SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS ON RELIGION

Comments: 18

Earl Shugerman Jan 20, 2013, 5:24pm UTC

The Baha'i tend to be pretty decent folks as well.

Thomas Millington Jan 20, 2013, 6:16pm UTC

Yes, I tend to agree.

Clarke M. Jan 20, 2013, 8:29pm UTC

Statistics are notoriously subjective and unreliable, not to mention how they are interpreted. We can predict that China will have the largest Christian and Muslim populations of any nation in this century based on reliable present,current growth figures . In Britain,we know that most converts to Islam are women, because the government figures are accurate. But these are trends. To interpret short,medium and long term trends - social, economic, natural etc - requires constant research and thorough knowledge of many things.

Thomas Millington Jan 21, 2013, 5:47am UTC

Clarke: Agreed. Your last sentence is the most important of all - "thorough knowledge of many things",

Clarke M. Jan 21, 2013, 7:42am UTC

Thomas: In this sense the Baha'i message is one of many attempts to present the one knowledge that all the major world religions have. But the diversity of the world religions conforms to the differences among peoples and cultures. They cannot be "synthesized" into one "religion" without diluting and corrupting their meaning. This was the lesson of the Tower of Babel: humans must seek different paths although they share a common aim. Thus, I expect the major world teachings to increase together but also independently.

Thomas Millington Jan 21, 2013, 11:42am UTC

Thank you Clarke. I see the various world religions like the different grades in school. The individual child goes through a series of grades from 1 up, each adding to the one before according to the child's growing capacity to learn. Religion is like education for mankind, each gives us a little more of God's outpouring grace.There is but one God and one human race, hence it stands to reason that religion would be one - one process divided into stages.

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Jerry Kays Jan 21, 2013, 2:14pm UTC

Religion is like education for mankind, each gives us a little more of God's outpouring grace.There is but one God and one human race, hence it stands to reason that religion would be one - one process divided into stages.

And ... then ... the ultimate religion would be the "graduation" where one recieves the truth that sets them free ... that religions are but dogmatic and creedal restrictions more often handed down by those who propose to rule ... true freedom is natural (generic) spirituality where the highest UNIversal Truth concerning UNconditional Love is the REAL-ization.

IMnsHO and E.

Thomas Millington Jan 21, 2013, 2:34pm UTC

There is no "ultimate" religion. The outpouring of God's grace continues as long as civilization lasts.

Jerry Kays Jan 21, 2013, 5:04pm UTC

the ultimate religion would be ... and is ... IMnsHO and E.

Jerry Kays Jan 21, 2013, 5:12pm UTC

PS ... I have since read (a part so far) of Michele's link below where it, in part, suggests (says):

Common to all these types is the anthropomorphic character of their conception of God. In general, only individuals of exceptional endowments, and exceptionally high-minded communities, rise to any considerable extent above this level. But there is a third stage of religious experience which belongs to all of them, even though it is rarely found in a pure form: I shall call it cosmic religious feeling. It is very difficult to elucidate this feeling to anyone who is entirely without it, especially as there is no anthropomorphic conception of God corresponding to it.

Jerry Kays Jan 21, 2013, 5:16pm UTC

and ... The religious geniuses of all ages have been distinguished by this kind of religious feeling, which knows no dogma and no God conceived in man's image; so that there can be no church whose central teachings are based on it. Hence it is precisely among the heretics of every age that we find men who were filled with this highest kind of religious feeling and were in many cases regarded by their contemporaries as atheists, sometimes also as saints. Looked at in this light, men like Democritus, Francis of Assisi, and Spinoza are closely akin to one another

Jerry Kays Jan 21, 2013, 5:22pm UTC

But I very much disagree with his ending in that link. Neither can I believe that the individual survives the death of his body, although feeble souls harbor such thoughts through fear or ridiculous egotisms." (Albert Einstein, obituary in New York Times, 19 April 1955)

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Sandi S. Jan 21, 2013, 2:23pm UTC

None at all?

What countries are those?

I am a bit surprised at that! I can't imagine there would be none of anything.

Thomas Millington Jan 21, 2013, 2:39pm UTC

Sandi: Thank you for commenting. The information you seek is readily available on the internet. There are various sources which are not in total agreement.

Glome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ONE of WE the PEOPLE Jan 22, 2013, 10:39pm UTC

Thomas "There is no "ultimate" religion."

That is true Thomas. God said it is a living Being that will assure our passage to heaven.
When we receive the Messiah, Jesus Christ, He brings new life into us and we become the Children of God.

Jesus is absolute truth. There is no unsound word in Him. Nothing He said, contradicted anything in the Old Testament. It is one unveiling true story. Our decision regarding Jesus Christ has to be made between His first coming and his 2nd coming. That is taught as absolute truth in the Bible. It's up to each one, of course, to decide whether or not that is true.

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SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS ON RELIGION

Comments: 18

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