[blueray]

(Original post by Christianlady)
Hello Blueray,

The Hindu people have many forms of gods, or images of Brahman. There are male forms of God or gods too in the Hindu belief. Below is a short list of Hindu deities and their forms: (there are thousands of other forms as well).

1. Ganesha - looks like an elephant - male
2. Shiva - god of death - male
3. Krishna - blue skinned - male
4. Rama - perfection - male
5. Hanuman - ape - male
6. Vishnu - perserver - male
7. Lakshmi - goddess of wealth and prosperity - female
8. Durga - protector "mother" goddess - female
9. Kali - wife of Shiva - female
10. Saraswati - goddess of wisdom - female

So, in Hinduism, there are both male and female gods, not just one queen.

Also, sadly in Hinduism, many women have been mistreated and considered to be inferior to men. Some Hindu families (unless they have reformed this) consider daughters to be a burden, since they often have to pay huge "presents" to the groom and his family in order for her to get married. In some Hindu temples, girls were forced to prostitution as well.

Peace and God bless

"Durga" You refer to, is what Hindus see above Brahman and above all else. She is female.
She is the supreme godess.

Also about the "Queen", if you read any hindu scriptures you would know a queen was in charge when hindus were around, long before any other religion.

Referring to the bold part. This is a cultural thing not a religion thing.

Funny you say that last sentence, because in many churches, gay priests rape young boys for many countless years and there are nunneries that force sex onto young girls.

[Christianlady]

(Original post by blueray)
"Durga" You refer to, is what Hindus see above Brahman and above all else. She is female.
She is the supreme godess.
Also about the "Queen", if you read any hindu scriptures you would know a queen was in charge when hindus were around, long before any other religion.

Hello Blueray,

Why then does Subhamoy Das, a Hindu by birth who has researched Hinduism, not mention her in this simple explanation about Hinduism, hmm?

"Hinduism believes that there is only one supreme Absolute called "Brahman". However, it does not advocate the worship of any one particular deity. The gods and goddesses of Hinduism amount to thousands or even millions, all representing the many aspects of Brahman. Therefore, this faith is characterized by the multiplicity of deities. The most fundamental of Hindu deities is the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - creator, preserver and destroyer respectively. Hindus also worship spirits, trees, animals and even planets. "

http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/...uismbasics.htm

Is Subhamoy Das lying or hiding information?

Also, I dated a wonderful Hindu man, from India, before and he not once mentioned a queen in his beliefs. We talked about beliefs often and broke up after discovering that we follow different paths. He talked about Brahman a lot, and in the male gender, as well as Vishnu. His name is Vishal and he adored Vishnu.

Referring to the bold part. This is a cultural thing not a religion thing.

Hinduism is a way of life, so the culture in India is heavily influenced by Hinduism. The caste system is also heavily influenced by Hinduism.

Funny you say that last sentence, because in many churches, gay priests rape young boys for many countless years and there are nunneries that force sex onto young girls.

It's not funny when any group of belief does this evil and hurts girls and boys. However, it's important to note that in the Jewish temple, Jewish synagogues, Christian churches, and Islamic masjids, sexual intercourse is not a part of religious activities, but rather is a private event between a husband and wife.

I researched a little about this goddess you are talking about... is this what the one you are referring to: Vellama or Yellamma?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...fact_dalrymple
(I boldened some)

"When she was a three, the red and white beads tied around her neck by the adults in her southern Indian village were a plaything for Hanamavva.

But they marked out her future; never allowed to be married, she was now ostensibly a "servant of God", a devadasi. Hanamavva had been dedicated to the Hindu goddess Vellamma, an ancient practice which once might have won her a future of comfort and respect, but now doomed her to a squalid life as a prostitute from the age of 13.

"I just wanted to kill myself – I planned to climb to the roof of the brothel and throw myself off but the thought of leaving my family destitute prevented me," she said. It was five years before she could escape, with her two young sons, and try to make a new life for herself. But even then she still had to fend off the constant –sometimes violent – sexual harrassment by men in her village.

But now Hanamavva has joined a growing grassroots movement in the Indian states where the illegal practice survives. Former devadasi who brave the stigma and social pressures to leave the way of life have formed self-help groups and are fighting to stop other children being dedicated to what is no longer a holy calling to the temples but a direct path into sexual exploitation.

