NationStates Jolt Archive

On one of my trip to California (made 7 total, 6 for surgical reasons) my dad and I went to a museum about acient egypt in the San Fran. area. This museum also had a temple, now at first we thought it was a room showing what an egyptian temple to the Gods would look like. However, we soon found out that this was an actual temple, and that you had to be a member of the egyptian religion and a member of that temple to go inside. Which I just found amazing. Are other acient religion still alive? How about the Norse religion, or Greeks/Rome religion?

I once got fondled by a Druid.

I once got fondled by a Druid.

Yea, there are the druids.

Those Druids are just wild in bed! :D

Yes, people still follow ancient religion. I have met one who still follows the egyptian gods.

Well, yes and no. People do still believe in the old gods (Asatru would be the Norse gods, and Hellenic Paganism for the Greeks; the group you saw was probably Kemetic), but the religions aren't quite practiced the same way they were originally; they're generally attempts at reconstructing the original religion.

Then again, just about all religions have changed over the years, so I suppose it doesn't make much difference.

Well, yes and no. People do still believe in the old gods (Asatru would be the Norse gods, and Hellenic Paganism for the Greeks; the group you saw was probably Kemetic), but the religions aren't quite practiced the same way they were originally; they're generally attempts at reconstructing the original religion.

Then again, just about all religions have changed over the years, so I suppose it doesn't make much difference.

Cool, I like the Norse god's myself lol.

On one of my trip to California (made 7 total, 6 for surgical reasons) my dad and I went to a museum about acient egypt in the San Fran. area. This museum also had a temple, now at first we thought it was a room showing what an egyptian temple to the Gods would look like. However, we soon found out that this was an actual temple, and that you had to be a member of the egyptian religion and a member of that temple to go inside. Which I just found amazing. Are other acient religion still alive? How about the Norse religion, or Greeks/Rome religion?


Man, if I found a temple like that... It'd be hard to resist the urge to do something like, "Let my people go!" :p



But on a serious note, yeah, I think the religions you mentioned are still practiced by a small minority of people. A very small minority... But still there.

Of course. I serve Unicron himself, who is several million years old.

Man, if I found a temple like that... It'd be hard to resist the urge to do something like, "Let my people go!" :p

I would've wanted to play Indiana Jones! lol.

Of course. I serve Unicron himself, who is several million years old.

So you're part of the Transformer religion?

For the most part, no. Most animist/Druidic/Wiccans are of the "Barnes & Noble" variety and can't certify any continuous chain of observance. Just like Kwanza practitioners. The trouble is that as one gets smaller, they brand tends to die out/be assimilated.

However some can, such as the Zoroastrianism, which have been around since at least the 6th century BC.

Otherwise, you've got the "big 10":
# Name of Religion Number of Adherents
1 Christianity 2.1 billion 27 AD
2 Islam 1.3 billion 622 AD
3 Hinduism 900 million 1500 BC
4 Buddhism 376 million 6th century BC
5 Sikhism 23 million 1469-1708 AD
6 Judaism 15 million 13th century BC
7 Bahá'í Faith 7 million 19th century AD
8 Confucianism ? (many millions) 6th century BC
9 Jainism 4.2 million 6th century BC
10 Shintoism 4 million 300 BC

For the most part, no. Most animist/Druidic/Wiccans are of the "Barnes & Noble" variety and can't certify any continuous chain of observance. Just like Kwanza practitioners. The trouble is that as one gets smaller, they brand tends to die out/be assimilated.

However some can, such as the Zoroastrianism, which have been around since at least the 6th century BC.

Otherwise, you've got the "big 10":
# Name of Religion Number of Adherents
1 Christianity 2.1 billion 27 AD
2 Islam 1.3 billion 622 AD
3 Hinduism 900 million 1500 BC
4 Buddhism 376 million 6th century BC
5 Sikhism 23 million 1469-1708 AD
6 Judaism 15 million 13th century BC
7 Bahá'í Faith 7 million 19th century AD
8 Confucianism ? (many millions) 6th century BC
9 Jainism 4.2 million 6th century BC
10 Shintoism 4 million 300 BC

So, if I wanted to follow the Norse religion, it would be hard to do?

So, if I wanted to follow the Norse religion, it would be hard to do?

But worth it.

Depends. Can you find some sort of community that has worshiped the Norse Gods for the past millenium?

(Probably not).

The point I'm making here is that while one can do/believe whatever one wishes, it doesn't automatically give one any insights. I can go to a B&N and buy some books and teach myself Manx, but at the end of the day (decade?) I am still not a native Manx speaker (nor is anyone else) since the last native died in the 70s. Rekindling is all well and fine, but it's not the same.

