptures that are hundreds if not thousands of years old, and often we can hear "how can you follow a teaching that is so outdated"

In the past i got frustrated with this kind of questions :) But then i started to think ( YEY i am thinking :p )

So the Question for this thread is: When following an "older" religion and its scripture, can we follow it as described but "update" it within our self (not the text it self) to go more along with the thought of 2021 modern world?
Or do we have to live in the "stoneage" as some people like to call it :)
I follow the dictum:
Common Sense before Divine Sense
 

RestlessSoul

Well-Known Member
I think there are certain timeless truths within teachings both ancient and modern; truths which transcend centuries and cross easily between cultures.

There is also usually a fair amount of chaff which it is safe to disregard. I disagree with those who say you have to accept every word of a religious text.

Life’s too short to read Deuteronomy or Leviticus; whereas my life has been enriched by the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, the Gospels, Revelation - and also the Baghavad Gita, The Dhammapada, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and others.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
I think there are certain timeless truths within teachings both ancient and modern; truths which transcend centuries and cross easily between cultures.

There is also usually a fair amount of chaff which it is safe to disregard. I disagree with those who say you have to accept every word of a religious text.

Life’s too short to read Deuteronomy or Leviticus; whereas my life has been enriched by the Psalms, Ecclesiastes, the Gospels, Revelation - and also the Baghavad Gita, The Dhammapada, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, and others.
Sound like a very good answer :)
I think even within same religions there is often seen that the practice is done a bit different because as individual people we would have a bit of different understanding of the teaching, and to find different area of the teaching we connect better to than other parts.
 

RestlessSoul

Well-Known Member
Sound like a very good answer :)
I think even within same religions there is often seen that the practice is done a bit different because as individual people we would have a bit of different understanding of the teaching, and to find different area of the teaching we connect better to than other parts.


And as they say in France, “vive la difference”
 

Deeje

Avid Bible Student
Premium Member
So the Question for this thread is: When following an "older" religion and its scripture, can we follow it as described but "update" it within our self (not the text it self) to go more along with the thought of 2021 modern world?

If the scriptural precepts stay the same...i.e. if the moral laws remain untouched by modern life, and if respect for our fellow humans is kept in balance, then nothing really changes except the external things....like our clothing, hairdos and perhaps our standard of living.

Solid precepts are timeless and work for the benefit of people in every generation. Its only when people want to alter God's standards to suit popular demand that we have problems. God's moral laws are set in concrete no matter what age we live in. The Bible is not a book about time...its a book about human nature.....about people...who basically have the same emotions and responses to life situations as they have basically had forever. Love, hate, jealousy, sympathy, empathy, sadness, joy.....really don't change......do they, even though the reasons for them might be very different?

Or do we have to live in the "stoneage" as some people like to call it

I hear the old "bronze age" descriptor by those who want to insinuate that people back then must have been grunting cave men...whom we are emulating.....but technology is all that has altered. People's lifestyles have changed with the ages, but human nature remains basically the same. I don't believe that God alters his standards to accommodate our wants.
 
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Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
If the scriptural precepts stay the same...i.e. if the moral laws remain untouched by modern life, and if respect for our fellow humans is kept in balance, then nothing really changes except the external things....like our clothing, hairdos and perhaps our standard of living.

Solid precepts are timeless and work for the benefit of people in every generation. Its only when people want to alter God's standards to suit popular demand that we have problems. God's moral laws are set in concrete no matter what age we live in. The Bible is not a book about time...its a book about human nature.....about people...who basically have the same emotions and responses to life situations as they have basically had forever. Love, hate, jealousy, sympathy, empathy, sadness, joy.....really don't change......do they, even though the reasons for them might be very different?



I hear the old "bronze age" descriptor by those who want to insinuate that people back them must have been grunting cave men...whom we are emulating.....but technology is all that has altered. People's lifestyles have changed with the ages, but human nature remains basically the same. I don't believe that God alters his standards to accommodate our wants.
Very similar to how i thought before i made the OP :)
Thank you for your reply @Deeje
 

Rival

Si m'ait Dieus
Staff member
Premium Member
If the scriptural precepts stay the same...i.e. if the moral laws remain untouched by modern life, and if respect for our fellow humans is kept in balance, then nothing really changes except the external things....like our clothing, hairdos and perhaps our standard of living.

Solid precepts are timeless and work for the benefit of people in every generation. Its only when people want to alter God's standards to suit popular demand that we have problems. God's moral laws are set in concrete no matter what age we live in. The Bible is not a book about time...its a book about human nature.....about people...who basically have the same emotions and responses to life situations as they have basically had forever. Love, hate, jealousy, sympathy, empathy, sadness, joy.....really don't change......do they, even though the reasons for them might be very different?



I hear the old "bronze age" descriptor by those who want to insinuate that people back them must have been grunting cave men...whom we are emulating.....but technology is all that has altered. People's lifestyles have changed with the ages, but human nature remains basically the same. I don't believe that God alters his standards to accommodate our wants.
It's rare that we agree but here we go.
 
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