Religion, God & a big picture

● religion ● wiki

dict -:: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. ::-

vocab -:: a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny. an institution to express belief in a divine power ::-

collins -:: a particular system of belief in a god or gods and the activities that are connected with this system ::-

m-w -:: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices -:- a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith ::-

● God ● wiki

dict -:: the one Supreme Being, the creator and ruler of the universe. ::-

vocab -:: the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions. ::-

lexico -:: the creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being -:- a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity. ::-

m-w -:: the supreme or ultimate reality -:- a being or object believed to have more than natural attributes and powers and to require human worship. ::-

● deity ● wiki

dict lexico m-w -:: a god or goddess. ::-

vocab -:: any supernatural being worshipped as controlling some part of the world or some aspect of life or who is the personification of a force ::-

● worship ● wiki

dict -:: reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred. ::-

collins -:: the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc ::-

lexico -:: the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.::-

m-w -:: reverence offered a divine being or supernatural power -:- a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual ::-

● polytheism ● wiki

dict -:: the doctrine of or belief in more than one god or in many gods.::-

vocab -:: belief in multiple gods ::-

lexico m-w -:: belief in or worship of more than one god ::-

● henotheism ● wiki

dict -:: the worship of a particular god, as by a family or tribe, without disbelieving in the existence of others.::-

lexico -:: adherence to one particular god out of several, especially by a family, tribe, or other group. ::-

m-w -:: the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods ::-

● monolatry ● wiki

dict -:: the worship of only one god although other gods are recognized as existing.::-

vocab -:: the worship of a single god but without claiming that it is the only god ::-

collins -:: the exclusive worship of one god without excluding the existence of others ::-

● monotheism ● wiki

dict lexico -:: The doctrine or belief that there is only one God.::-

vocab -:: belief in a single God ::-

m-w -:: the doctrine or belief that there is but one God ::-

● revelation ● wiki

dicti -:: something revealed or disclosed, especially a striking disclosure, as of something not before realized -:- God's disclosure of Himself and His will to His creatures. ::-

vocab -:: the speech act of making something evident -:- an enlightening or astonishing disclosure -:- communication of knowledge to man by a divine or supernatural agency ::-

lexico -:: a surprising and previously unknown fact that has been disclosed to others. -:- The divine or supernatural disclosure to humans of something relating to human existence.::-

m-w -:: an act of revealing or communicating divine truth -:- something that is revealed by God to humans ::-

● prophet ● wiki

dict -:: a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration. ::-

vocab -:: someone who speaks by divine inspiration; someone who is an interpreter of the will of God -:- an authoritative person who divines the future. ::-

lexico -:: a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God.::-

m-w -:: one who utters divinely inspired revelations -:- one who foretells future events ::-

● soul ● wiki

dict -:: the spiritual part of humans regarded in its moral aspect, or as believed to survive death and be subject to happiness or misery in a life to come ::-

vocab -:: the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life ::-

lexico -:: The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.::-

m-w -:: the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life -:- the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe ::-

● heaven ● wiki

dict -:: the abode of God, the angels, and the spirits of the righteous after death; the place or state of existence of the blessed after the mortal life. ::-

collins -:: In some religions, heaven is said to be the place where God lives, where good people go when they die, and where everyone is always happy. It is usually imagined as being high up in the sky -:- (in any of various mythologies) a place, such as Elysium or Valhalla, to which those who have died in the gods' favour are brought to dwell in happiness ::-

lexico -:: a place regarded in various religions as the abode of God (or the gods) and the angels, and of the good after death, often traditionally depicted as being above the sky. ::-

m-w -:: the dwelling place of the Deity and the blessed dead ::-

● reincarnation ● wiki

dict -:: the belief that the soul, upon death of the body, comes back to earth in another body or form.-:- rebirth of the soul in a new body.::-

vocab -:: a second or new birth -:- doctrine that a person may be reborn successively... depending on the person's own actions::-

lexico -:: the rebirth of a soul in another body.::-

collins -:: the belief that on the death of the body the soul transmigrates to or is born again in another body -:- the incarnation or embodiment of a soul in a new body after it has left the old one at physical death ::-

● nirvana ● wiki

dict-:: freedom from the endless cycle of personal reincarnations, with their consequent suffering, as a result of the extinction of individual passion, hatred, and delusion ::-

vocab-:: the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness ::-

lexico-:: a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth.::-

m-w-:: the final beatitude that transcends suffering, karma, and samsara and is sought... through the extinction of desire and individual consciousness ::-

● fate ● wiki

dict -:: that which is inevitably predetermined; destiny ::-

vocab -:: an event (or a course of events) that will inevitably happen in the future ::-

lexico -:: the development of events outside a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power.::-

m-w -:: the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do ::-

● karma ● wiki

dict -:: the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person's deeds in the previous incarnation.::-

vocab -:: the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation ::-

lexico -:: the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.::-

m-w -:: the force generated by a person's actions to perpetuate transmigration and in its ethical consequences to determine the nature of the person's next existence ::-

