Posted on 12/04/2015 2:04:11 PM PST by DCdude
How about this for a high-tech definition:
Our culture, for instance that contemplated by the founders of our nation, distinguishes between murderous cults and "groups and beliefs" that personally seek to promote, elevate and preserve the good in humans.
One can clearly see the result when there is confusion on this issue; history is quite helpful in this regard.
Have a nice weekend.
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Indisputable fact.
What is your definition of religion?
A God?
Or a concept?
Monotheist?
Does it matter?
How do you, or do you separate religion from a cult?
How many “religions” do you recognize?
Oh it’s quite easy to see from a spiritual point of view how an evil-deity centered faith like Islam (when believed in, the nominal adherents are another question) sneaks in. It’s a lie-generating machine. Through self contradictions it snuffs out man’s sense of truth. Like the terms liberal and gay do today (they describe groups that are illiberal and militantly grim, respectively).
If you mean the constitutional sense, well yes. When it spoke about a benign and nondiscriminatory attitude towards religion in fact it first meant variations of Christianity. As soon as that meant “any world religion” then the hell bound handcarts were boarded, from the point of view of governmental support. Because Islam is in that group. Nobody said it was any kind of “good” religion. Because of its shield of lies, it is able to generate a group of decent acting people who will still give it a nod.
A religion is a human faith and trust in a deity or in an entity claiming the attributes of deity.
Cult is a informal term. It comes from the Latin colere, meaning circle. Like, a small group’s private religion. At one point the early church would have been considered a cult had you asked the religious community outside of it. It’s only its widespread nominal earthly success that has it NOT being called a cult today.
There are a plethora of religions. The bible says there are many “Lords” and many “gods.” And the evil apparition called Allah in Islam, is one of them.
How much “research” did it take to arrive at that conclusion?
Or if you will, group of deities, for religions that go that way. This isn’t really an issue in the definition.
We are right to believe that there really could only be one entirely “good” religion. This is where Christian denominations get into arguments, not realizing they are all flawed implementations of the ideal that man was made for.
We should be thanking God that people are starting to acknowledge truth.
I mean, we sometimes act proud when we see others fumbling their way to what, to us, is “common sense.”
But the proper answer, I believe, is “But for the grace of God, there go I.”
God. The real genuine God who loved the world.
But the world hated Him and so He let it go on a limited adventure of having its own way, before renewing the call.
Do you believe that there is a natural state of man that is inclined to life and truth?
Objective Morality?
If so, what “religion” best represents those beliefs?
What “other religions” can also represent those beliefs?
IMHO, if they can’t, they are a cult.
Do you still call Islam a religion?
I won’t get into arguments of subjective terminology. The bible warns about that (”quarrels about words.”)
Cult, or an implied cult-vs-religion divide, is one such argument. Cult is ultimately relative. The bible never used the term.
There isn’t any natural state of man any more with such an inclination. We have forgotten that the world only subsists at all through God’s blessings. Taking those blessings for granted doesn’t make them not God’s blessings. It does illustrate how patient God is, that He does not stop them the moment He gets snubbed for recognition.
Islam, religion from the DEVIL.
Your questions don’t take away the fact that Islam is a religion, centered as it is on an evil deity. Religion actually has a biblical definition as a system of devotion to a deity. In a Christian context a synonym is godliness.
Let’s say there is such a thing as Allah-liness. And it is a top contender to date for the most ugly, grotesque lie known to man. Even more astounding things are coming in apocalyptic times. Something false that will manage to get even Islam to keep peace. Interesting times are coming up. To use your terminology, it will be a rodeo we have read about but not been to.
There isn’t any natural state of man any more with such an inclination.
Money quote.
You are a Calvinist.
Nail. Head. Hit. A religion can be wrong, but then there is concentrated evil wrong.
I hate paying for sh!t parents whose sh!t kid’s education I have to finance..
Huh? How did we get into this weird little corner of left field?
Again there you go with your all or nothing classifications. I ain’t Calvinist or Arminian. I am Calminian, or in other words, just plain biblical. Put that in your theological pipe and smoke it.
If you really want, this means nobody is perfect any more, not that “partial manifestations” of such inclinations can’t exist. So maybe that makes me Arminian here. Whee, I love playing word games with words that never appeared in the bible. It feels so much like knowing good and evil. Oooooooops.
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