forum I know way too much about religion

Started March 30, 2018 by @jaethena

tune

I study religion, but, for clarification, I'm not religious myself. Nevertheless, I know some things, so don't be afraid to ask anything if you're curious.

Hey, oddly specific question, but where does all the number three symbolism in religion come from?

Is there a specific religion you're thinking of? :o

Just any of them - specifically Christianity

Some religions have "special" numbers ("special" used loosely here since it can be applied in different ways as in holy or sacred or just common….. etc.). In Christianity specifically, the Holy Trinity wasn't exactly a concept from the start. There were multiple councils held where they debated heavily over what or who Jesus was in accordance to God, the Virgin Mary, and the Holy Spirit (if they were the same person… if Jesus was a mortal or a deity…. stuff like that). The Council of Nicaea (roughly early 300 CE) ultimately decided in The Nicene Creed that Jesus was "begotten" (not made) by God as His son and that he "was an incarnate of the Holy [Spirit] and of the Virgin Mary", that Jesus was born mortal, and, when he came back to life, joined God in heaven as his right-hand man, basically. The creed also states that Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are all the same "thing" but they're not the same "person" or "divine entity" (hard to find a word for this). There are still denominations in Christianity where they reject the idea that Jesus was born a mortal.
In Hinduism, there is also the Trimurti which is the trinity of Hinduism. This includes Brahma the Creator, Shiva the Destroyer, and Vishnu the Preserver these are the most commonly worshipped gods in Hinduism. They each have incarnations; Vishnu's 10 incarnations are the most well known out of all of them. Hinduism also has yugas which are like the time eras (1,728,000 years worth of history, basically). Truth is the "golden age" (everything was awesome), Treta was the age where the world was declining (as in, life sucked), Divipara is most well known for Krishna's appearance (he is the 8th incarnation of Vishnu in some traditions), and finally, Kali which is the present age where dharma ("duty") is depleting in this age and will end when Vishnu's 10th incarnation, Kalki, returns then time will reset and start over.

There are also other examples of the number three. Buddhism has the three jewels of Buddha which were like the main teachings categorized into three sections (history of Buddha, Dharma, and the Sanga which is a spiritual community with whom we share our spiritual lives with). There are actually a lot of "three's" in Buddhism. When Buddha was achieving enlightenment, he awoke to three phases of the moon, and when he awakens, he sees his past lives and sees the order of the universe divided into six realms (three lower and three upper). In the middle of the universe, Buddha saw three poisons (in the form of animals) that keep the cycle of samsara (cycle of reincarnation, basically) going: Bear (ignorance), Rooster (desire), and Snake (anger). Additionally, there are three marks of existence in Buddhism that connects or applies to all of existence and beings: all things are impermanent, all conditional things are unsatisfactory, and all conditional and unconditioned things are not self.

In Mohawk tradition, there is a creation story that places an emphasis on three animals (beavers, otters, and muskrats… turtles too but more the first three). The emphasis actually shows evidence of oral repetition and that it has passed down for a very long time. There is also a common "trinity" in religions where you see common themes of the underworld/afterlife, earth, and heaven/a holy realm. These "realms" could be called something different, but three is an aesthetically pleasing number, so it's common, haha!

Wow, thanks!

I'm glad I was able to help!

Sorry I'm just browsing the forums and I saw this- @doug, I know that in Judaism/Hebrew (like Bible times), the number three often signified a covenant, which is why you get Jesus asking his disciples the same question three times, or how God does things in three. Basically, it adds gravity to any promise or situation, or creates a covenant (a two way promise) between God and a human

Huh.
Have anything about Shintoism?

I know this isn't my thread, but can I still contribute to answers?
I don't know much about it. I do know that there are shrines, usually in nature, and I think there's a nature god associated with each shrine. I also know from the movie "Your Name" that offerings are made sometimes, of rice sake, and that's some form of a covenant/show of piety/devotion to the god.
That's it for me

Hmm
I don't much about religion except Judaism (I'm part of it so..)
But I mean I know a lot about mythology.
That was still helpful though thanks

I know a lot about Christianity, and a little about Bible-times Judaism (I did a Bible-study course the past two years, and since the Bible was originally in Hebrew, I learned a little about that), but that's where my expertise ends
And I know some mythology, but not a ton. I could prob name myths from Greek and Roman mythology pretty easily, and maybe one or two from other cultures, but that's it

Hey, could someone explain the basic things I need to know about Christianity? Both sides of my family are very religious but I was raised atheist (I'm banned from going to church by my parents- I don't really want to anyway) I kinda need to "pass" as Christian I guess. Every article online is usually about homophobia and just too long so please thank you so much

Hi Zoe! I can explain the basic tenets of Christianity (at least Protestant Christianity) if you would like. I was raised in a Christian family and I have studied quite a bit of theology. Are you looking to find out more about beliefs, behaviour, or church practices (or any combination of the above)?

