Hieronymus Bosch, late 15th century, “Garden of Earthly Delights” detail
Anyone studying the religions of the world will encounter from time to time the notion that all religion is somehow fundamentally anti-human; all religion seems to denounce and find fault with life-on-planet-Earth.
Are there any religions that do not reject our earthly existence?
The translation of the title (above) is: “The World, the Flesh and the Devil”
Filed under Origins, Religious Literacy, Revelation
During my years of teaching, the thoughtful student often asked whether Buddhism could be excluded from the category of religion altogether as there are often no gods or concept of divinity to be found in many expressions of this rather elastic religion. 
In many books on religion the authors feel compelled to qualify Buddhism as more of a philosophy than a religion, or to single out Zen Buddhism and similar sects as expressions of Buddhism that are somehow separate from Buddhist religious practice. Continue reading
Filed under Origins, Revelation
Religion and the Honest Student 