# Are there ANY religions that aren't self-contradicting? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 19, 2001, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191 "2001-11-19T13:21:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/1 "2001-11-19T13:21:11Z")
Of course, Islam has been getting all the press lately, ranging from editorials about the supposedly inherent violence and hatred in the Koran to editorials about the supposedly inherhent peacefulness and love in the Koran…and many people are familiar with the apparent split-presonality of Christianity and Judaism as well…so I suppose my question is; historically, has there ever been a case where the adherents of a religion have overwhelmingly kept on the same page as their founder and _not_ contradicted a major aspect of their own belief? ---
**Author:** ![Wracket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/779978/32.png) [@Wracket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wracket)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/2 "2001-11-19T14:23:31Z")
Branch Davidians? (okay, I don’t know much about the philosophy, but it seemed oh so witty at the time) ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/3 "2001-11-19T14:45:20Z")
What about the thuggee? A religious sect which strangled people to honor their god, Kali. [http://www.bartleby.com/65/th/Thugs.html](http://www.bartleby.com/65/th/Thugs.html) Or were you interested in religions which preach “good things” and do “good things”? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/4 "2001-11-19T18:42:05Z")
In my opinion, religion itself is contradictory, inasmuch as God Himself despises it. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/5 "2001-11-19T18:57:52Z")
The Church of Me. 😃 “Give me all your money, do what I say, and don’t backtalk.” Hard to find a contradiction here. Seriously, to rip off what **Libertarian** said, religions are inherently contradictory because they are created by and run by humans, who have contradictory wants. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/6 "2001-11-19T18:59:03Z")
He tell you that Himself Lib? ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/7 "2001-11-19T19:12:00Z")
For those that abhor the term “religion”, I’ll expand the scope of the question to include “personal relationships with Jesus based on most of the same principles that Christians have used for millenia…” ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/8 "2001-11-19T19:18:29Z")
Yes, God Himself [told me this](http://bible.gospelcom.net/cgi-bin/bible?passage=matthew+23&version=NIV&showfn=yes&showxref=yes&language=english). Religion is just politics with a different dress. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/9 "2001-11-19T21:24:49Z")
Isaiah 1:10-17 > [@](#): > > 10 > Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! > 11 > “The multitude of your sacrifices-- what are they to me?” says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. > 12 > When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? > 13 > Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations-- I cannot bear your evil assemblies. > 14 > Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts my soul hates. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. > 15 > When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood; > 16 > wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight! Stop doing wrong, > 17 > learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. ---
**Author:** ![donotprodme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@donotprodme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donotprodme)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/10 "2001-11-19T21:50:49Z")
Humanism. For more info go here. [http://www.jcn.com/humanism.html](http://www.jcn.com/humanism.html) ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/11 "2001-11-19T22:09:46Z")
Homebrew, I bet it wouldn’t take me very long to find verses that call for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but instead I’ll play the interpretation game and say that God isn’t saying that he absolutely despises burnt offerings, but only those made while the actions of the offering party are evil in every other respect. And in the book of James, the author describes “true religion” or “pure religion” in the context of Christian life. Libertarian…from the same passage that you gave: \*23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, \*\*without neglecting the former.”\*_24_ [emphasis mine] So which is it? Is Jesus saying that giving in accordance to religious tradition is wrong, or that it is incomplete without living according to what is preached? Seems to me that religion is all over the place in Christianity… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/12 "2001-11-19T22:13:39Z")
Prod, Well, _that_ just raise a hair or two around here. The atheist religion, eh? Cuckoo, He is saying that they professed a belief that those things identified as “the former” were expressions of their faith. Thus, they ought not to neglect them, but they ought not to sully them with their greater hypocrasy. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/13 "2001-11-19T22:20:58Z")
So then you agree that Jesus was not condemning religion there? He was condemning hypocrisy? Sure sounds like he wasn’t condmening religion there at all… ---
**Author:** ![donotprodme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@donotprodme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/donotprodme)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/14 "2001-11-19T22:27:49Z")
Libetarian His Question never said it couldnt be an atheist religion. Therefore I believe my answer answers his question. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/15 "2001-11-19T22:45:28Z")
Well, if you believe what you read in the Talmud, Judaism isn’t self-contradicting. But I can’t really explain the whole thing to you on one foot. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/16 "2001-11-19T23:10:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cuckoorex \* > \*\*For those that abhor the term “religion”, I’ll expand the scope of the question to include “personal relationships with Jesus based on most of the same principles that Christians have used for millenia…” \*\* Are you therefore saying that the religion/personal faith of **all** Christians/Jews/Muslims is self-contradictory? I’m not sure that I’d agree. ---
**Author:** ![thechris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@thechris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thechris)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/17 "2001-11-19T23:23:19Z")
The Krishnas? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/18 "2001-11-19T23:35:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by donotprodme \* > \*\*Libetarian > > His Question never said it couldnt be an atheist religion. Therefore I believe my answer answers his question. \*\* He also didn’t say it couldn’t be pear religion. But seeing as how pear isn’t a religion, it’s kind of disqualified, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Astroglide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6de8d8/32.png) [@Astroglide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroglide)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/19 "2001-11-20T01:08:10Z")
…and one I asked here: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=27995](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=27995) As a fairly hard-line unbeliever, I was most impressed with Orthodox Judaism - it seemed to me to be the most reasonable and self-consistent religious belief system. ---
**Author:** ![WanKuei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9fc29f/32.png) [@WanKuei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WanKuei)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191/20 "2001-11-20T01:38:20Z")
Solipsism. You’re all in my head. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-religions-that-arent-self-contradicting/94191.md?page=2)