In matters of religion …

There are absolutely no objective universal truths.

Prove me wrong.

It depends. Belief and faith and aspiration and the nature of a creator being and whatnot are all firmly subjective.

But here are some objective facts about religion.

Jewish, Islamic and Christian scriptures all start with the Book of Genesis.

The pope who lives in Vatican City is a Catholic.

Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith in the world, with 27 countries that have it as the official state religion.

@fmf said

Islam is the most common government-endorsed faith in the world, with 27 countries that have it as the official state religion.

There's a reason for that.


Tell me, Mr. Factoid, how many countries have Christianity as their official state religion? You can start with the UK.

@suzianne said
Tell me, Mr. Factoid, how many countries have Christianity as their official state religion? You can start with the UK.

According to Wikipedia: Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states or have state churches. These countries include Argentina, Armenia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Denmark (incl. Greenland and the Faroes), England, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Samoa, Serbia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Zambia. A Christian state stands in contrast to a secular state, an atheist state, or another religious state, such as a Jewish state, or an Islamic state.

@suzianne said
You can start with the UK.

"The UK's official religion is Christianity, and churches of all denominations can be found throughout the UK, such as Catholic, Protestant, Baptist and Methodist." ~ britishcouncil.org

@suzianne said
There's a reason for that.

There is a reason why I stated it. It's an example of an objective statement about religion.

@fmf said
According to Wikipedia: Today, several nations officially identify themselves as Christian states or have state churches. These countries include Argentina, Armenia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Denmark (incl. Greenland and the Faroes), England, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Samoa, Serbia, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vatican City, and Zambia. A Christian ...[text shortened]... ar state, an atheist state, or another religious state, such as a Jewish state, or an Islamic state.

Far fewer Christian states than Islamic states. At least you recognize that much.

@suzianne said
Far fewer Christian states than Islamic states. At least you recognize that much.

You are missing the point which was that there CAN be objective facts about religion even if most of what religions claim lies within the realm of subjectivity.

@fmf said
"The UK's official religion is Christianity, and churches of all denominations can be found throughout the UK, such as Catholic, Protestant, Baptist and Methodist." ~ britishcouncil.org

The state religion of the UK is the CoE (Anglicanism), and Charles is its titular head. The UK tolerates Catholics and other denominations these days (didn’t always).

@divegeester said
There are absolutely no objective universal truths.

Prove me wrong.

I would say that there are truths of human nature which are sufficiently general or even universal to merit being called "objective", and that religion, philosophy, and spirituality, are the disciplines which address these truths. Furthermore, that among these objective truths of human nature are:

1. that people generally have difficulty dealing with ungratified desire, unrequited love, abandonment, and loss.

2. that people have difficulty dealing with being young, beautiful, rich, famous, and talented.

3. that almost all people at some point in their lives almost certainly feel that they are confronted with issues they cannot resolve with their own resources and tend to reach out to something beyond sheer egotism to try to get help (except Donald Trump).

4. that people who reach a certain level of maturity (by which I mean both intellectual facility and emotional authenticity) realize that getting up every day at 6 a.m. to go to jobs they don't like isn't a fulfilling life, and they are likely to either slump into depression, commit suicide, or reach out to something beyond sheer egotism to give their lives meaning and purpose (except Donald Trump, who has evidently not reached the level of maturity to see this for himself).

5. that most people are afraid of the unknown generally and of death specifically. Unlike apes, we are aware of our own mortality.

6. that most people at some point regret things they have done or failed to do, and have difficulty dealing with the associated feelings (remorse, shame, guilt). (Except Donald Trump.}

How religion, philosophy, and spirituality go about addressing these issues is another matter, and with what degree of success in any individual's case is quite definitely subjective, because, in order to actually reach a person, it (religion, philosophy, or spirituality) must find points of application in the individual's life by appealing to his current state and how himself perceives his state, which is subjective, whatever that state may be (whether depression, suicidal thoughts, overweening egotism, trauma, fear of death, etc.).

@fmf said
You are missing the point which was that there CAN be objective facts about religion even if most of what religions claim lies within the realm of subjectivity.

Shouldn't you save this for the left-handed compliment thread? It's about as useful.

@suzianne said
Shouldn't you save this for the left-handed compliment thread? It's about as useful.

You still haven't said much that's on topic.

@fmf said
You still haven't said much that's on topic.

Ever!

@FMF


7. that some people have difficulty coping with change, whereas other people have difficulty maintaining continuity.








Changed your avatar again (again), I see.