Seeking core beliefs for religion and "structured guide"

Hello,I've previously been a member of this forum however I have forgotten my password. Anyways I am and have alway been interested in Religion, creation etc.. However I can never seem to begin to study; well from the beginning. I cannot find the core direction that will lead me into a series of questions which I can then again try to answer which undoubtly leads to a series of questions creating a web like pattern thats constantly growing. What is the core? I need help finding it...I believe I should state my interests first so you can "guide" me. I am an Athiest, however, I am extremely interested in religion (more specifically symbology and the basic layout of the religions).What I enjoy reading - Well, hypothetically lets say I read an article denoucning certain passages in the Bible. I like the articles to explain briefly what the passages are about (im talking very briefly ) and then go into how it "proposes" to denounce the articles. I also enjoy when it explains the opposite side as well. I am a firm believer that to disagree you must first understand.So I ask you, can you lead my to find web pages, books (not the bible), articles etc... which will help me out. Do not dwell on this "core" idea that I seem to have fallen victim too, simply what I mean is I like order. I like when I read something and it leads to the next, I do not want to read about ancient scrolls that are found that say some religious figure actually lived somewhere he wasn't believed to. Which inturn will lead me to a dead end. I want to read structure, order and something that will constantly make me continue my persuit. Think of it like levels, you finish one and you go to the next.Thank you,- Admins I am not sure where this topic goes so I wrote that in the title.*edited - title change.This message has been edited by Pradu, 02-20-2005 19:24 AMThis message has been edited by Pradu, 02-20-2005 19:27 AM

Would a title such as "Where can core beliefs for religion" be better? If so the you can edit the title and we could put this in Faith & Belief.

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I note that you have registered twice today (2/20/05), first as "prague" and second as "Pradu". You indicate you have also previously (to today) registered under an ID that I am unable to determine.It is much preferred that you are registered under only one ID. There is a system in place to recover lost/forgotten passwords, but perhaps it is not easy enough to find and use. The various administrators of this forum can also intercede to find your lost password.If you would supply the "forgotten password" ID, I could get you a new password for that ID. That new password would be sent to the e-mail address of record of that earlier ID.Or, contacting admin@eveforum.net would be a useful thing to do.Adminnemooseus

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Thanks for the title, I believe that forum is a good spot. So I guess I should narrow my question to a few sentences instead of three paragraphs.- If one were to seek out "general" knowledge of religion in a structured matter where one topic leads another in a sensible manner...1. What is a good topic to start from?
2. What are good sources?I am looking for information in regards to both sides as well as the neutral position. Preferably all three or atleast two out of three displayed in a source.Thank you, hope this conveys my questions better.- Regards to registration.Yes, I am sorry for registering twice today. I put the wrong email address (put username of my @mac.com e-mail with my school e-mail ending). So I wasn't sure how to fix that. As for the previous name, it was about a year ago, however the forgotten password didn't recognize my e-mail address.This message has been edited by Pradu, 02-20-2005 19:47 AM

Thread moved here from the Proposed New Topics forum.

Well I've been stumbling about this topic for about 20 years so let me offer what I have learned.IMO, if you are starting from an atheists position, you probably need to start from the assumption that religion is a social structure, a device, which carries out some useful function. Investigation of a religions moral tenets or "essence" is not usually productive IMO.As a result I consider it all sociaology and economics - the latter because it determines in large part that actual human landscape we encounter. But you can still get many interpretations depending on which function you think the religion has.IMO its best explored as social dominance, resource acquisition etc. (I consider preachers to be people who sell preaching for sustanance). Accordingly I am partial to Karl Marx' analysis of religion as a legitimator of class rule, and see this as the primary function of religion historically.The other angle would be Strutural and Funtional sociological approaches, which also investigate a "why" that is not what the people claim. Emile Durkheim leaps to mind.

Thank you for that reply, I will look into both.I suppose now I would like to again narrow my topic further.If one were to seek the spawning point of religion itself (not any specific religion) where would one look?Websites/books/sources would be appreciated, thanks.

Here is one place you can start. It approaches religion from several perspectives, by content and by regional demographics.Start with the navigation summary as it will give you an overview of how things are organized and how to discover relationships that exist between religions and religions with geography.Be sure to also read the introduction as it contains some important conceptual suggestions.

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Aslan is not a Tame Lion

thanks for the website it looks like its going to help alot.