On Sun, 10 Sep 2000, Mary wrote:

> Aren't most major religions, agricultural religions?

What does that mean?  On the face of it, I'd say the answer is
no.  The major religions of the world are Christianity, Islam,
Judaism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.  None of these religions are
about the worship of crops or the propitiation of gods to favor
crop cycles.

> Does each major religion have a different crop?
>
> Is Christianity celebrating a different crop than Islam or Judaism?

I'm not a Christian, but I don't know where you got the idea that
Christianity celebrates crops.  I've heard some peculiar
variations on Christian theology, but I've never heard that one.
Christianity of course uses some agricultural symbolism in its
stories and practices.  It also uses pastoral symbolism and, for
that matter, military symbolism, to name a few.

As far as I know, Christianity celebrates the life, teachings,
death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, not crops.  Judaism
celebrates the covenant between God and the people of Israel, the
descendants of Abraham, not crops.  Buddhism is about the quest
for liberation from suffering by breaking the bonds of
attachment, not about celebrating crops.  Hinduism is about
liberation from the realm of *maya* or illusion through the
practice of the various yogas, not about celebrating crops.
Islam, which literally means "submission" is about submitting
one's whole life and being to the will of God as revealed in his
greatest revelation the Koran given to mankind through the
prophet Mohammed, not about celebrating crops.

Todd Moody
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