Like Shobha, now 36, who joined a group and now visits devadasi women, offering support to those who want to leave and trying to convince families not to dedicate their children. She runs awareness programmes at temples and fairs, trying to gather support in communities and lobbying district officials for help for devadasi old and young.

It is an uphill battle in some wretchedly poor provinces where selling a daughter under a divine mandate – often encouraged by the local priest or a powerful villager with an eye on the girl for himself – might be the only way to feed the rest of a family.""

Peace and God bless you

[blueray]

(Original post by Christianlady)
Hello Blueray,

Why then does Subhamoy Das, a Hindu by birth who has researched Hinduism, not mention her in this simple explanation about Hinduism, hmm?

"Hinduism believes that there is only one supreme Absolute called "Brahman". However, it does not advocate the worship of any one particular deity. The gods and goddesses of Hinduism amount to thousands or even millions, all representing the many aspects of Brahman. Therefore, this faith is characterized by the multiplicity of deities. The most fundamental of Hindu deities is the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva - creator, preserver and destroyer respectively. Hindus also worship spirits, trees, animals and even planets. "

http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/...uismbasics.htm

Is Subhamoy Das lying or hiding information?

Also, I dated a wonderful Hindu man, from India, before and he not once mentioned a queen in his beliefs. We talked about beliefs often and broke up after discovering that we follow different paths. He talked about Brahman a lot, and in the male gender, as well as Vishnu. His name is Vishal and he adored Vishnu.




Hinduism is a way of life, so the culture in India is heavily influenced by Hinduism. The caste system is also heavily influenced by Hinduism.



It's not funny when any group of belief does this evil and hurts girls and boys. However, it's important to note that in the Jewish temple, Jewish synagogues, Christian churches, and Islamic masjids, sexual intercourse is not a part of religious activities, but rather is a private event between a husband and wife.

I researched a little about this goddess you are talking about... is this what the one you are referring to: Vellama or Yellamma?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...fact_dalrymple
(I boldened some)

"When she was a three, the red and white beads tied around her neck by the adults in her southern Indian village were a plaything for Hanamavva.

But they marked out her future; never allowed to be married, she was now ostensibly a "servant of God", a devadasi. Hanamavva had been dedicated to the Hindu goddess Vellamma, an ancient practice which once might have won her a future of comfort and respect, but now doomed her to a squalid life as a prostitute from the age of 13.

"I just wanted to kill myself – I planned to climb to the roof of the brothel and throw myself off but the thought of leaving my family destitute prevented me," she said. It was five years before she could escape, with her two young sons, and try to make a new life for herself. But even then she still had to fend off the constant –sometimes violent – sexual harrassment by men in her village.

But now Hanamavva has joined a growing grassroots movement in the Indian states where the illegal practice survives. Former devadasi who brave the stigma and social pressures to leave the way of life have formed self-help groups and are fighting to stop other children being dedicated to what is no longer a holy calling to the temples but a direct path into sexual exploitation.

Like Shobha, now 36, who joined a group and now visits devadasi women, offering support to those who want to leave and trying to convince families not to dedicate their children. She runs awareness programmes at temples and fairs, trying to gather support in communities and lobbying district officials for help for devadasi old and young.

It is an uphill battle in some wretchedly poor provinces where selling a daughter under a divine mandate – often encouraged by the local priest or a powerful villager with an eye on the girl for himself – might be the only way to feed the rest of a family.""

Peace and God bless you

No, just no.
1) I don't believe in these swamis or whatever your quoting.
2) I believe in God and I have read holly scriptures
3) I don't find random quotes and manipulate them to make them seem like something it is not.
4) I'm sure you will agree ****ed up people in this world will try to hide behind religion. In all regions, it's not an excuse.

5) About the queen: Learn sanskrit fully. Then come back to me in about 10 years time, then read the holly books, then comment.

God bless you too

[Christianlady]

(Original post by blueray)
No, just no.
1) I don't believe in these swamis or whatever your quoting.
2) I believe in God and I have read holly scriptures
3) I don't find random quotes and manipulate them to make them seem like something it is not.
4) I'm sure you will agree ****ed up people in this world will try to hide behind religion. In all regions, it's not an excuse.

5) About the queen: Learn sanskrit fully. Then come back to me in about 10 years time, then read the holly books, then comment.

