VERY OT !!! RCTN member seeking religious knowledge

Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne

Anne wrote:

I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things.


Well, you might want to start he

http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm The Internet Sacred Text Archive.
I believe every sacred text of every nook-and-cranny sect is archived
there so you can get the "straight poop," so to speak.

LG

Anne wrote:

Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne


I don't know from where you are posting (other than through AOL), but I
found a bargain book at Barnes and Noble entitled _The Handy Religion
Answer Book_ by John Renard. It is a great overview of all the major
world religions, in question and answer format, that gives without bias
the historical overview, tenets, and philosophy of each religion.

A book like that, coupled with copies of the texts of the various
religions, as lizard-gumbo suggests, is a great start, and possibly
finish, unless in your studies you find you'd like to go further. I am
an atheist, but the history and development of religions is a
fascinating subject to me, and I try to learn as much as I can so I can
better understand what motivates and guides religious people through
their lives. Maybe I'm lucky: without a pre-selected personal religion,
I can compare and contrast all religions without compromising any
personal belief system of my own.

Elaine Pagels is a prominent writer who has published much about early
Christianity and the Gnostics. Her books are well-written and
researched, so I'd recommend those for that area of your search.

Good luck with your quest.

Melody

I would advice reading some General descriptions in Encyclopedias and
expanding your reading from there.
mirjam

"Anne " wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne

First take a course in English grammar - it might be of far more use to you!

Pat P

Pat EAXStitch wrote:

"Anne " wrote in message
ups.com...

Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne


First take a course in English grammar - it might be of far more use to you!

I don't know what you're on about, Pat. There is nothing grammatically
wrong with the above. And even if there is, could you not just have let
it slide rather than respond with such hostility to an honest request
for information?

Elizabeth
--
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~living well is the best revenge~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The most important thing one woman can do for another is to illuminate
and expand her sense of actual possibilities. --Adrienne Rich
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Dr. Brat" wrote in message
...
Pat EAXStitch wrote:

"Anne " wrote in message
ups.com...

Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne


First take a course in English grammar - it might be of far more use to
you!

I don't know what you're on about, Pat. There is nothing grammatically
wrong with the above. And even if there is, could you not just have let
it slide rather than respond with such hostility to an honest request
for information?

Elizabeth

"Help from other`s" ???

Trouble is that every perishing newsgroup I`m on has been bombarded with
religious nutters in the past few days. Are we sure that this isn`t just
another of them? Surely there are enough groups for God botherers without
putting it on here in any case?

Pat P

On 7 Jun 2005 19:51:19 -0700, "Anne " wrote:

Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne
Hi Anne - I would recommend starting with the library - perhaps with
the young adult section in the 200s (religion) - there should be books
on comparative religions. There's a series Religions of the World
that has a book for each major religion that is quite good. Another
interesting book is Mosque by David Macaulay. He does large books
with architectural-style drawings so you can see how the buildings
were built etc. (an earlier book by him is Cathedral, interesting to
compare.)

Good luck!

Alison

On Wed, 08 Jun 2005 11:31:06 GMT, "Pat EAXStitch"
wrote:


"Dr. Brat" wrote in message
...
Pat EAXStitch wrote:

"Anne " wrote in message
ups.com...

Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne


First take a course in English grammar - it might be of far more use to
you!

I don't know what you're on about, Pat. There is nothing grammatically
wrong with the above. And even if there is, could you not just have let
it slide rather than respond with such hostility to an honest request
for information?

Elizabeth

"Help from other`s" ???

Trouble is that every perishing newsgroup I`m on has been bombarded with
religious nutters in the past few days. Are we sure that this isn`t just
another of them? Surely there are enough groups for God botherers without
putting it on here in any case?

Pat P

1. Anne has been on the group for some time, I recognize her email
address.
2. Why would you think that a request for information on different
religions= your annoying phrase "God botherers"?
3. Never mind answering, I know why.

Alison

I recently joined a postal Historical bookclub and one of the books given as
a free incentive to join is "The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions". It
claims on the cover to have "unrivalled and unbiased coverage" of over 8,000
entries

It's not my interest to read this book, but having flicked through it, it
does look fairly exstensive.

If you want the publishers details, let me know :-)

HTH


Tracy



"Anne " wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi RCTNer's!
I've always been fascinated with the history of religions,
religious ideas and such. I need help from other's so I can expand my
knowledge. Although I was born and raised Roman Catholic I've always
been aware there's a lot more knowledge out there than what I was
taught. I've read a lot over the years and have had some very
interesting discussions with others who are more knowledgable than me.
So, I've come now to our group, which is comprised of MANY interesting,
intelligent people. Where can I obtain reliable materials about such
things? There's soooo much available but a lot of it is BS. I don't
want to waste valuable brain cells sorting through crap. I'm quite
interested in learning about the ancient teachings in the gnostic
gospels and other such things. I have NO interest in getting on a
soapbox and preaching about *I'm right and everyone else is wrong*....I
just want to learn more things for my own personal knowledge. Thanks
for any help you can send my way.....

Anne