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ORIGINAL: subtlebutterfly

per your quoting: a set of beliefs [...] "especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies"[...]

Main Entry: re·li·gionPronunciation: \ri-ˈli-jən\Function: noun Etymology: Middle English religioun, from Anglo-French religiun, Latin religion-, religio supernatural constraint, sanction, religious practice, perhaps from religare to restrain, tie back — more at relyDate: 13th century 1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith— re·li·gion·less adjective
(merriam webster)

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ORIGINAL: OrionTheWolf

Seems like just another "religion is a fraud" set up to me. Why people are so concerned about what others do, is beyond my understanding.

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ORIGINAL: housesub4you

So fact has nothing to do with this discussion?  

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife

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ORIGINAL: OrionTheWolf

Seems like just another "religion is a fraud" set up to me. Why people are so concerned about what others do, is beyond my understanding.

Because what others do in in their religious beliefs has historically intruded on and disrupted the lives of those who don't share the same beliefs.

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

Isn't that what  John Norman did, when he created Gor ?

To some, perhaps Gor is a religion, but if it is, then it holds on a par with Scientology, a twentieth century fictional writing that has expanded beyond fiction.

But then the world that we live in what with its daily media reported news of woe, is it surprising people latch onto something that  can exist within the mind, a place to escape to, when the world we are told  is so bleak.

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ORIGINAL: wendyrosa

It's a shell game. It's a con game for very stupid people. It's badly written science fiction. It's a very annoying sect invented by a loud-mouthed schnook. It's your brain on drugs. It's all of the above. Any questions?

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ORIGINAL: SpinnerofTales

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

Isn't that what  John Norman did, when he created Gor ?

To some, perhaps Gor is a religion, but if it is, then it holds on a par with Scientology, a twentieth century fictional writing that has expanded beyond fiction.

But then the world that we live in what with its daily media reported news of woe, is it surprising people latch onto something that  can exist within the mind, a place to escape to, when the world we are told  is so bleak.

I don't think you can call Gor a religion. First of all, Norman isn't making any money on it (unless he's getting some kind of payment for the book sales). I would say that Goreans (and I do not mean to give offense to Goreans) are more akin to hard core Star Trek fans who view the federation as a model for living or SCA members who more people know by their mideval name than their real one. The big difference is that Gor was never presented as a guide for living or a path to spiritual enlightenment. Some people choose to view it as such, but that was never it's overt or hidden purpose. In fact, having read all the series (don't ask), I tend to think most of his philosophy passages were written because he was getting paid by the word.

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ORIGINAL: housesub4you

Ahhh....nothing but BS provided by the church of your choice


How come the church or our last President can't explain anything older than 6K years old????  So science is all BS and the rock in the Grand Canyon are not real?  Or Utah, or Africa or China, or anywhere

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ORIGINAL: popeye1250

If there's no "diety" how can it be a religion?

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ORIGINAL: HatesParisHilton

what about that alien overlord thingee from the Dianetic Beliefs??

surely he qualifies as a "darksome deity" when we look at what qualifies as a darksom deity?

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ORIGINAL: Moonhead

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ORIGINAL: SpinnerofTales

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ORIGINAL: Aneirin

Isn't that what  John Norman did, when he created Gor ?

To some, perhaps Gor is a religion, but if it is, then it holds on a par with Scientology, a twentieth century fictional writing that has expanded beyond fiction.

But then the world that we live in what with its daily media reported news of woe, is it surprising people latch onto something that  can exist within the mind, a place to escape to, when the world we are told  is so bleak.

I don't think you can call Gor a religion. First of all, Norman isn't making any money on it (unless he's getting some kind of payment for the book sales). I would say that Goreans (and I do not mean to give offense to Goreans) are more akin to hard core Star Trek fans who view the federation as a model for living or SCA members who more people know by their mideval name than their real one. The big difference is that Gor was never presented as a guide for living or a path to spiritual enlightenment. Some people choose to view it as such, but that was never it's overt or hidden purpose. In fact, having read all the series (don't ask), I tend to think most of his philosophy passages were written because he was getting paid by the word.

That said, didn't he publish a book of Gorean sex games adults could experiment with around the turn of the '80s?

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ORIGINAL: rulemylife

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ORIGINAL: popeye1250

If there's no "diety" how can it be a religion?

Wicca?