Explore and Understand on Other Religions
Upvote:1
The study of Christianity includes the study of Judaism to some extent, which in itself de facto is another religion, so I think that answers your first question.
As for Buddhism, gods are considered irrelevant in the practice of meditation to attain Nirvana (lit. "blowing out", that is, to perceive the world without preconceptions). It is considered a method, a tool to reach this goal. Buddhism invites inquiry & study on basic principles that are to some extent compatible with the scientific method. The Kalama Sutra for example states:
- Do not believe anything on mere hearsay.
- Do not believe in traditions merely because they are old and have been handed down for many generations and in many places.
- Do not believe anything on account of rumors or because people talk a a great deal about it.
- Do not believe anything because you are shown the written testimony of some ancient sage.
- Do not believe in what you have fancied, thinking that, because it is extraordinary, it must have been inspired by a god or other wonderful being.
- Do not believe anything merely because presumption is in its favor, or because the custom of many years inclines you to take it as true.
- Do not believe anything merely on the authority of your teachers and priests.
- But, whatever, after thorough investigation and reflection, you find to agree with reason and experience, as conducive to the good and benefit of one and all and of the world at large, accept only that as true, and shape your life in accordance with it.
Those tenets are similar to those of scientific inquiry. Prominent Buddhist figures, like the Dalai Lama, have stated repeatedly in the last half century that "if there is conflict between Buddhist doctrine and science, science wins".
If you want to do this kind of study, I have some recommendations from my comparative philology studies I hope you will consider:
- be careful with translations, especially those written during the colonial era. They tend to use Judeo-Christian words to translate completely different concepts, making you miss the actual way a practitioner would perceive this concept
- if possible, learn some of the basics of the language, it clears up so many things "lost in translation"
- make sure you also study the origins and history of the religion. For example, in Buddhism, the concepts of "god realms" and "hell realms" actually comes from the Hindu cosmology, which was the prevalent world-view in the Buddha's time and geography
Upvote:2
God told Adam that to 'eat' of the tree of knowledge of good and evil was wrong and was deadly :
...of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou dost not eat of it, for in the day of thine eating of it -- dying thou dost die. [Young's Literal Translation of Genesis 2:17]
The serpentine spirit later misrepresented those words :
... of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden God hath said, Ye do not eat of it, nor touch it, lest ye die. [Young's Literal Translation of Genesis 3:3]
It is neither forbidden nor fatal to 'touch' the knowledge of good and evil, that is to say to reach out and handle the knowledge of what is good and what is evil.
But it is catastrophically fatal to partake of such things - as a means of sustaining life, as a means of imbibing into oneself something in order to maintain life.
Great care must be taken in handling such things. One must realise that to 'eat' of them is absolutely dangerous and deadly.
But yes, they can be 'touched'.
Personally, I prefer not to, unless it is very necessary.
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