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4.4 Western Eurasian ReligionsVersion 1.2 June 2017Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Previous Version)
This Chapter covers the major religions arising in the western parts of Eurasia. These are theistic religions, believing in one or more gods, usually with some other supernatural beings as well. All were founded by one or a few key prophets, presented as uniquely good, inspiring individuals.  In Ancient Egypt, more than 1300 BCE, Pharaoh Akhenaten briefly promoted the Sun god as unique among supernatural entities, in an early form of monotheism. In Ancient Greece, hundreds of years BCE, opinions regarding the Gods ranged from disbelief, to scepticism to uncritical acceptance. Judaism began as a tribal religion in which one god became the Most High god, and later other gods were rejected. Jesus, the founder of Christianity, believed in one god, but his disciples called him the Son of God, and later Christians invented the Holy Trinity in which God had 3 aspects: Father Son and Holy Ghost.  Mohammed rejected the Trinity as a form of polytheism, declared the idea that God could have a son was blasphemous, and recorded his revelations in Arabic, in the Qur’an, which says some parts of the Qur’an are allegories. Bahá'u'lláh later tried to merge all these religions into one. Many religious adherents say their sacred texts are revelations directly from God or written by holy people inspired by God. As discussed in Part 1 (Philosophy, Section 1.1.5) we can’t use what is in the revelation to justify choosing it, because that would be circular. it's not reasonable to choose between the different revelations, unless the choice is based on some “objective” reason, which would make the revelation itself subsidiary. Any other choice, without justification, is arbitrary.
We propose to look at the great west Eurasian religions under the following headings:
As stated in the chapter overview, this is the current summary of our conclusions in this area: In the great Western religions we can see the notions of universal rights and social justice, social service and aiding the needy, and some inspiring stories; and we can put aside the bad science, horrific stories, evil rules, supernatural god(s), heaven and hell, original sin, the baseness of the flesh and the need for redemption.  more                                                             Statement 24
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