So if you want to start worshiping Odin or Thor or the whole Nordic pantheon that's all well and fine... but how can you go about it and even be somewhat sure it's the way it's supposed to be and that you're not just making stuff up? :)

So if you want to start worshiping Odin or Thor or the whole Nordic pantheon that's all well and fine... but how can you go about it and even be somewhat sure it's the way it's supposed to be and that you're not just making stuff up? :)

That's the $1 million question there. I don't think the original Nordic whorshippers left behind any written texts.

So you're part of the Transformer religion?

It makes about as much sense as any other one, and it's a lot more fun to boot. All the big religions missed the boat and skipped over giant robots.

It makes about as much sense as any other one, and it's a lot more fun to boot. All the big religions missed the boat and skipped over giant robots.

lol, hey at least you got video tapes and texts!

That's the $1 million question there. I don't think the original Nordic whorshippers left behind any written texts.

Actually, there are some here and there such as the texts carved into stone in Iceland, etc. But all in all, I'd say it's a dead faith, yeah.

It makes about as much sense as any other one, and it's a lot more fun to boot. All the big religions missed the boat and skipped over giant robots.

That's not true...

Judaism ... Noah's Ark was a Transformer.

Actually, there are some here and there such as the texts carved into stone in Iceland, etc. But all in all, I'd say it's a dead faith, yeah.

Ahh, well that sucks. From what I read about it, it seemed pretty cool.

It makes about as much sense as any other one, and it's a lot more fun to boot. All the big religions missed the boat and skipped over giant robots.
You forget EVAism. We have giant robot-esque creatures, deep philosophical meanings, and AT-feilds.:p

You forget EVAism. We have giant robot-esque creatures, deep philosophical meanings, and AT-feilds.:p

Eh don't worry, in the mid 21th Century, we'll have the Star Trek religion!

Judaism is an ancient religion...and alot of people still practice it.

For the most part, no. Most animist/Druidic/Wiccans are of the "Barnes & Noble" variety and can't certify any continuous chain of observance. Just like Kwanza practitioners. The trouble is that as one gets smaller, they brand tends to die out/be assimilated.

However some can, such as the Zoroastrianism, which have been around since at least the 6th century BC.

Otherwise, you've got the "big 10":
# Name of Religion Number of Adherents
1 Christianity 2.1 billion 27 AD
2 Islam 1.3 billion 622 AD
3 Hinduism 900 million 1500 BC
4 Buddhism 376 million 6th century BC
5 Sikhism 23 million 1469-1708 AD
6 Judaism 15 million 13th century BC
7 Bahá'í Faith 7 million 19th century AD
8 Confucianism ? (many millions) 6th century BC
9 Jainism 4.2 million 6th century BC
10 Shintoism 4 million 300 BC
Shintoism is an animist religion. There are three kinds of Shinto: State Shinto, which deifies the emperor as a cultural/nationalist extension of ancestor worship (technically, manism, which may be a subset of animism); Shrine Shinto, which is the most visible form -- all those temples, etc -- and is animist; and Folk or Home Shinto, which is the most popular form, involves private worship at home, and is also animist.

BTW, for those who don't know, animism is not A religion. It is a type of religion. There are many animist religions today, some of which are new and some of which are old-- particularly in the Arctic, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and South America. Most are similar to the Folk/Home form of Shinto. You can tell it's an animist religion if it focuses more on spirits than gods, focuses more on this life than the next, is generally unorganized (Shinto is the most organized animist religion), and makes use of shamans of some type.

By a rough estimate using the numbers for various cultures at www.adherents.com, there may be as many as 350 - 400 million animists in the world today (including the 4 million Shintoists in Japan). (One has to do some research and math because adherents.com somehow decided that "animist" was too Victorian a term for them and so they don't have a separate category for it; they explain it on their site.) I assume this is where you got that top 10 list. [EDIT: Actually, I'm going to reduce that to 200 - 300 million because the way the data is split up, some of it may be redundant.]

Many historians, archeologists and anthropologists suggest that animism may be the first form of religion, dating from at least the last Ice Age. Obviously, if true, that would make it the oldest active religion in the world.

Judaism is an ancient religion...and alot of people still practice it.
True. And I wonder how old a religion has to be to qualify as ancient -- Christianity is about 2000 years old, and Buddhism is about 5000 years, I think. Old enough for me.

True. And I wonder how old a religion has to be to qualify as ancient -- Christianity is about 2000 years old, and Buddhism is about 5000 years, I think. Old enough for me.
If the person who started it is dead, I consider it ancient.

