RE: religion/spirituality

From: Gatherer, D. (Derek) (D.Gatherer@organon.nhe.akzonobel.nl)
Date: Fri Nov 17 2000 - 07:39:40 GMT

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From: "Gatherer, D. (Derek)" <D.Gatherer@organon.nhe.akzonobel.nl>
To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
Subject: RE: religion/spirituality
Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2000 08:39:40 +0100
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Lloyd:
Monotheism represented a great step forward in terms of replicating power.
Once one god was given the title "God" that god gained a tremendous
advantage over all others. Hence the Greek, Roman, Norse and Salishan gods
are now considered myths while Jehovah, nee Yaweh is now just "God".

Derek:
So why then did the polytheistic Christianity (Trinity and communion of
saints) do so much better than its strictly monotheistic root (Judaism)?
Why is Tibetan Buddhism now more prevalent than Zen or Theravada in the
West, despite being a relatively recent import compared to the other two?
Why did Victorian Protestantism (more monotheistic than most Christianity)
fail to make any headway against Hinduism in India despite the vigorous
backing of the British Raj for the best part of 200 years. On the contrary,
history suggests that polytheistic religions replicate best (I don't know
exactly why, but my guess is that they provide a greater range of options
and are thus more adaptable).

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Next message: Vincent Campbell: "RE: FW: NOTICE OF REVOCATION OF INDEPENDENCE"
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