God bless you too

Hello Blueray,

Do you deny that Devadasis exist and are basically treated as prostitutes (at least for the last hundreds of years)? What do you think about the Devadasis please? Have you ever researched about them? Do you help rescue them from a life of prostitution? What good is reading Sanskrit and ancient writings if they don't motivate people to help others in the here and now?

Peace and God bless you

[blueray]

(Original post by Christianlady)
Hello Blueray,

Do you deny that Devadasis exist and are basically treated as prostitutes (at least for the last hundreds of years)? What do you think about the Devadasis please? Have you ever researched about them? Do you help rescue them from a life of prostitution? What good is reading Sanskrit and ancient writings if they don't motivate people to help others in the here and now?

Peace and God bless you

Stop being a hypocrite, by going on tsr you aren't helping either, by wearing clothing with 2 different materials etc is going against the bible, stop making quotes and manipulating them.

If you are so righteous, why don't you log out and go and do something right now.

If you say you need a break, I say Jesus did but he carried on, so should you.

God bless you.

[Christianlady]

(Original post by blueray)
Stop being a hypocrite, by going on tsr you aren't helping either, by wearing clothing with 2 different materials etc is going against the bible, stop making quotes and manipulating them.

If you are so righteous, why don't you log out and go and do something right now.

If you say you need a break, I say Jesus did but he carried on, so should you.

God bless you.

Hello Blueray,

Are you going to answer my questions about the Devadasis or do you not want to answer them?

Peace and God bless you

[Charlottie93]

(Original post by suicidaleffect)
Since prophets are the best that humanity can offer and those are only men does that not make religion a bit of a sham dominated by a purely male perspective?

There are female prophets there are 7 in Judaism there's more in Christianity as Philips daughters all have the 'gift'.

[Theturnbull9]

Because Religion is sexist?

[Nightstar-27]

Technically there are female prophets, just not many and they generally don't play as big of a role. There are many reasons for the lack of them;

1) Females were generally heavily controlled and may have been more likely to be deemed insane.

2) Female prophets may have been ignored.

3) Female prophets may have been deemed as false and written out off history.

4) Most religions seem to deem women as less valuable then men and thus maybe god actually does believe women are unable to carry his message.

5) At the same time if there is a god he would have probably known his message would more than likely be ignored if he gave it to a female due to the position of women at the time.

6) Most religious scriptures are written by men who might not be totally unbias when recording god's word.

7) Maybe religions just generally hate women.

[onthejubileeline]

Interestingly, in spite of the fact that women were deemed as second class citizens around the time Jesus was living, according to the Bible it was two women who were the first to see the empty tomb, and were the only ones to be addressed by the angel at the tomb (if, indeed, the account is true). Just my two-pence worth.

[fbear]

(Original post by blueray)
"Durga" You refer to, is what Hindus see above Brahman and above all else. She is female.
She is the supreme godess.

Hinduism is highly diverse and different Hindus believe different things. The Hindu philosophies are part of the five Indian philosophies. However, Hinduism stems from the Vedas and the Vedic 'religion'. It has changed a lot since then.

In the Vedas, Brahman is supreme but not in the Abrahamic sense. Brahman is not a person or a God but the name for the 'base matter'. It is what the universe rises from and what it collapses back into. Brahman is present in all matter so it could be considered the sum of all matter.

Durga as a deity is only revered as supreme in certain sections of Hinduism, predominantly in the east. Hindus as a whole do not see Durga above all else. Even the concept of Durga was originally a 'face' of Brahman. Since it's such a diverse amalgamation of philosophies, saying so would make little sense.

[fbear]

(Original post by Christianlady)
Also, I dated a wonderful Hindu man, from India, before and he not once mentioned a queen in his beliefs. We talked about beliefs often and broke up after discovering that we follow different paths. He talked about Brahman a lot, and in the male gender, as well as Vishnu. His name is Vishal and he adored Vishnu.

Brahman is not male or female, or a God for that matter. Brahma is, however, depicted as male.

Hinduism is a way of life, so the culture in India is heavily influenced by Hinduism. The caste system is also heavily influenced by Hinduism.

This is true. However, the caste system in modern India is a corruption of the original one. Castes are achieved in your lifetime and you are not born into them. The shift from an achieved system to a hereditary one happened relatively later on.

I researched a little about this goddess you are talking about... is this what the one you are referring to: Vellama or Yellamma?

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2...fact_dalrymple
(I boldened some)

"When she was a three, the red and white beads tied around her neck by the adults in her southern Indian village were a plaything for Hanamavva.