Judaism 15 million 13th century BC

Actually, the time you listed was the time of the fall of Jericho. Add in minumum time it would have taken to get to that position, forty years in the desert, 800 years of slavery, probably another hundred years in Egypt, and maybe two hundred years before then, you end up with 2,200 B.C.E. Judging by the current year on the lunar calandar (5766), I would guess that it (the lunar calandar) was created in 2,260 B.C.E, with Judaisim existing as a full religion probably just shortly before that.

Actually, the time you listed was the time of the fall of Jericho. Add in minumum time it would have taken to get to that position, forty years in the desert, 800 years of slavery, probably another hundred years in Egypt, and maybe two hundred years before then, you end up with 2,200 B.C.E. Judging by the current year on the lunar calandar (5766), I would guess that it (the lunar calandar) was created in 2,260 B.C.E, with Judaisim existing as a full religion probably just shortly before that.
5766 meant to be the day of the world creations, so your math showed he was 1500 years old when the judaism established.
btw, I think it quite complicated to discover birth day of religions from times with minmial known information.

That's the $1 million question there. I don't think the original Nordic whorshippers left behind any written texts.

Well, yes and no, there's one guy that wrote many of the myths down (but he was a christian) and it happend in the 11th centuary.
His name?
Snorre Sturlasson

and here are some info about stuff, gods, giants and places.
http://www.ginnungagap.info/ggeindex.asp

Well, yes and no, there's one guy that wrote many of the myths down (but he was a christian) and it happend in the 11th centuary.
His name?
Snorre Sturlasson

and here are some info about stuff, gods, giants and places.
http://www.ginnungagap.info/ggeindex.asp

Ahh, cool thanks.

Welcome...:D
Yeah, forgot
Snorre wrote something called "The Edda" or "the younger Edda"

Here's a part of it in original language (islandic)

Edda in original (http://snerpa.is/net/snorri/gylf.htm)

That's the $1 million question there. I don't think the original Nordic whorshippers left behind any written texts.
Not only did they not leave behind any of their own written texts, they didn't leave behind any of anyone else's written texts.

There are examples of cults around Hellenistic gods, such as Athena, but they're pretty scattered, and aren't consolidated enough to be considered as a formal religion.

I know some chick that believes in those egyptian gods. I don't know if she really believes in it, or if she just does it to try to look interesting though. I'm betting on the latter, as that is how her personality type is. Always trying to do something "unique" "interesting" "different" whatever, it's ususally bullshit. She's a stupid annoying ass bitch in my opinion. I don't care what religion she practices, thats not what annoys me, it's her personality. She talks all the fucking time about shit I don't care about and wont shut up for 5 seconds and think she's a genius. Thinks she knows everything about everything. For example, this afternoon I was talking to my friend Christine, and she happened to wonder over and start yapping our heads off about how you punish kids in the daycare she works at or some shit like that. So we're like sitting there waiting for her to get it out and go the hell away, and she's like "you should never spank kids blah blah" and I'm like "some kids do need a good beating every now and then" (in reference to a spanking, I don't believe in actually beating a child, but spankings cool, and some need it), and she goes all uppity on me and is like "I would rather you not refer to it as beating, because you don't know what it is like to be beat." and I was like "alright Angel, if it bothers you, I won't refer to it as beating, I'll refer to it as spanking, but don't tell me what I don't know about, because my dad used to throw me down the fucking stairs and beat the shit out of me when I was a little kid, wanna know how I got these cigarette burns on my back?" she's like "Ouch" I was like "not that kind of beating" she's like "sorry" I was like "don't act like you know everything" and I was hoping that would make her leave (although it was true), but nope, she kept yapping. Ugh, I want to strangle that girl sometimes.

<snip>
Many historians, archeologists and anthropologists suggest that animism may be the first form of religion, dating from at least the last Ice Age. Obviously, if true, that would make it the oldest active religion in the world.

Well, sort of. But an animist tribe in Africa and Shintoists have nothing in common. To me, that's like grouping Jews and Christians together because they both got a set of Commandments from God via a guy with bad navigation skills on a mountain (Moses). :)

(Actually, that's an example of religions that DO have something in common, but I think you see what I'm getting at?)

Ahh, well that sucks. From what I read about it, it seemed pretty cool.


Then theres good new for you.

Its not a dead faith at all.

Theres a number of people that still worhip that pantheon.

I happen to know one.

Asateurs.

(I think thats the spelling.)

They have Moots.
Lots of drinking, dancing around a bonfire, and whatnot.
Also, woad.
Woad, you say...the dye that the celts and scots and all those people painted themselves with?

Why yes.
Apparently, when woad is applied to the skin, and alchohol is consumed, it send you into a drunken frenzy....WOOOOOO!!
"Getting Woaded" they call it.

But, yah..Odin...Thor..all of em.

Not dead.
Just not very popular these days.

