Throughout all of history, almost all major religions have been initiated with writings usually containing special events (such as divine beings or magic). Why have people historically been attracted to such writings, why do they believe in magic just because it is written in a book?
"just because it is a book" doesn't apply. People aren't attracted to the book, they're attracted to the message.
>>444497
Many great messages have been written throughout time, but only the magic books get such a religious following. For example, there is no 1,000,000,000+ group of people dogmatically following On Liberty or Treatise on Human Nature
>>444491
Faith nigger. Logic and happy existence don't go together very well. Nor does it in society, i.e autism. I just believe, as does everyone else.
Yeah, magic doesn't exist, muh science can't prove it so it's impossible. Go back to discover shit people knew 3000 thousand years ago.
>>not a billion people following On Liberty....
yeah dude, there's like 3 billion.
>>444491
depends on the faith I guess. charity and hope helped Christianity spread early on....war and trade spread early Islam....Hinduism grew organically....Buddhism through hope and trade.
>>444542
>Logic and happy existence don't go together very well
I strongly disagree. I also urge you to explore the happiness benefits of living an actually fulfilling life and perhaps enjoying secular spirituality through mediation
>>444497
>"just because it is a book" doesn't apply. People aren't attracted to the book, they're attracted to the message.
Both the Quaran and the book of Mormon seem to be pulled out of the ass of Mohamed and Joseph Smith, The old Testament is a collection of historic and religious texts from semitic nomads and the new testament is largely a fabrication by Paulus.
And yet people live and kill by them every day.
>>445152
Christianity was pulled out of Saul's ass
>>444946
Christianity, as with all religions, started in one tiny place, when the rest of the earth was populated by a wildly marvelous diversity of religious beliefs—and yet, curiously enough, the concept of warfare over religious differences was virtually nonexistent. Most people in ancient times believed it was proper to respect the gods of other peoples. This changed on a global scale when Christianity was spread, quite literally, by the sword. Those who attempted to assert their religious differences were harassed, tortured, robbed of their land and belongings, even killed. Before it achieved political power, Christianity was a small sect, a heresy against the Jewish faith, that had to accept equality among all the other religions of the Roman Empire. Yet it was the first religion to openly attack the religions of other people as false (the Jews, at least, were a little more tactful). Needless to say, Christianity only truly flourished when it had the ability to eliminate the competition—when it had the full support of Rome’s Emperors after 313 A.D., and when, in 395 A.D., every religion other than Christianity was actually outlawed. Through force and decree Christianity was immersed in the cultural surroundings of lands near and far, and in an environment where it was widely accepted, if not the only thing accepted, it spread and planted itself among subjugated peoples. As kids grew up taking Christian ideas for granted, they often did not realize that only a few generations ago those ideas were entirely alien.
Colonization of the world, more often than not by robbery and warfare, spread Christianity into the Americas and other corners of the earth, just as Islam was spread throughout Asia and Africa. It is not a coincidence that the two most widespread religions in the world today are the most warlike and intolerant religions in history.
>>444491
Because most religions don't "really" begin with their holy book and a long running buildup of law. It goes something like this
>be ignorant savage
>the world sucks and seems beyond your control
>come up with superstitions that let you believe the world isn't so uncaring and cruel and you can control these forces through appeasement such as ritual or prayer
>these various superstitions eventually are merged into a single narrative/worldview
>other people listen to your stories because it gives them hope that the world is not so random and cruel
>cultural inertia causes kids to believe too in order to conform
>eventually someone writes down these stories in a bible/koran whatever
>>446558
I think he was talking about Islam, Christianity, Mormons, etc.
>>446431
Just who keeps spamming this false and nonsensical meme text?
>>446431
>Colonization of the world, more often than not by robbery and warfare, spread Christianity into the Americas and other corners of the earth, just as Islam was spread throughout Asia and Africa. It is not a coincidence that the two most widespread religions in the world today are the most warlike and intolerant religions in history.
I'm not well versed on the history of Buddhism, did they also spread by war?
>>448549
Yes
>>448549
Not afaik. Some nomadic steppe people were buddhist and killed tons of people, but not in the name of Buddhism (they didn't force convert),
>>448549
No. The first group to convert en masse were the Greco-Bactrians (Greeks living in the area West of India, having migrated after Alexander's campaigns). The next were the Sri Lankans.
Often, a king would conquer a large chunk of territory, then he'd convert, then Buddhism would spread out. This is partially how it spread through the Mongol empire, exactly what Ashoka did, how it went through SEA, etc.
Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are fundamentally different from Abrahamic religions however. The existence of the Buddha, Confucius, and Laozi is not necessary for these religions. The existence of Jesus, Mohammed, and Moses is fundamentally necessary for Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
>>448549
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_and_violence
>>448559
>Some nomadic steppe people were buddhist and killed tons of people
Mongols where pretty fun, They killed the caliphate, a catastrophe for the Islam expansion, but only surprisesexed Poland and Hungary and enslaved Russia, which was pretty nice for the Christians.
>>448574
The religion of peace!
>hurr why do people preserve history in books/manuscripts
OP is retarded
>>449623
Roughly half the Bible is not history
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_the_Bible
>>444491
>Throughout all of history, almost all major religions have been initiated with writings
Into the trash it goes.
>>449651
Bible
Quran
Book of Mormon
Etc.
Every religion has its holy scriptures everything else is based off of.
>>449662
It's not based off the scripture though.
That's like saying that words are based of the dictionary.