Also, feel free to PM me if that works better.

Hey, I'm Christian (specifically LDS/Mormon) and I can explain our tenets.
(Also, a lot of people say the LDS church is homophobic/hates gays and uh that's wrong so… I'll explain that if you want)
Anyways, I'm here if you want to learn more!

Hi guys! Sorry for the late response! I am sorry for phrasing it as such, I understand that not all christians are homophobic.. I am so sorry for portraying that I thought of it as such. The area that my grandparents live in is the most homophobic (based on religion) place I've ever been. Im gay af so that sucks. Yea, a combination would be very appriciated. Thank you so so much!

Okay, some quick basics of Christianity (of the Protestant variety I grew up with, at least):

Beliefs:

• There is one God, in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The word for this 3-in-1-ness is the Trinity.
• Universe (including humans) was originally created perfect by God (lots of varying beliefs as to how he created)
• The first humans sinned (sin = rebel against God, aka do bad things) and were separated from God. Creation was no longer perfect, and things like death, pain, evil, etc. entered the world.
• The consequence of Sin is death.
• God is both loving and just. Being just, he can’t ignore sin and let sinners bypass the consequences. Being loving, he doesn’t want humans to be separated from him for eternity (i.e. suffer after death in hell).
• God’s solution to this problem: he sent his Son to earth to bear the consequences of sin. God the Son is called Jesus. He was born around 0 AD, grew up, taught people about God, did miracles, lived a perfect life free of sin.
• Then Jesus was put to death by the religious leaders of the time. By dying he bore the consequences of sin for everyone, (in Christian-speak: he broke the power of sin) so God’s justice was fulfilled.

• Three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead. By rising, he broke the power of death. He appeared to his followers many times and was taken up to heaven.

• Every person has sinned. “Small” sins (bad attitude, shoplifting, etc) separate humankind from God just as much as “big” sins (murder, rape, etc).
• No one can get into heaven from their own effort.
• The way to ‘get right’ with God is to acknowledge one’s sin, repent of it (i.e., reject sin, turn away from it), accept that Jesus bore the consequences and choose to follow him.

This got long so I’ll look at behaviour and church practices in a different post.

Behaviour

According to the beliefs I listed above doing good doesn’t ‘earn’ one anything (like getting into heaven). With these beliefs, doing good is supposed to be a response to God’s love, not a prerequisite for it.

Behaviours that are encouraged:

• Praying (i.e, talking with God)
• Reading and studying the Bible
• Going to Church on the recommended day (some do Sunday, some do Saturday)
• Meeting with other Christians to do (a) and (b) and (c)
• Telling other people about God and what he has done.
• Honesty, thankfulness, self-control, kindness, etc.

These are some behaviours that would not be considered ‘Christian’:

• Swearing
• Gambling
• Sexual activity with anyone other than one’s spouse
• Stealing, murdering, etc. (breaking the law in general)

(Some of both these lists will differ between Christian denominations - for example, one denomination encourages its members to be vegetarian and drink no alcohol.)

Church Practices

These will differ widely depending on which church you attend so this bit will be pretty basic. Not all churches will do all of these.

• Music. Most churches will have some songs that the congregation sings together. The lyrics generally refer to God, what he’s done, and the people’s response to that. The lyrics may also be paraphrased Bible passages or paraphrased stories from the Bible. Many churches get everyone to stand up to sing.
• Prayer. Some churches will have individual members pray during the service. Some allow for times when anyone in the congregation may pray, either aloud or silently.
• Message/sermon. In many church services a pastor (or preacher/speaker) will spend 10-90 minutes teaching about God/the Bible/Christian life.
• Offering. Usually there is a point in the service where members of the church are given the opportunity to donate money to support those who run the church. The church may also use this money to support missionaries or other charity work.
• Communion. Members of the congregation are given a small bit of bread/cracker and a small cup of juice (I’ve heard some churches use wine but I’ve never witnessed it) to eat and drink together. This is a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice (broken bread represents his body, juice represents his blood) and this time is generally used to remember how Jesus bore the consequences of sin, and to thank him again for that. Some churches do this every week, and some only once or twice a year.
• Baptism. This can range from a few drops sprinkled on someone’s forehead to the person getting fully dunked. Some denominations baptise young babies - in this case, it’s a sign that the baby is part of the church family. Some denominations baptise people who choose to be baptised - in this case, it’s a sign that they have accepted what Jesus did and chosen to follow God.

I hope that some of this helped. :) If you have any questions about anything I’ve written, feel free to ask!