But they marked out her future; never allowed to be married, she was now ostensibly a "servant of God", a devadasi. Hanamavva had been dedicated to the Hindu goddess Vellamma, an ancient practice which once might have won her a future of comfort and respect, but now doomed her to a squalid life as a prostitute from the age of 13.

"I just wanted to kill myself – I planned to climb to the roof of the brothel and throw myself off but the thought of leaving my family destitute prevented me," she said. It was five years before she could escape, with her two young sons, and try to make a new life for herself. But even then she still had to fend off the constant –sometimes violent – sexual harrassment by men in her village.

But now Hanamavva has joined a growing grassroots movement in the Indian states where the illegal practice survives. Former devadasi who brave the stigma and social pressures to leave the way of life have formed self-help groups and are fighting to stop other children being dedicated to what is no longer a holy calling to the temples but a direct path into sexual exploitation.

Like Shobha, now 36, who joined a group and now visits devadasi women, offering support to those who want to leave and trying to convince families not to dedicate their children. She runs awareness programmes at temples and fairs, trying to gather support in communities and lobbying district officials for help for devadasi old and young.

It is an uphill battle in some wretchedly poor provinces where selling a daughter under a divine mandate – often encouraged by the local priest or a powerful villager with an eye on the girl for himself – might be the only way to feed the rest of a family.""

Peace and God bless you

Hinduism has had many additions. One of the more notable set of additions is that done by the Southern Indians. When Hinduism first originated amongst the Indo-Aryans it was fairly different than what it is today. As it dispersed to the South to India's native populations, new facets of current Hinduism emerged. 'Devadasi' is one such addition.

The southern philosophies gained a lot of prominence under the Mughal rule as Hinduism was suppressed in the North. For example, a lot of the sacred texts had to be taken south to be saved from being burnt by the Muslims.

However, back to the point somewhat. Hinduism is very diverse and core Hindu beliefs might not be in line with what you posted above. However, what constitutes the 'core' is a debate itself. I take it as the Vedas and related literature. Furthermore, it would be foolish to say Hindus do not practice misogynistic beliefs but patriarchal nature of Abrahamic religions is not present in Hindu philosophy.

[The_Lonely_Goatherd]

(Original post by aljolson)
Is Joan of Arc considered a prophet?

I suppose technically she could be seen as a prophet but I think people generally plum for visionary rather than prophet. In any case Joan of Arc's canonisation and the validity of it is questioned by some priests, so it's not like everyone's in agreement about it anyway

[Christianlady]

(Original post by fbear)
Brahman is not male or female, or a God for that matter. Brahma is, however, depicted as male.

Hello Fbear,

Thanks for the correction. So Brahma is a male. Is Brahman the state of perfection in Hindu belief?

This is true. However, the caste system in modern India is a corruption of the original one. Castes are achieved in your lifetime and you are not born into them. The shift from an achieved system to a hereditary one happened relatively later on.

When exactly did the caste system with the untouchables happen?

Hinduism has had many additions. One of the more notable set of additions is that done by the Southern Indians. When Hinduism first originated amongst the Indo-Aryans it was fairly different than what it is today. As it dispersed to the South to India's native populations, new facets of current Hinduism emerged. 'Devadasi' is one such addition.

When researching, I learned that at first the Devadasi were talented singers and dancers (I really like the dancing), right?

They danced like this, yes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgiLO...eature=related

The dancing is absolutely beautiful, as well as the outfit, and even though I'm not a Hindu, I'd love to learn how to dance like that, (Not for in public, but in private for me and my hubby)without the religious symbols since they don't mean to me what they mean to these ladies.

Below is a beautiful dance by Devadasi? Hindu ladies, praising Krishna:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Q-skGZSHQ

The southern philosophies gained a lot of prominence under the Mughal rule as Hinduism was suppressed in the North. For example, a lot of the sacred texts had to be taken south to be saved from being burnt by the Muslims.

Oh.

However, back to the point somewhat. Hinduism is very diverse and core Hindu beliefs might not be in line with what you posted above. However, what constitutes the 'core' is a debate itself. I take it as the Vedas and related literature. Furthermore, it would be foolish to say Hindus do not practice misogynistic beliefs but patriarchal nature of Abrahamic religions is not present in Hindu philosophy.

The information I posted I got from Hindu sites. Since I am not Hindu, I assume the Hindu sites know what they believe and write accordingly. As for the forms of god or Brahma(n), are some of the male ones not considered patriarchal?