It's more about us as humans and what we like, rather than religion itself. Human beings are just really into narratives. And of course, the bigger and more important a things, the more important its narrative is going to be
>>449979
Okay, then religions aren't initiated by magic events written down but the events themselves. Still, fucking magic
>>450043
Nothing suddenly exploding into the universe sounds like magic to me.
tip your fedora harder
>>450056
A singularity is not nothing. You have no proof that the singularity was nothing. It could have been simply a form of the universe at one point, or a cyclical stage, or a prior existence in a multiverse.
That's like saying a black hole is a big massive nothing. It is something, it just just a singularity.
>>450056
Sure, prove all the evidence pointing towards the big bang is wrong and collect you Nobel prize in physics
>Why have people historically been attracted to such writings, why do they believe in magic just because it is written in a book?
People believe silly things when it benefits them. They believe that the common ownership of the means of production is possible because it is written in a book.
>>450733
>>451890
Okay, enjoy your ban
>>446558
>Because most religions don't "really" begin with their holy book and a long running buildup of law. It goes something like this
Quaran was pulled out of the ass, so was the book of mormon and scientology. Christian faith was pulled out of Sauls ass, just that used dead Jebus as a straw man. So yeah, you can start your sect with a book, all you need is an angel talking to you and a lot of gulible people.
>>450056
>I don't understand science
>therefore religion is correct
Wew
>>444491
People believe in magic because they're idiots
>>449623
>history
>a book of magic spells
>>444491
Christianity began as a popular movement and was written down latter
It grew by personal experience because unlike other prophetic figures, Jesus acted openly and showed the power and word of God to the masses rather than merely a tiny few.
With his resurrection it sparked a mass movement in his name.
>>444505
But that's not true, there are cafeteria liberals the world over
I love it when Protestants come here and think they know anything
>>448568
>ashoka
>devanampiya.
yeah, nice buddhist you have there
>>457867
There isn't any magic in the Tao. And if there were claims of magic historical events then I would be very skeptical of them. Calling me autistic doesn't make obviously untrue stories true, no matter what the "deeper message" you find
>>457879
This
While a lot of angsty proddies have gotten themselves in a twist "cause mama made dem read da bible erry doggone day" in reality the bible is openly written by humans an is there to serve a number of functions as it encompasses a huge variety of genres, from allegory to Roman biography.
The legitimacy of the bible come in its use as a spiritual guide by transmitting us the biography of Christ an his teachings so we can live by them. What the bible says is not important because it's written (we're not Muslims no matter how much proddies wish to be) but because it's th best record we have of the word of Jesus and God. It's accuracy mostly comes from the fact that no other ancient text even comes close to the number of supporting sources that the modern bible has, the accuracy of the New Testament is far more reliable than that of Aristotle or even Socrates' existence.
Beyond this when it comes to moral questions, most Christians would be inclined to lean towards the word of Jesus over that of some morally bankrupt student leftist.
>>457893
Once again you're confusing the content of the stories with its form. Sorry dude you are autistic if you don't get what's exactly the issue here. Hint: it's not about historical veracity
>>457893
>it's untrue because I say it's untrue
The only miracle that matters is the resurrection.
>>457919
>Hint: it's not about historical veracity
That's the only issue I have. Like I said, I don't care what deep spiritual meaning you get out of reading LotR, it's simply not true. And I find it hilarious if anyone sincerely believes the magic in these books is real, unless it is to do something like this http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/dancing.html
>>457931
And there is no evidence of that magical event either. Apply the Historical Method instead of believing blindly
>>457943
>no evidence
Except the massive amount of texts by hundreds of sources all regarding the same event, and eye witnesses who latter became apostles.
Not to mention the existence of the Christian movement at all, especially as something for non-Jews, without the resurrection Christianity would not have exploded as it did in so short a timeframe.
And as for the accuracy of the bible, we have more literary evidence of Jesus' life than Alexander the Great or Caesar
The New Testament is as reliable (I not far more) than any similar ancient text.
>>457938
>I don't care what kind of meaning you get out of wisdom traditions, it's simply not true!
You're a mental midget
>>457952
>this whole post
>>444542
>Faith nigger
where is this faith nigger of which you speak?
I live in rural Montana. I have a farm and 4 kids. There's a church nearby, and I don't have much to do when I'm not working/having meals with the family/in the church. So I surf the internet. By chance, I got here and the answer I'll give to you is this: I'm religious not because I believe in God, nobody is. People are religious because religions bring communities together all across the globe. You see, normally I don't see anyone aside my family and federal agents that want me to pay my debts and the mailmen sometimes, but every sunday I meet friends and other families on the church and we all have a great time singing, talking after the words of the priest and so on. It's America. I think you city folks may not have a sense of family as strong as ours from the country because you're not all religious. Of course, as time passes, you start believing what you're told. So yeah. This is it. Merry Christmas.
>>459072
>tfw you will never be as faithful as the pious, Catholic Alberto Barbosa
>>444491
>almost all major religions have been initiated with writings usually containing special events
No, just no, all major religions started with those events, they then have been written down or were orally transmitted
>>459210
What? That makes no sense.
>>459317
Except the events didn't happen. Even if you're religious you will deny the events of all the other competing holy books. So yes, it is the texts
>>459335
I'm not saying that the events happened as transcribed, their historical basis (for example Jesus, Mohammed, Siddhartha) does exist
>>459335
>he thinks religious faith is supposed to be based on historical events
Dude just stop, you're embarrassing yourself
