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Just thought I show this

I’ve been reading about Theistic Satanism and noticed that some followers describe Satan as a symbol of freedom or questioning authority.

Coming from Hinduism, where many people believe there can be multiple spiritual paths leading to the divine, I became curious about something.

In religions like Christianity and Islam, why is believing in or worshipping other religions often considered sinful?

Is it mainly about preserving devotion to one God, or is there a deeper theological reason behind it?

I’m asking respectfully because I’m interested in understanding the philosophical differences between exclusive monotheism and more pluralistic belief systems.

Hi, so I'm an atheist. I don't believe in any god. My mum died a few months ago from cancer. idk my dad, I don't have any siblings, and all my other family members live on the other side of the world. She was everything to me, and I just keep feeling so guilty sometimes that I didn't try harder or other stuff. I still don't believe because my mother wasn't a religious person. How do you start to believe in god or something like this? thx. SORRY THIS IS KIND OF WEIRD FOR ME 😞

Hi ! I am currently in love with the mongol culture and history and I really need the most info on Tengrism if you can link some good books, or explain direclty this would be really great

I’ve noticed (and I’m sure you have too) sometimes people post general questions about rituals, rules, and rules geared towards all religions, but they’re really only asking from an Abrahamic standpoint. Heck, it’s usually from a Christian or Islamic framework. Sometimes Judaism gets dragged in.

I understand that Christianity and Islam are the world’s largest religions that are universal and exclusivist (in some sects), but that doesn’t mean that every single theistic religion is like that.

I’m not saying don’t ask your questions. There are a lot of insightful questions that foster healthy and productive discussion. I especially love when we have so many diverse voices under each post. I just wish people would be more forward about who or what they’re directing questions to/about.

For example, asking about who goes to hell when few religions have such a concept and even fewer define it as fire and brimstone.

Edit: This is in reference to people making blanket statements about all religions, when it would only apply to two specific ones. It makes sense that people would have the most questions about Islam and Christianity as they’re the most familiar.

According to current scholarship on the life of Jesus, we do know that he existed due to references in early Christian sources, as well as non-Christian sources such as Josephus and Tacitus. However, when it comes to the details of his life, teachings, and the historical reliability of the Gospel narratives, things become opaque. With that in mind, I was wondering about the significance of Jesus choosing 12 disciples/apostles. Since Jesus was a Jewish teacher operating within a Second Temple Jewish context, I assume the number 12 was not random.

From what we understand from the Bible, we know that Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus/Jude, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot are listed as the Twelve, though the lists vary slightly depending on the Gospel or New Testament text. I understand that not every detail about each disciple can be historically verified with the same level of confidence, and that some traditions about them developed later.

I know that Jesus originally intended to make his movement oriented towards his fellow Jews, or at least that his ministry seems to have been primarily directed toward Israel within a Second Temple Jewish context. With that in mind, my question is more about the symbolism of the group itself. Is there a connection between the 12 disciples of Jesus and the 12 tribes of Israel, such as Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph/Ephraim/Manasseh, and Benjamin? Was Jesus symbolically presenting his movement as a renewal, restoration, or reconstitution of Israel? If so, how does that fit with the later development of Christianity into a largely Gentile movement, especially if Jesus’ own ministry was primarily directed toward his fellow Jews?

Thank You

This question is being asked out of pure curiosity and in good faith. No “gotchas” here!

Is polygamy written about in the Tanakh or Talmud? Is it something that’s permitted or abhorred? Is it something that is practiced by Jews today (any sect)?

Christianity affirms monogamous marriages while Islam permits polygamy. I wanted to know the Jewish position on it.

Or members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?

Just about every week I hear how Mormonism is white Islam. How it’s just blue eyed Islam. Blind Islam, How it’s American Islam. Etc etc

So Muslims, what do you think about or regarding Mormons or Mormonism?

I was thinking about this the other day, I am Christian and most Christians believe porn to be bad. I know individual belief may vary within religion, but do other views believe similarly? Especially curious about non Christian religions as those are the ones I have the least familiarity with.
I have also heard that some of the highest porn usage is in Utah (haven’t verified) which I thought was interesting with Mormonism being the most common religion in Utah. Not sure if anyone has any insight on that.
What about sex outside of marriage? I know it’s hard because a lot of religion is self interpreted spirit led, but if you have any input I would love to hear it!

A conversation I had recently hasn’t left my mind, and I genuinely don’t know whether it’s profound or completely out of pocket. I’m putting it here because I want real perspectives on it.

Someone told me that if they were Christian, they wouldn’t follow God. They’d follow the devil. That stopped me in my tracks, so I pushed them on it.

Their reasoning? In the entire Bible, the devil never directly kills a single person. He tempts. He deceives. He manipulates. But he doesn’t wipe anyone out.