Also, is it correct to say that some Hindus (though I understand that like all religions, there are diverse beliefs within a belief), believe that a woman being reincarnated as a man is a step "up", which essentially means that women are considered inferior to men (by the Hindus who believe this?)

Thanks for your knowledgeable and interesting post.

What is your opinion please on this site that talks about Hinduism?
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Hindu...Sexuality.html

Peace and God bless

[MonkeyMan2009]

(Original post by Perseveranze)
"Lol" isn't a religion. I'm hoping you can give some examples, of where women in general were given more rights than any of the 3 Abrahamic faiths.

I just want to verify this;

"compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation meant an enormous progress; the woman has the right, at least according to the letter of the law, to administer the wealth she has brought into the family or has earned by her own work." - Schimmel, Annemarie (1992). Islam. SUNY Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7914-1327-2.

And reading the history of women's rights - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_rights

It seems that prior to Islam, women didn't recieve as many rights as Islam had given. Also a well known fact that in the west (and probably the world), women didn't recieve comparable rights until probably the last 50 years.

And I was just wondering which religion you were talking about that gave more rights prior to Islam?

I'm quite interested.



Uh, not all prophets or messengers lead prayers. That's not a requirement. You need to actually read my posts.

the point is that women cannot lead men in prayer as they have an inferior status . . . . women cannot and have not been prophets in islam . . . . . or any other of the abrahamic faiths. I don't believe there to be any quranic backing to the belief of women prophethood.

[fbear]

(Original post by Christianlady)
Hello Fbear,

Thanks for the correction. So Brahma is a male. Is Brahman the state of perfection in Hindu belief?

You could say that. Brahman is basically what existed before the 'Big Bang' to put in simple terms.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are all represented as male. Originally, they would have been the three stages in the life of the universe: creation, maintenance and destruction.

When exactly did the caste system with the untouchables happen?

The origin of the rigid caste system is somewhat of a mystery. I wish I had a concrete answer but my best guess would be sometime in the 500-1000AD region.

The information I posted I got from Hindu sites. Since I am not Hindu, I assume the Hindu sites know what they believe and write accordingly. As for the forms of god or Brahma(n), are some of the male ones not considered patriarchal?

Hindu sites can be confusing as there are so many views and sub-philosophies. However, the reason for not being patriarchal in the same way can be pinned down to two reasons:

1) There are several Goddesses some of whom are also forms of Brahman. Also, there is no strict hierarchy of deities that is agreed upon.

2) Hinduism does not (in it's original forms) dictate morals. You do not have to adhere to a set of laws in the same way you need to in (most) Abrahamic religions.

Also, is it correct to say that some Hindus (though I understand that like all religions, there are diverse beliefs within a belief), believe that a woman being reincarnated as a man is a step "up", which essentially means that women are considered inferior to men (by the Hindus who believe this?)

I have never heard anyone say this but I'm not going to doubt that there are people who could believe this. In modern India, women are often viewed as inferior.

Furthermore in modern India, Hinduism has had a lot of impact from Islam specially in the North. This is why a lot of 'Hindu' fundamentalists adhere to morals typical of Islam. For example, there are some 'Hindus' who believe it is the duty of women to stay covered and not reveal much skin.

What is your opinion please on this site that talks about Hinduism?
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Hindu...Sexuality.html

I would say that has some accurate points about a few things. However, the issue about women's role in society comes from the Manusmirti. This is a largely rejected text which is basically a social document justifying itself by a reinterpretation (or rather an amendment to) of the Vedas. It has an unknown author and was written in a low-period of Indian history, perhaps to 'fix' society. I would not take it too seriously.

Anyway, I don't know as much about Christianity but I was raised a Christian. I was taught abut Jesus' words of love and peace. Thus, I don't consider all Christianity as misogynistic as so many others do.

[pshewitt1]

(Original post by LeeC)
The bible/quran etc was written by men in a mans world.

thus proving they are false and have nothing to do with god as they are not all knowing...

[blueray]

(Original post by fbear)
You could say that. Brahman is basically what existed before the 'Big Bang' to put in simple terms.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are all represented as male. Originally, they would have been the three stages in the life of the universe: creation, maintenance and destruction.




The origin of the rigid caste system is somewhat of a mystery. I wish I had a concrete answer but my best guess would be sometime in the 500-1000AD region.



