Made in God’s image. Yuk. Not me thanks.

[The Grand Nudger]

The decent beginnings of that...as a wargod?

[Porcupine]

Anybody know of a religion older than Hinduism that is still practiced today?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Anybody know of a religion older than Hinduism that is still practiced today?

If we stretch the definition (a little, not too much), then animism certainly qualifies.

Boru

[Porcupine]

Anybody know of a religion older than Hinduism that is still practiced today?

If we stretch the definition (a little, not too much), then animism certainly qualifies.

Boru

Good point. So, I guess with a wide definition it's animism and with a narrow definition it's Hinduism.

[The Grand Nudger]

Hinduism is a wide definition. Atheism was once a prominent tradition included under that umbrella term.

[Porcupine]

Hinduism is a wide definition.  

That's one way of looking at it.

As, indeed, Hinduism is a religion that is all-encompassing and includes basically all beliefs.

But what I, in particular, meant is the following: Hinduism is the oldest religion when we use 'religion' in a narrower sense rather than when we use 'religion' in a wider sense that can include animism. Animism is the oldest religion when we use 'religion' in a wider sense rather than when we use 'religion' in a narrower sense to exclude animism.

You seem to have a way with changing what people have said. No offense given and none, presumably, taken.

You have your reasons for whatever you are doing whether I'm seeing you accurately or not.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Made in God’s image. Yuk. Not me thanks.

Yahweh, it is written, created us in his image.

He is described as a vile genocidal and infanticidal god, a demiurge to us Gnostics Christians, and is responsible for a religion that has become homophobic and misogynous and who grew Christianity by inquisitions and murder.

This is not surprising given that so many of Christianity’s moral tenets are immoral. Christianity lacks moral tenets with which to convert. It takes pressure and force to believe the weird Christian take on the otherwise decent Jewish beginnings of their religion and god. Christians should have usurped some decent god as without Midrash, Yahweh is more like an evil Satan than a good god.

If you think you are created in Yahweh’s image, and able to do his evil and good deeds, are you happy about it?

If you do not think you are up to Yahweh’s evil ways, are you happy about it?

Regards
DL

Waves from Skeptics Guide to the Universe.

[Greatest I am]

The decent beginnings of that...as a wargod?

No. a decent beginning towards the equality of all.

The Jews, like the Egyptians they drew their myths from, gave women full equality to men.

Sure, some Jewish factions, the right, fought the trend. Even today, the orthodox will not shake a woman's hand. Idiots. 

That does not and did not change the trend within Judaism.

Most of the old gods were war gods for sure. May the god with the biggest dick win.

Regards
DL

---

Anybody know of a religion older than Hinduism that is still practiced today?

All the naturalist cults, although I think most naturalists do not belong to a religion. They would not need it.

Regards
DL

[The Grand Nudger]

Hinduism is a wide definition.  

That's one way of looking at it.

As, indeed, Hinduism is a religion that is all-encompassing and includes basically all beliefs.

But what I, in particular, meant is the following: Hinduism is the oldest religion when we use 'religion' in a narrower sense rather than when we use 'religion' in a wider sense that can include animism. Animism is the oldest religion when we use 'religion' in a wider sense rather than when we use 'religion' in a narrower sense to exclude animism.

You seem to have a way with changing what people have said. No offense given and none, presumably, taken.

You have your reasons for whatever you are doing whether I'm seeing you accurately or not.

There's a wonderful definition for religion, durkheim's

a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, i.e., things set apart and forbidden—beliefs and practices which unite in one single moral community called a Church, all those who adhere to them.

Animism and hinduism both fail this criteria, as described, but parceled up chunks of the animist or hindu demographics would or at least could satisfy it.  

It contains no reference to the supernatural or gods, and contains no reference to the truth or falsehood of those beliefs.  You can see how a great many things would qualify, by that definition, as religions - and if...after having considered the ways that "hinduism" fails that criteria, we still choose to enter it into the running for oldest extant religions, the competition becomes vast.  

Red ochre burials (and burial societies in general) then, have and are a religion, and we continue to bury our dead today.  We started that 19k years ago, at least.  We're sure it came earlier, but we know it came no later. For reference, and just as a very generous point of interest to the beliefs we now call hinduism, we don't think that they could possibly be any older than 12k, but most likely something like 4k, and just for the oldest included in the set, at that.

[AFTT47]

Made in God’s image. Yuk. Not me thanks.

Yahweh, it is written, created us in his image.

He is described as a vile genocidal and infanticidal god, a demiurge to us Gnostics Christians, and is responsible for a religion that has become homophobic and misogynous and who grew Christianity by inquisitions and murder.

This is not surprising given that so many of Christianity’s moral tenets are immoral. Christianity lacks moral tenets with which to convert. It takes pressure and force to believe the weird Christian take on the otherwise decent Jewish beginnings of their religion and god. Christians should have usurped some decent god as without Midrash, Yahweh is more like an evil Satan than a good god.

If you think you are created in Yahweh’s image, and able to do his evil and good deeds, are you happy about it?

If you do not think you are up to Yahweh’s evil ways, are you happy about it?

Regards
DL

Not to worry - God is made in OUR image. As Heinlein said, ‘Human beings rarely, if ever, manage to dream up a god superior to themselves. Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child.’

Boru

Indeed, this is true.

Ironically, the claim that we are made in God's own image is a humanist claim. If God started out as we did, it means he evolved/self-improved - and that we can too. A perfect being doesn't have a bipedal form with hairy, smelly underarms, flatulence and a bad temper.