On Mon, 18 Sep 2000 10:02:48 -0400, Brad Cooley
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>On Fri, 15 Sep 2000 18:25:31 -0700, Ken Stuart <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 15 Sep 2000 15:44:54 -0400, Brad Cooley <[log in to unmask]>
>wrote:
>>
>>>All cultures have a "religion", or set of beliefs, that is a product of
>the
>>>culture.  In turn the culture is shaped, in part, by the geography, food
>>>sources, methods of acquiring food, population density, etc.  Egalitarian
>>>societies (hunter-gatherers) believe in spirits, or many "gods", that are
>>>all equal in power just as all individuals within the society are
>basically
>>>equal.  In many agricultural societies with complex economies, monotheism
>>>is prevalent.  Pastoral societies generally have religions based on a
>>>hierarchy of gods.
>>
>>I've studied religion and philosophy for 25 years and I've never come
>across a
>>religion based on a hierarchy of gods.   Can you specify one?
>
>The Pueblo Indians

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".

> ancient Greeks, and ancient Romans are examples.

In this case, the "religion" is dead, and all we know about it is from
2,000
years of "telephone", a dubious process.   In any case, if it were a
true
representation of reality, it would hardly be likely to have
vanished...

>>"Religion is a set of beliefs" is one of the major myths of our era, along
>with
>>"Fat makes you fat" and a few others that I won't mention because one
>>controversy per thread is enough ! :-)
>>
>
>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
>- re·li·gion·less 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]