Tradition

[crisis]

I read recently where Jewish people cant eat pork (which I knew) or shellfish. Apart from being pleased Im not Jewish, it made me think about traditions and customs. While Im not aiming this soley at religion, it pertains to it as well as other customs. A custom or tradition must start somewhere. Some person or group have at some time, in most cases hundreds if not thousands of years ago, decided for whatevert their reasons, that an act is either desirable, undesirable, taboo or compulsory. What I cant reconcile is why people today would persist in living their lives according to some ancient , and in many cases unreasonable, set of rules. What they are saying effectively, is that whoever made these rules up, and I dont know who they were, is more qualified to run my life than I am. I am not capable of making rational decisions so I will rely on a person/s from history to do it for me. In the case of religion this becomes deadly of course and as we all know is responsible for much of the atrocities that have been pertpetrated throughout all of history.

[DiabloGTR]

People are not open-minded enough to think on their own. Some people will just accept what they are told, this is true especially in the case of religion. People wont accept the scienctific evidence, but they would rather let religion explain it, with 0% proof.
People are just to stupid and blind to think on their own. They don't want to be open-minded, try new things and question what they have been told.
I'm not governed by any religion made up by some con artist thousands of years ago. I'm free and live by own principles and some traditions of my culture, but I don't take it to the extreme.
Culture and traditions are great, but it should be kept to a minimum and not taken to the extreme like most people take it throughout the world.

[Falcon500]

Well i persoanlly belive religion is a wonderful thing if you can believe in somthing so much you sure have some strenghts of your own. I persoanllybelive there is a god and all that sort of stuff but i dont let it controll my life although i view most of their teachings are a good way to live by (if someine threatens me i will not turn the other cheek for example)
And tradition is good too not all traditions are 1000s of years old either like take australia day and all that they might be annaul things but have they not been around that long youcouldcall them tradition? our country has been around for 203 odd years now and we have been celebrating it for a damn long time.
Thats just the way i see it.

[crisis]

take australia day and all that they might be annaul things but have they not been around that long youcouldcall them tradition? our country has been around for 203 odd years now and we have been celebrating it for a damn long time.
Thats just the way i see it.

That tradition does not require anyone to sacrifice anything, give up anything or to perform any particular act other than not go to work. Is this the characteristic of modern traditions, that we dont feel the need to deprive ourselfs to appease some greater power?

[Pliz]

this is what i know:

1. Hindus dont eat beef
2. Hinduism is the oldest surviving religion
3. Sanskrit (Hindu language) Is the oldest surviving language.
4. When the whole world was joined it was called "Gondwanaland" and "Gondwana" is the name of a small village in India (the country where hinduism started)
5. A group of people called "Aryan's" came from somewhere in Europe millions of years ago and took over North India, when they did the Indians fled to south India.

From what I know I'd says Indians were the first people on earth.

[DiabloGTR]

this is what i know:

1. Hindus dont eat beef
2. Hinduism is the oldest surviving religion
3. Sanskrit (Hindu language) Is the oldest surviving language.
4. When the whole world was joined it was called "Gondwanaland" and "Gondwana" is the name of a small village in India (the country where hinduism started)
5. A group of people called "Aryan's" came from somewhere in Europe millions of years ago and took over North India, when they did the Indians fled to south India.

From what I know I'd says Indians were the first people on earth.

Umm, no. The Aryan invasion took place about 2000 years ago. The Aryans fused their religion with the religion in India, and that became Hinduism. Sanskrit is the language that the Aryans spoke, but when they arrived in India they made a alphabet for Sanskrit. Many different languages grew out of Sanskrit, like Bengali, Hindi and Urdu.
The swastika is the Aryan sign for the circle of life, Hitler made a mistake when he got caught up in the whole Aryan thing.
Aryans came from somewhere in Europe, they were nomadic but they ended up settling in India and mixing with the people that were already in India. Thats why you see some people from the Indian sub-continent with lite skin, they aren't white folk, but they do have some lite colored skin with dark bown hair.
Sorry for the history lesson.
Falcon500, Muslims use a special mat that they pray on. They touch their heads on it after some prayers and get up and start praying again.
I wouldn't know that much, I'm an Atheist.

[Batmobile_Turbo]

this is what i know:

1. Hindus dont eat beef
2. Hinduism is the oldest surviving religion
3. Sanskrit (Hindu language) Is the oldest surviving language.
4. When the whole world was joined it was called "Gondwanaland" and "Gondwana" is the name of a small village in India (the country where hinduism started)
5. A group of people called "Aryan's" came from somewhere in Europe millions of years ago and took over North India, when they did the Indians fled to south India.

From what I know I'd says Indians were the first people on earth.

actually Hinds eat beef, and any other meat as long as it wasn't slaughtered, it must die of natural purposes.

[Falcon500]

That tradition does not require anyone to sacrifice anything, give up anything or to perform any particular act other than not go to work. Is this the characteristic of modern traditions, that we dont feel the need to deprive ourselfs to appease some greater power?

Well you i guess i slightly misentrapreted what you said a little...
You mean things like that day you cant eat meat other then fish or chicken. Well as i said there i view that as human beings a good a majority need somthing to cling onto or to believe in to make their dayly lives more bearable and to give them a feeling there is somthing more out there.While i would nto go out of my way to deprive myself of somthing i enjoy for the sake of a so called omni present being some people do...and it makes them happy...complete knowing that they are doing their belif good can you really complain about another person simple satisfaction if it doesnt confront you?

[crisis]

can you really complain about another person simple satisfaction if it doesnt confront you?

No. If it has no negative effect on anyone else. My proposition was put up, in this case mearly to stimulate discussion.