Religious Knowledge Thread

[Akasha36]

The angel of Death's name is Azrael?

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I seemed to remember there being an Archangel of Death named Uriel...

-pssst, could a mod tack this on the end of the religious knowledge thread?-

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
I seemed to remember there being an Archangel of Death named Uriel...

-pssst, could a mod tack this on the end of the religious knowledge thread?-

I think Uriel is mentioned in the Book of Enoch..I'm not positive though

[GrayMouser]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
GrayMouser, this thread is not for bashing religions, or religious discussion. In my first post, I specifically stated this; it is only for assimilation of knowledge about other religions. You have strong anti-Christian sentiments (like so many on this board); that's fine, you have the right to hate whoever you want, but please, do not use (and especially dig up) a thread where it is specifically stated that it is not for stuff like that, and especially just so you can use bash a religion in the same way in a number of different places.

Excuse me , been away for a while, overwhelmed by the SARS epidemic- not personally, but it's added a couple of hours to every school day (doing temperature checks, keeping records, supervising extra sanitation etc etc.), but now it's receded and I have the time to indulge a little righteous indignation

Another thing is that the destructions in the Bible are acts of justice by God. The different peoples that were destroyed were deep in terrible sin, and were unrepentant of their action. When the Lord saw that the people had the potential to be changed, he sent a prophet, as in Ninevah. With others, he brought justice. The Old Testament shows the justice, and shows the law of the Lord. The New Testament shows the fulfillment of the law. The fulfillment of the law was why Jesus came, and I believe that he fulfilled the law by planting his seed in man, giving them the ability to return to him out of their state of impoverished sin.

This is the quote from Leif I was responding to; if you are so concerned about off-topic posting and religious argumentation, why not censure this? or at least both of us? Sorry, but if you want to be the ref you can't play on one of the teams.

I do apologise, but only for answering the OT creationist postings.

As for my alleged hatred of Christians, I challenge you to back this up from any statement I have made on any thread on this site.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Lief's post was actually not off-topic. It was in response to a question posed by Insidious Rex. The main problem that I had with your post (well, aside from certain obvious ones, but the main problem IN THE CONTEXT of the thread) was that, a), it was something that could easily be seen as a flame bait, i.e. implying that Christians felt that the murder of women and children is a good idea, b) it was really the beginning of a debate, which the thread was specifically not meant for, as there was already a thread for this, and c) you had already brought up this particular discussion on the other thread, and it has been my experience at least that duplication of threads is something that the people of Entmoot try to avoid.

As for hatred, I said that you had the right to hate whoever you wanted, not that you actually hated Christians. I don't think ANYBODY here hates Christians, Jews, Pagans, Atheists, Muslims, or any other religion.

[Arien the Maia]

here's something I'd like to know about other religions....what does everyone believe happens to you when you die? I know pretty well the Christian belief so I'm interested in all non-christian beliefs

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Yes, I am interested in this, as well. Of course, the majority of Atheists believe that you cease to exist. Hindus I am fairly sure believe that you are Reincarnated, I think until you finally achieve the high rank of Nirvana. Jews I'm not sure about. I think they believe everyone goes to heaven... Pagans, I have no idea, as Paganism is too varied. Wiccans I'm not sure...I read something somewhere which seemed to me to indicate that they believed in Hell for Wiccans who break one of the (161?) laws of Wicca, and Rebirth, possibly Reincarnation for those who follow her faithfully. Muslims I think believe basically the same as Christians, except that they believe that if your "left-shoulder" deeds outweigh your "right-shoulder" deeds, then you go to hell; no salvation or redemption, just works, I think though I'm quite uncertain about that.

Umm...that's all I can think of right now... And of course I would GREATLY appreciate it if those who know more would post their knowledge. I'm just sharing what I think, most of which is quite uncertain.

[Elvengirl]

I'm not Mormon so I could be wrong
They believe that when your body dies you go to one of three places depending on your life. If you were Mormon and belived in Jesus you would go to a place close to god. If you were not Mormon or just ignorant to religion but still a good ethical person you would go where you could be taught to love Jesus, then move up to be close to god. And if you knew what was right, but then did evil and sinful things anyway you would go to hell.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I read something that I found quite interesting the other day on Beliefnet:

It struck me that I had an image that might be interesting to him and it was the image of the hand in the kabbalistic gesture, the split fingers, that you might be familiar with. [On Star Trek, it was the Vulcan salute.]

The image is a single hand held upright, palm facing the viewer, and the fingers split, the thumb outstretched, the thumb outstretched and the other four fingers split into two pairs.

That gesture comes from something I experienced as a young child in the Orthodox Jewish service. There's a traditional blessing that is intoned by the Kohanim, the Hebrew priest, during the Orthodox service:

"May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord cause His countenance to shine upon you.
May the Lord turn his graciousness unto you,
And grant you peace."

From an interview with Leonard Nimoy.

I found this fascinating, and was wondering if any of our local Jewish folks could confirm or debunk this?