Hindu sites can be confusing as there are so many views and sub-philosophies. However, the reason for not being patriarchal in the same way can be pinned down to two reasons:

1) There are several Goddesses some of whom are also forms of Brahman. Also, there is no strict hierarchy of deities that is agreed upon.

2) Hinduism does not (in it's original forms) dictate morals. You do not have to adhere to a set of laws in the same way you need to in (most) Abrahamic religions.




I have never heard anyone say this but I'm not going to doubt that there are people who could believe this. In modern India, women are often viewed as inferior.

Furthermore in modern India, Hinduism has had a lot of impact from Islam specially in the North. This is why a lot of 'Hindu' fundamentalists adhere to morals typical of Islam. For example, there are some 'Hindus' who believe it is the duty of women to stay covered and not reveal much skin.



I would say that has some accurate points about a few things. However, the issue about women's role in society comes from the Manusmirti. This is a largely rejected text which is basically a social document justifying itself by a reinterpretation (or rather an amendment to) of the Vedas. It has an unknown author and was written in a low-period of Indian history, perhaps to 'fix' society. I would not take it too seriously.

Anyway, I don't know as much about Christianity but I was raised a Christian. I was taught abut Jesus' words of love and peace. Thus, I don't consider all Christianity as misogynistic as so many others do.

So what religion are you?

[Christianlady]

(Original post by fbear)
You could say that. Brahman is basically what existed before the 'Big Bang' to put in simple terms.

Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are all represented as male. Originally, they would have been the three stages in the life of the universe: creation, maintenance and destruction.

Hello Fbear,

I have heard them compared before to the Triune God.

The origin of the rigid caste system is somewhat of a mystery. I wish I had a concrete answer but my best guess would be sometime in the 500-1000AD region.

I wonder if soon more and more Hindus will cast aside the caste system? It seems to just hurt a lot of people.

Hindu sites can be confusing as there are so many views and sub-philosophies. However, the reason for not being patriarchal in the same way can be pinned down to two reasons:

1) There are several Goddesses some of whom are also forms of Brahman. Also, there is no strict hierarchy of deities that is agreed upon.

2) Hinduism does not (in it's original forms) dictate morals. You do not have to adhere to a set of laws in the same way you need to in (most) Abrahamic religions.

Ok. Yes Hinduism is confusing, maybe because it's not specifically categorized into smaller groups, like Christian denominations?

I have never heard anyone say this but I'm not going to doubt that there are people who could believe this. In modern India, women are often viewed as inferior.

Yeah though thankfully there are Indian people who do not consider women to be inferior to men.

Furthermore in modern India, Hinduism has had a lot of impact from Islam specially in the North. This is why a lot of 'Hindu' fundamentalists adhere to morals typical of Islam. For example, there are some 'Hindus' who believe it is the duty of women to stay covered and not reveal much skin

.


I knew that India was conquered by Muslims, but I didn't realize that influence Hindu beliefs. When England took control of India, Christian beliefs did influence some though (such as the forbidding of some Hindus to do sati (burn widows, whether voluntarily or not).

I would say that has some accurate points about a few things. However, the issue about women's role in society comes from the Manusmirti. This is a largely rejected text which is basically a social document justifying itself by a reinterpretation (or rather an amendment to) of the Vedas. It has an unknown author and was written in a low-period of Indian history, perhaps to 'fix' society. I would not take it too seriously.

Thanks for explaining that and looking over the article.

Anyway, I don't know as much about Christianity but I was raised a Christian. I was taught abut Jesus' words of love and peace. Thus, I don't consider all Christianity as misogynistic as so many others do.

That's cool. Yep, Jesus' words of love and peace are so important!!! Sometimes they are hard to follow. Only with God's help can imperfect people love their enemies and strive for peace.

Peace and God bless you, and thanks for your knowledgeable posts.

[Christianlady]

(Original post by The_Lonely_Goatherd)
I suppose technically she could be seen as a prophet but I think people generally plum for visionary rather than prophet. In any case Joan of Arc's canonisation and the validity of it is questioned by some priests, so it's not like everyone's in agreement about it anyway

Hello TLG,

Yeah, I personally see her as more a visionary. Also, I don't believe God in fact ordered the Crusades. Rather, I believe the Crusades were orders given by men with an agenda, not by Jesus who commands his followers to love one's enemies.

Peace and God bless you