I mean isn't pitch black also a kind of experience? Experiencing not being able to experience anything is a contradiction in itself, so it might not really be possible to imagine it... I think.
If no living person knows how to do it, it would probably be impossible for the living to help the dead with this.Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 1:19 pmHow would we guide the dead to the right path if no living person knows the right path, bells or not? :thonk:Pokun wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 9:30 amYeah that's one way one may become a lingering spirit. Part of the burial ceremony might be to guide the dead on the right path using bells and lanterns and stuff. Then there are festivals of the dead (like Halloween or similar festivals) that may also serve a similar purpose.
Yeah mythology is basically, as I understands it, the part of history that can't be made sense out of for various reasons. It's still no doubt history, but there is just no way to figuring out how much or little of it that is true with any accuracy. Looking it up on Wikipedia however, it seems it's a term used for many different things.Nikku4211 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 15, 2020 1:19 pm I think religion and mythology are connected. Mythology can cause religion, and religion can lead to more mythology. I'm not a historian, though, so don't quote me on that. I'm not about to go full MLA here.
I know religions develop cultures, I'm not denying that, but that means we have entire cultures founded on dogmas. When these dogmas start to seem outdated to some extent, the fundamentals of the entire culture itself can be put to question as well.
Religions have roots that go a long time back, but people trying to keep the tradition alive in the modern-day is a double-edged sword. Especially when you have to end up picking and choosing what parts you want to follow and what parts you don't want to follow.
At the end of the day, you could end up just following basic morals that barely have anything to do with religion at all. I think it is more important to realise morals can have logical reasons, because if you only follow rules simply because a book said to, you're going to have some issues adjusting to societal changes.
I wouldn't deny things just because they have a religious origin, I would more likely dismiss them if they have no reason or logic behind them besides the religious origin.
So cultures are founded on dogmas. Very well, that sounds better than the "dogmatic sets of ideas made to control people", which just sounds like the usual extremist atheistic propaganda to me rather than your own unbiased reasoning. These dogmas of course naturally change a lot over time, and sometimes are changed faster on purpose to fit the current situation. It also involves many different people with very different values, and thus struggling for change in different directions. Religious or atheist, they just want to change it in a direction that benefits their own values the most.
Following basic morals that has no basis in religion is probably very hard to do, since about all accepted modern morals probably have religious origin some way or other.
Knowing the logic and reason behind various morals and rules may not always be possible either, as it's probably often lost in time.
Now again, religion of course serves, or has in the past often served, many other practical purposes than just preserving morals and laws. Examples includes studies, charity, bureaucracy (especially involving birth, marriage and death), physical, mental and spiritual healing or consultation, and time keeping among many other things. It's an important part of upholding the culture.