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
"May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord cause His countenance to shine upon you.
May the Lord turn his graciousness unto you,
And grant you peace."

isn't this part of the "Irish Blessing"? I've heard it many times at Mass when there's a wedding and the bride or groom is Irish.....

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I wouldn't be surprised: Originally, I believe it was the Aaronic blessing, used by the Hebrew priests. I wouldn't be surprised if it found it's way into Christian litany.

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
I wouldn't be surprised: Originally, I believe it was the Aaronic blessing, used by the Hebrew priests. I wouldn't be surprised if it found it's way into Christian litany.

ohhhh, that would explain many things then!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Coney, I think I may have found out why you didn't answer my question "Are Druids considered Pagans"...my response when I queried on Beliefnet:

"Oh, boy.

Well, as long as no one has responded to this, yet, I'm going to take advantage of the calm before the storm to don protective gear and make a small offering to Danu and request she look out for her oldest, yet newest faithful.

Druidfoot, Speir*bhean, shake hands, fight nice and (as they said in The Quiet Man) Marquis of Queensbury rules...

(As for the rest, duck and cover, tuck and roll or place your bets!)
~Siaran"

Sounds like it's something of a controversial subject...

I also found out that there is such a thing as a Jedi religion...O.O

[GrayMouser]

Originally posted by Arien the Maia
here's something I'd like to know about other religions....what does everyone believe happens to you when you die? I know pretty well the Christian belief so I'm interested in all non-christian beliefs

Buddhists believe in the cycle of death and rebirth as well.
Your actions in this life govern your level of rebirth. Some Buddhists believe the cycle is divided into six levels (from lowest to highest)

1) Hell: for those who commit the sins of hurting others
2) The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: for the sins of covetousness
3) The Animal Realm: for living your life simply in pursuit of pleasure

4) The Blessed Human Realm
5) The Realm of the Demi-Gods (Powerful Spirits)
6) The Realm of the Gods.

The top three levels are a little more complicated. Many people think Buddhism is a tolerant religion, but mainstream Buddhists believe that only by following the Way of the Buddha can one attain Nirvana, and this can only be attained by human beings (which is why this realm is Blessed, even though it involves much more suffering and pain than the Realms of the Demi-Gods or Gods.)

People who are good or noble in the political/social sphere but who are not Buddhists reincarnate as Demi-Gods; those who live good lives and try to achieve spiritual ends but without followng the Eight-fold Path are re-born as Gods.

These are very pleasant levels of existence, but are actually in some measure a booby-prize; you're still attached to the Wheel.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Any others? What about the Wiccans on the board? (I would go search on google, but I'm afraid I wouldn't have the patience to wade through the fluffbunnies ) Pagans? ccman, the little-bit-of-everything?

Also, a question for ye Pagans:

While browsing on beliefnet, I came upon this post:

"I am not pagan but I think I would like to be. I have christian beliefs but do not attend a church. I can read cards( playing deck) not very good at Tarot but I have been so confused with the CHristo-pagan thing. I was raised and do believe like a christian but my family has always told me my grandma was a witch and so was several of my ancestors. As far as I know my grandma wasn't Pagan or wiccan and she believed in only one God. She told me I had a gift when I was younger before she died and every since then I have been able to read cards and see and feel things that are unexplainable. Plz Help me understand or point me in the right direction."

Now, to me, this doesn't sound very much like Paganism...it just seems to me like she does some forms of magic(k), which is of course not exclusively Pagan. So, do the Pagans out there think it sounds like this girl is looking for Paganism, or is she just confused on terminology?

And also, I just was wondering, what percentage of Pagans would you say are involved in Pagan magic? Does Pagan magic tend to be more "high magic", or is mainly "low magic"?

In advance, I thank you for your response(s).

[HOBBIT]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
I read something that I found quite interesting the other day on Beliefnet:



From an interview with Leonard Nimoy.

I found this fascinating, and was wondering if any of our local Jewish folks could confirm or debunk this?

yes, that is true.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Cool. I like Vulcans even more now!

[Gwaimir Windgem]

I have a few questions regarding the Catholic faith.

What is the prodecure for canonization of a Saint? What requirements must be met before a Saint can be canonized?

Also, at Confirmation, one choses a patron Saint: Can one change their patron Saint at a later time in life?

[Earniel]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
What is the prodecure for canonization of a Saint? What requirements must be met before a Saint can be canonized?

I seem to remember there should have been at least one miracle preformed. Either in life or afterwards and the person in question should be dead for a quite while. I Could be wrong though.

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Gwaimir Windgem
I have a few questions regarding the Catholic faith.

What is the prodecure for canonization of a Saint? What requirements must be met before a Saint can be canonized?

Also, at Confirmation, one choses a patron Saint: Can one change their patron Saint at a later time in life?

ok, if I can remember correctly, to become a Saint there must have been at least 3 miracles happened to the person....it usually takes a number of years before the Vatican will canonize a person, because in doing so, they are saying that this person is in heaven without a doubt, not in Purgatory.

and no, once a person has chosen his or her Saint at Confirmation, they cannot change their Saint later in life. Usually the confirmed choses a saint to model his/her life after. Mine is St. Rosalia.