Lemme see.

Buddhism.
Hinduism.
Judaism.

Yeap - ancient religion is alive and kicking!

Various ancient religions (pre-Judeo-Christian) still exist in fragments across the globe. It isn't entirely true that while the pantheons remin known all knowledge of practices has been lost. Not in all cases. For instance, we know that in neolithic Britain people worshipped a Goddess with three aspects (mother, maid and crone, although the terms were probably different) and that people venerated the earth and used astronomy.Ffor example, Stone Henge was adjusted in two subsequent phases after the original build, as long term study of the Sun increased accuracy. Now there are a whole string of stones that line up to sun rise on the summer solstice and others on the winter solstice. The third phase was completed 3,500 years ago. There is evidence to suggest the existence of hunting rituals that involved invoking the spirit of the deer or boar through the wearing of a mask.

Several other traditions have also been passed down in the form of folklore, myth and old wives tales. We also have traditions that have been Chritianised, such as May Day, which involves dancing around a phalic pole and in Norway they don't have Santa at Christmas but numerous imps that fulfil the role, a remnant of ancient faery lore.

So, while much has been lost, a lot can be gleaned from archeology and a little deeper consideration of traditions we take for granted.

If the person who started it is dead, I consider it ancient.
Cool. I'll go with that, too.

Well, sort of. But an animist tribe in Africa and Shintoists have nothing in common. To me, that's like grouping Jews and Christians together because they both got a set of Commandments from God via a guy with bad navigation skills on a mountain (Moses). :)

(Actually, that's an example of religions that DO have something in common, but I think you see what I'm getting at?)
Yep. I see you're getting at saying that African animists and Shintoists DO have something in common, i.e. they're both animists. :p

I once got fondled by a Druid.
Lol was it spiritual?!

Then theres good new for you.

Its not a dead faith at all.

Theres a number of people that still worhip that pantheon.

I happen to know one.

Asateurs.

(I think thats the spelling.)

They have Moots.
Lots of drinking, dancing around a bonfire, and whatnot.
Also, woad.
Woad, you say...the dye that the celts and scots and all those people painted themselves with?

Why yes.
Apparently, when woad is applied to the skin, and alchohol is consumed, it send you into a drunken frenzy....WOOOOOO!!
"Getting Woaded" they call it.

But, yah..Odin...Thor..all of em.

Not dead.
Just not very popular these days.


Heh yeah, I used to be one of them, but now I aint.But of course if you really want to meet some of them folx I can be of service. Ohhh and they are preety popular, heh shit there are more neo-pagans out there than I care to think about.

How about Jedi?

It is growing quite rapidly in New Zealand (1.5% of the population in the 2001 census). Australia and Ireland have big numbers too.

We heard about it from a time long long ago and even then it was ancient ;)

I myself am a Christian, relatively new, and the middle child of the Abrahamic faiths.

However if you want ANcient religion get with Hinduism---I think you might be able to find a few people who still practice it(sarcasm) and it has some dust on it. Given that it is considered the oldest of of the "living" religions.

As best as can be estimated it is a least 6000years old(if we understand that the Rig did not create the relgion but where taught it).
The misconception is that HInduism is a descendant of the Vedic faith, this is incorrect it is rather an amalgam a living faith that incorporated the Vedic Practices as they appeared. Much of Hinduism greatly predates the Vedic faith.
It is the predecessor of Budism(yes Budism is to Hinduism what Christianity is Judaism--kind of)

If the person who started it is dead, I consider it ancient.

The ancient religion of Scientology?

So if you want to start worshiping Odin or Thor or the whole Nordic pantheon that's all well and fine... but how can you go about it and even be somewhat sure it's the way it's supposed to be and that you're not just making stuff up? :)

If a god shows up and strikes you dead you're doing it wrong, otherwise asume they're happy with the way you're worshiping them.

Cool. I'll go with that, too.

Woot, Discordianisim is ancient!

Actually, the time you listed was the time of the fall of Jericho. Add in minimum time it would have taken to get to that position, forty years in the desert, 800 years of slavery, probably another hundred years in Egypt, and maybe two hundred years before then, you end up with 2,200 B.C. Judging by the current year on the lunar calandar (5766), I would guess that it (the lunar calandar) was created in 2,260 B.C, with Judaisim existing as a full religion probably just shortly before that.

All I did was cut n' paste from Wikipedia.
I'm guessing that there is a reason why that date is up there and no one has chosen to edit it/the edits were re-edited. The article is not in dispute, so if you want to see what's up, just go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_world_religions .

If a god shows up and strikes you dead you're doing it wrong, otherwise asume they're happy with the way you're worshiping them.

You really want to take that chance? ;)