● enlightenment ● wiki

dict -:: prajna - pure and unqualified knowledge ::-

vocab -:: (Hinduism and Buddhism) the beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation; characterized by the extinction of desire and suffering and individual consciousness ::-

lexico -:: the action or state of attaining or having attained spiritual knowledge or insight, in particular that awareness which frees a person from the cycle of rebirth.::-

m-w -:: a final blessed state marked by the absence of desire or suffering ::-

● priest ● wiki

dict -:: a person whose office it is to perform religious rites, and especially to make sacrificial offerings. -:- a minister of any religion. ::-

vocab -:: a clergyman of a religion who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites -:- a person who performs religious duties and ceremonies in a religion ::-

lexico -:: an ordained minister of a religion authorized to perform certain rites -:- A person who performs religious ceremonies and duties in a religion. ::-

m-w -:: one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God ::-

● shaman ● wiki

dict -:: a person who acts as intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds, using magic to cure illness, foretell the future, control spiritual forces, etc. ::-

vocab -:: one acting as a medium between the visible and spirit worlds; practices sorcery for healing or divination ::-

lexico -:: a person regarded as having access to, and influence in, the world of good and evil spirits. Typically such people enter a trance state during a ritual, and practise divination and healing.::-

m-w -:: a priest or priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events ::-

● animism ● wiki

dict -:: the belief that natural objects, natural phenomena, and the universe itself possess souls. -:- the belief that natural objects have souls that may exist apart from their material bodies. -:- the doctrine that the soul is the principle of life and health. -:- belief in spiritual beings or agencies.::-

vocab -:: the doctrine that all natural objects and the universe itself have souls ::-

lexico -:: the attribution of a living soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena. -:- The belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe. ::-

m-w -:: a doctrine that the vital principle of organic development is immaterial spirit -:- attribution of conscious life to objects in and phenomena of nature or to inanimate objects -:- belief in the existence of spirits separable from bodies ::-

● anthropomorphic ●

dict-:: ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human, especially to a deity. ::-

vocab -:: suggesting human characteristics for animals or inanimate things ::-

collins -:: relating to the idea that an animal, a god, or an object has feelings or characteristics like those of a human being ::-

m-w -:: described or thought of as having a human form or human attributes -:- ascribing human characteristics to nonhuman things ::-

● anthropomorphism ● wiki

dict -:: an anthropomorphic conception or representation, as of a deity. ::-

vocab -:: the representation of objects (especially a god) as having human form or traits ::-

lexico -:: the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to a god, animal, or object.::-

m-w -:: an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics ::-

● myth ● wiki

dict -:: a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or a natural explanation, especially one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature. -:- any invented story, idea, or concept ; an imaginary or fictitious thing or person ; an unproved or false collective belief that is used to justify a social institution. ::-

vocab -:: a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people ::-

lexico -:: a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining a natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events. -:- A widely held but false belief or idea. ::-

m-w -:: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon -:- a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone -:- a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence ::-

Looking at all religions in general, there are only 2 universal concepts which they possess:-

• • God(s) - The belief in God(s) or supernatural supreme being(s),

  • Afterlife - The belief in an Afterlife or what happens to us after we die.

Beyond that, there are some general observations and peculiarities we can make about religion(s):-

• • Language is just not good enough - For what it is trying to describe, the language available to us is generally inadequate. Often, attempts to explain differing concepts are dejected by limited words like "spirit" or "heaven". Western explorers encountered eastern traditions of spiritual reverence and described everything (somewhat condescendingly) as "their gods".

  • Inefficiencies in Literature - Religious scripture was not written down properly. Different revelations being told to different people at different times led to religious history having many variations. It's not anyone's fault. In an age of mass illiteracy, there were "reciters" who memorised what they were told; but they were not scribes. The scribes would write down what they were told; but they were not priests nor apostles.

  • Creation Myths - All cultures have myths and folklore to explain things they cannot understand or rationalise; to explain how things came into being; grandiose histories & stories of legend. These stories become part of cultures and are further absorbed into religious stories.

  • A Tool to Rule - Rulers & governments hijack the control of religions because religions can bring order to the masses and can be used to control society.

    • Righteous Rule - A ruler would solidify his authority and justify his noble supremacy by claiming a divine right or relationship or appointment by god(s).

    • Righteous Tax - What better way to collect taxes than to make it a religious obligation or tithe.

    • Authorised Religion - Governments would enforce an authorised version of religious literature which promoted their agenda. Whenever a version of a religious scripture disagreed with the ruling government, they would purge those variants (usually through persecution).

  • All religion is mythology... except mine

  • I'm going to heaven to be with God

  • She believes in genies

  • He prays to spirits Spiritual_practice & Spiritual Tradition & Ancestor Worship

Most people confuse their Religion with their Religious Practice and with their Religious Identity.

▪ Religion = Belief:

Let's define Religion as the basic beliefs concerning God or Gods and/ or the afterlife.

▪ Religious Practice = Behaviour:

From the basic beliefs, there evolves Religious Practice(s) which mostly concerns worship (methods of; places of; administration of). Religious Practice also includes religious events, pilgrimages, tithes and taxes.

▪ Religious Identity = Belonging:

From the practice of worship, there develops Religious Identity which eventually becomes intermixed with the customs and traditions of a people. Religious Identity includes people's names, apparel/ clothing and foodstuffs.

The survivability of a religion depends on its universality and adaptability:-

Test#1: Is a religion applicable/ relevant beyond the time of its inception?

Test#2: Is a religion applicable/ relevant globally? Is it overly specific to one language, one location and ethnic group? Can it be applied beyond that?

Test#3: Is a religion applicable/ relevant beyond the human species? Can it be applied to animals? Can it be applied to an extra-terrestrial being?

Conceptually, the basic beliefs concerning God or Gods and/ or the afterlife which have survived to this day should be able to pass these test. However, Religious Practice(s) may not pass, especially if they have difficulty adapting beyond Test#2.

Why do you pray or worship God or gods?

[a] So I do not become punished (or be sent to Hell).

[b] Because God or the gods demand for my adoration and submission.

[c] To be given favours and granted wishes.

[d] To remain socially acceptable.

[e] To fulfill my needs for an inner peace.