>>From the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, "religion" is
>>defined as "the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system
>>of belief and worship."
>>
>>From Merriam-Webster's WWWebster Dictionary, "religion" is defined as
>>1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) :
>>the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or
>>devotion to religious faith or observance
>>2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes,
>>beliefs, and practices
>>3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
>>4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
>>- religionless, adjective
>
>I'm usually one to cite dictionary definitions.   However, in the case of
>widespread myths, there is no reason to assume that dictionary writers are
>immune.   I assume that many dictionaries and encyclopedias now define
>"diet" as
>cutting the fat out of your daily food consumption to improve your health....
>
>
>--
>Cheers,
>
>Ken
>[log in to unmask]

I really don't see what you're getting at here. No amount of
dictionary
stuff can tell you more than what a term is used to mean to those who
speak
that language. It can't tell anything about which set of beliefs is
valid,
how many gods you have to have in it, or whether anyone still uses it.

>>This is Paganism, ie worship of the forces of nature.  Whether one calls that
"religion" or not is a semantic discussion not worth getting into
here, IMHO.

Those who wish to explain away religion like to use the same word
"god" for the
personification of forces of nature in paganism, as for the supreme
being in
monotheism.  This naming then leads the mind to think that both of
these
systems
are similar, ie "belief systems that perform necessary social
functions".>>

How can you say that they are not similar IN THAT RESPECT? Have you
looked
up "god" in the dictionary? I'll bet there are a lot of kinds. And
those
"necessary social functions" are among the most effective aspects of
religion. Some might even see such organization as the reason for a
religion, a set of rules for a manageable society. As for "widespread
myths", this is often what a person or group likes to label the other
guys'
religion. I'm sure you didn't mean to "explain away" paganism,
naturism,
Shinto, Vedaism, etc. that way, did you?

ginny and Tomo: Dog is our copilot



All stunts performed without a net!