xorbie

Gah! I should have looked into the issue more, I suppose.

Joel

Amos

That just goes to show that not all religions are the same. In other words, 'our God is better than theirs.'

More interesting is how the Eastern Catholic church is mush less progressive than the Roman Catholic church and why their industrial revolution is also having a slow start. Is it because their reformation came 400 years later? . . . or is it the filioque?

Chiron

What exactly do you mean by "filioque?" In Latin, "filio" is both the singular dative and singular ablative declensions of "filius," which means "son." "-que" is an enclitic that attaches to the previous word, and is translated as the word "and" (though in English it goes before the word it followed in Latin). So did you mean ". . . or is it the and by the son?" or ". . . or is it the and to/for the son?"?

I don't really have anything else to add to the discussion, unfortunately.
Chiron

Toto

filioque - a reference to the filioque clause in the Nicene Creed, which is one of the main theological distinctions between the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.

Discussed here: filioque clause

Look up the historic origin of "iota" meaning a small trivial thing.

Amos

In my view the filioque means that the HS proceeds from the father and the son. I added that as a possible option because I think that it makes religion less mysterious, more rational and therefore more aggressive in effort to reach higher spiritual heights . . . which was bound to come to and and therefore the Reformation was inevitable. It was like 'playing with fire.'

You may think that I am nuts for writing this and must wonder how the "iota argument" can make such a big difference if it is only a small theological concept.

And while I am here, "our God is better than yours" means that our mythology/religion was more effective in its design to get people into heaven. That's all.

Chiron

Ah, thanks for the info. I was quite puzzled as to the use of filioque.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but this means that you would convert to the religion I just made up in which everyone goes to heaven.

Nevermind the bollocks,
Chiron

Amos

How can a place where everybody goes be special? That would be boring, I think.

Jamie_L

I would think that prosperity comes slowly to countries with heavy-handed government control. Often, heavy-handed government control means not only stifling the economy, but stifling religious freedom. Thus, and anti-religious, controlling government represses all religion, resulting in a populous that isn't very religious. A religous-based, controlling government (like fundamentalist Islamic governments) may stifle growth and other religions, while encouraging rabid devotion to their particular religion.

On the other hand, a more open government may allow room both for economic growth and religious liberty.

Of course, this is all unfounded speculation. But it's what comes to mind.

Jamie