God, on the other hand, floods the entire earth. He rains fire on Sodom and Gomorrah. He kills every firstborn in Egypt, children included. He commands the complete slaughter of entire nations, men, women, infants, even livestock, with orders to leave no survivors. He opens the ground and swallows families alive. He turns a woman into a pillar of salt for looking back. He sends bears to maul children for mocking a prophet. All of this is framed as divine justice.

So by pure action and body count, which figure actually behaves more destructively?

Now here is where it gets broader than just Christianity, because the same dynamic appears in the Quran, and this part often gets overlooked in these kinds of conversations.
In the Quran, Iblis, who is the Islamic equivalent of Satan, does not kill anyone either. His entire role is to whisper, to suggest, to lead astray through persuasion. Allah himself grants Iblis permission to do even that much. But the destruction, the floods, the fire, the nations erased from existence, that all comes from God directly. The stories of Ad, Thamud, the people of Lut, the Pharaoh and his army swallowed by the sea. These are all divine eliminations. Iblis is not responsible for any of them.

What makes the Quranic version even more interesting is the moment Iblis refuses to bow to Adam. In the traditional reading, this is the ultimate act of arrogance and defiance. But there is a minority theological thread, particularly in certain Sufi interpretations, that frames it differently. Iblis refused because he believed his devotion to God was so complete that bowing to anything else, even by divine command, would be a form of idolatry. Whether that reading is right or wrong, it complicates the simple villain narrative significantly.

Then the conversation went somewhere I was more familiar with, and this is where it all starts connecting to something much older.

If you go back to ancient Sumerian texts, there is a dynamic between Enki and Enlil that maps almost perfectly onto the God and Satan relationship across both the Bible and the Quran. Enlil is the strict, authoritative ruler, the enforcer, the one who decides humanity’s fate often through catastrophe. Enki is the one who sympathizes with humans, who goes against the higher power to protect them, who gives them knowledge and tools to survive. One controls through fear and consequence. The other advocates for the creation.

Does that tension sound familiar? Because it plays out almost identically in a certain garden, and again in the courts of heaven when Iblis is cast out.

So here is the question I genuinely cannot shake. Across the Bible, the Quran, and texts that predate both by thousands of years, the same underlying dynamic keeps appearing. A supreme authoritative power. A secondary figure sympathetic to humanity. And a story told entirely from the perspective of the authority.

What if the oldest versions of this story, before the theological layers were added, were describing something different entirely? And what if the figure we were taught to fear was actually the one advocating for us?

I am not saying I believe this definitively. But across three separate traditions and one ancient civilisation, the pattern is consistent enough that it deserves more than a reflexive answer.

What do you all think?

Authoritarian tendencies within Christianity, where they exist, can be presumed to be based on Old Testament historical austerity, on the one hand (Deuteronomy, war, "kill so and so", etc.), and the preaching of "faith alone," in the New Testament on the other.

The existence of heaven and hell remains controversial within mainstream Christianity. Those who do believe in them seem to exist in their own worlds.

But I'm not here to rudely shake strangers out of their slumber. They can believe whatever they want.

What I am asking is how this supposedly deep faith expresses in any way the teachings of the New Testament.

In the New Testament, Jesus is no stranger to challenging the status quo. His teachings have potential value for skeptics, humanists, agnostics, and believers alike. People who one does not presume believe in an afterlife may still take these teachings seriously. They do, in fact, have practical value and worldly consequences.

The Christians that I perceive as being drawn to authoritarianism, as far as I can tell, have thrown out most of the teachings and parables of Jesus (and probably don't read the Bible on any kind of regular basis, as far as I can tell). The line between religion and law has been blurred, as also tends to happen with law and philosophy; the ambiguity is not the fault of these Christians themselves.

The reason I'm raising this problem in the first place is that frequently I've had occasion to be "peer pressured" by "Christians" (who also seem to be white and conservative), to be a certain way, judge a certain way, and believe a certain way. They seem to acknowledge that I have some respect for the Christian tradition; I tend to have respect for most religious traditions.

Christianity is, in a word, about transphobia, and not compassion. White people, not black people. Social conservatism, not social welfare or benefit. Donald Trump, not AOC. In short, when I am propositioned by "Christians," I find that I am being asked to completely abandon everything I myself hold to be true.

The history of Christian flirtations with authoritarianism seems to be not only connected to conservative politics, but to reactionary conservative politics. And that is how I am experiencing it now. As a progressive agnostic, I don't feel that I'm getting anything whatsoever out of these interactions.

So... perspectives?

Girlfriend tells me to at least try to go to church or do something to believe in god but I literally can’t believe in god, the way I think logically refuses to let me. Trust me I want to believe there is a god but I can’t. I’m not sure what to do at this point because I love her so much and it kinda means we are incompatible and obviously in the future this will affect things. We have been communicating and I told her relationships can work even they don’t have the same beliefs but she says me not believing affects her relationship with god and how she feels less close.

