I have no problem ranking things.

I'm wondering if some of these religions are more advanced... more cultured.

better

i might study up on it. I'm a practical dude, and I don't believe in the supernatural, but I am interested on their take on... well religion.

[Edited on June 12, 2008 at 10:04 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2008 10:03:20 PM

6/12/2008 10:04:02 PM

Eastern Orthodox Christians have a worship service that is actually a lot less 'modern' in the sense that their rites etc have not been modified all that much in over 1000 years. So I don't know if that means they are more or less 'advanced' (whatever that may mean), but it's something to think about

6/12/2008 10:08:06 PM

well Hinduism and Buddhism are much older then "western religions" so they have had more time to work some kinks out...

6/12/2008 10:11:51 PM

^^ why don't you go a little more east

^ yeah, i'm kind of wondering that

[Edited on June 12, 2008 at 10:14 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2008 10:14:21 PM

Some people make a point that Buddhism is a philosophy, not a religion. But this actually applies for a lot of Eastern religions - many of them don't mandate the worship of a god. In fact, some Japanese and Chinese faiths/philosophies are ambiguous to the point that it can simply be combined with other religions.

In one sense, that gives it a fragile hold on their constituents, indicating that maybe it is less evolved by having less 'competition'. Certainly, the two big ones of Christianity and Muslim owe a lot of their success to the monotheistic idea that religion is a one way street, and must be actively promoted to others.

But yet again, in another sense, religion always has to evolve to changing times, and in the digital age, many Eastern religions may be, in fact, more resilient. It's a bit of a thorn in your side to have a book that many interpret to mean that evolution didn't happen; something that is obviously wrong. But then again, people used to take the bible to mean that the Earth was the center of the universe/solar system. So hey, could go either way.

6/12/2008 10:19:01 PM

Fewer plot holes?

[Edited on June 12, 2008 at 10:21 PM. Reason : less =/= fewer]

6/12/2008 10:20:01 PM

lamo

6/12/2008 10:21:05 PM

^^^ i'm certainly not taking about it's abiilty to have a "hold on their constituents"

[Edited on June 12, 2008 at 10:21 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2008 10:21:50 PM

religion

6/12/2008 10:23:28 PM

fewer plot holes and a better way to view life...."I need to do this so I can get into heaven" and "my dog died so god must hate me" vs. "I need to be a good person so when I come back I can be a bunny!" and "my life sucks, I guess I was a jackass in a past life. I need to be a good person so when I come back I can be a bunny!"

6/12/2008 10:25:43 PM

Quote :

"i'm certainly not taking about it's abiilty to have a "hold on their constituents""

okay, but admit it, that's all that matters. When you talk about 'more advanced', we're either looking at

1. some shitty liberal opinion under the delusion that there's anything universal to these
or
2. we're talking about the religion that works in a very advanced society

If a religion just withers and dies, it's not like OMG WE LOST THE TRUTH OF THE UNIVERSE. I really don't see how you're going to pull off anything but a pragmatic evaluation of different religions (and still have a 'ranking'). Otherwise it would be like

ALLAH IS THE TRUE GOD AND ALL YOU OTHERS ARE WRONG

6/12/2008 10:35:31 PM

i don't think you get what I'm trying to throw out there

6/12/2008 10:41:27 PM

If I died and came back to live as a bunny, I'd eat myself. Sooo tasty.

6/12/2008 10:45:07 PM

ooh... i think you meant "hot dog", there

6/12/2008 10:45:30 PM

I want to come back as a bunny too, but I'm an humanist so i'm screwed on the whole resurrection thing..

6/12/2008 10:52:46 PM

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/12/god_boffins/

6/12/2008 11:46:49 PM