Interfaith Group
Related: About this forumIf you have one "main" tradition that you are most interested in, is there a second one...?
that is almost as influential for you?
For me, Christianity and Buddhism are my top two, and not always in that order. That's because I feel like those traditions do an excellent job of interpreting each other. For example, the prohibition of idolatry and the teachings of impermanence and "non-self" walk hand in hand, as far as I can see.
YoungDemCA
(5,714 posts)Mostly because I am interested in the historical, philosophical, cultural, and theological roots of the former, which naturally leads to more interest in the latter.
okasha
(11,573 posts)but for the expression of linked and syncretic faiths as expressed in beautiful paintings, go to:
https://www.trinitystores.com/store/artist/Robert-Lentz?page=1
Brother Robert Lentz is a Franciscan friar who paints icons not only of Catholic or officially canonized saints but of figures who represent examplary lives of service in human rights work and the intersections between Christianity and other faiths.
rug
(82,333 posts)AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)Most as literature curios to me, but the concepts of greek gods, possibly the first concept of the supernatural I was exposed to, I always found very entertaining and interesting. Echoes of that in Germanic religious tradition. ("It's a German legend, there's always going to be a mountain in there somewhere..."
I found a similar, interesting polytheistic balance in most European pagan traditions, some that continue to this day. And following that, I enjoyed the much more rich and diverse landscape of indigenous Americas' religions.
I found deism utilitarian, and understandable/approachable, and ultimately much more fitting with my then-observations of a world that seemed impossibly complex, but utterly abandoned by anything that might allegedly have created it, but I also found deism much less interesting than the various polytheistic traditions.
A complete aside, but I encountered discordianism much later in life, having discovered it through treatment of Eris as a running allegory in a Star Trek book, and then went fishing beyond the book to see what it was all about. (I believe From The Depths was the specific book, "Laughing radiation, Eris struck the limb of the world alight" (Eris being the name of Discord's sun))
I guess I've always found polytheistic compartmentalization of gods as characters, with different personalities and abilities the most interesting. Always the most interesting stories accompany the concepts anyway, the hero overcoming godly opposition, gods making moves and counter-moves, intrigue and strife between, some seeking to elevate humanity, others seeking to destroy or debase. All of this an influential source of literature that I devoured as a kid. Most certainly.
Htom Sirveaux
(1,242 posts)He's a French philosopher working on an overview of the history of ideas.
AtheistCrusader
(33,982 posts)The synopsis looks about right to me, in describing the Greek influence on 'western' culture.
Always an interesting subject.
el_bryanto
(11,804 posts)But really I'm interested in most religions - most of them contain perspectives that enlarge my vision.
Bryant
Manifestor_of_Light
(21,046 posts)Buddhism is a distilled version of Hinduism, removing the gods and goddesses and keeping dharma (the truth or the teachings), karma and reincarnation. As Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu in Northern India, and raised as a Hindu, I feel I have to study his background before he was enlightened.
I have met Christians that think Buddha is worshiped like Christ and I had to correct them and tell them that Buddha is an enlightened man and is NOT a god. He is revered as an example, not worshiped. Some flavors of Buddhism have deities and some don't.
Personally I like Mahayana (Chinese) Buddhism. Tibetan is the best known in the United States because the Dalai Lama is a public figure but it is too superstitious for my taste.
And there are Christians who think Mohammed is worshiped like Christ. I have not had personal encounters with them. Mohammed is a prophet. I'm no Islamic scholar and even I know that.
okasha
(11,573 posts)but potters world-wide have a custom of honoring a kiln god or goddess. My mentor made a little goddess figure--an archaeologist digging one up a couple thousand years from now would probably call her a fertility deity--for each of our big natural-gas fueled kilns. She sits above the door, where she can "oversee" a firing, make sure the glazes perform well, and protect the pots inside from thermal shock. We fired one this afternoon, and made offerings of rice and potato chips.
We'll know Monday what we've got.
okasha
(11,573 posts)We had some awesome results, especially with an original, experimental red glaze.
Htom Sirveaux
(1,242 posts)kwassa
(23,340 posts)Sorry, couldn't resist.
Takes a kiln a long time to cool off.