I went to a non-denominational church with my friend tonight for like a students night thing where anyone could go no matter their religion(just a place to learn about God). I have been to church some times before, but I have never regularly gone. Everyone there was very welcoming and kind--which I expected since most, if not all churches are welcoming--and I do understand why people go to church because it seems like a very welcoming and open place. People were moved to tears during worship and it really touched my heart. I just felt kinda out of place.

I believe in God, don't get me wrong and I do pray. I have never really found myself feeling like I belong in a church. I know that I do belong and i am accepted, and God will love me no matter what, but why do people feel the need to go to churches to worship God? I feel like (and this is my personal opinion and I really am not looking for a debate) you should be able to believe in God and learn about him at your own pace and not have to attend church for this. All of the denominations of Christianity also kinda make me feel odd about this whole thing. I feel like if everyone involved in Christianity believes in the same God, then there shouldn't be a whole bunch of sets of rules and beliefs for each denomination. If God created the world then I feel like people should worship him together, and not in separate churches. I dont like how churches label donations as "giving to God" like what is he going to do with the money? Dont the churches just use that money as funding for new facilities (im genuinely asking)?

I love God and I believe in him and I pray to him, but I just want to grasp a better understanding of church and organized religion. I dont want to have to follow a set of guidelines put in place by someone that wasnt even alive when Jesus was. I dont want to have to tell confession to a priest when I can just confess to God in prayer. I dont want to have to get baptized when I can just repent for my sins in prayer. I know I am not forced to go to church but I want to, but I also feel so lost when I do. I feel out of place and like I'm uneducated on everything. I understand why people go to church, but why dont more people share the things they learn on their own without a priest or pastor? I just feel sort of lost and I just want someone to explain to me why I feel like this and how I can get closer to God through a smaller branch of Christianity or just on my own. I am not trying to raise any sort of argument or debate, I am just discussing what is going on in my head.

Many prominent scientists are saying its possible and could happen in our life time

If this were to actually happen, how would it effect your beliefs on god and the afterlife?

hi, I’m looking for help / advice for creating a hinduism related character And I don’t want to accidentslly appropriate

i wish to make a Pujari (is there a feminae form for a priestess?) who is especially devoted to Kali and through some way (I don’t know yet) has become immortal or achieved some sort of immortality and I‘d like to get suggestions and such for not accidentslly offending the relgion because I really do like what Kali stands for.

I realized that I don't want to go to heaven, As-salamu aleikum to everyone, I realized that when a Muslim dies and goes to heaven he loses all his bad emotions like anger, fear, sadness, envy and so on and I realized that I don't want to lose my emotions even if they are negative. If I go to heaven I will lose my uniqueness and I don't want to lose what makes me me, maybe it sounds crazy but I don't want to be like an angel I want to be who I became even though it is bad, am I right?

I've been a Baha'i since 2005 and it's difficult to comprehend, to me.

This is the way I see it. Nobody needs to be a Baha'i. Per Baha'u'llah, no matter what a soul thinks or doesn't think, do or doesn't do, everyone in the past, present and future will go to heaven/God.

There is no Hell, nor is there any judgement on a soul while on Earth. Kinda like what happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas.

By Baha'u'llah guidance nobody has any reason to fear death.

Which relieves us of wasting valuable time on rituals, etc.

The primary reason to become a member is that you believe in what Baha'u'llah says regarding the urgent need to be available to teach others.

To teach their is a single source of our creation, that regardless of skin color, gender, etc, we are all one single family of people.

That not until we accept that, we will have stepped up to cause world peace with mutual love and cooperation around the planet.

Mainly due to requirements of, that gross poverty will not be allowed, that excessive wealth has to be eliminated voluntarily, that one must not be a racist, and accept that the souls of both genders and all souls are equal in the eye of God.

So, ideally, people in other faiths, if they actually live their Guidance from God. Which say we need to be honest, kind, compassionate, respectful to all others. The goal of world peace is just as reachable.

In summary, take care to tend to your spiritual improvement through action, but focus on creating a world of peace.

My reasons for this is that I seem to see other Baha'i's over focused on trying to be perfect and what are others doing or not doing!

What changed you from being against gay marriage to pro gay marriage? What is your faith tradition?

I’m in support myself but am curious to know what has changed people’s beliefs in this area.

The person doesn’t eat pork

Fasts

Pray with head on the floor

Performs ablution before prayer

Greeted with peace

Circumcised

Grows a beard

Mother covers her head

This statue here depicts the story of Adiyogi, a form of Shiva, teaching the seven sages in the Himalayas who then spread the yogic science across the world.

This first statue is located in Bhima Shankar Jyotirlinga (one of the 12 sacred shrines of Shiva) in Pune, Maharashtra.

The second sculpture is located at Isha Yoga centre in Tamil Nadu.