In Reply to: Re: The weirdness of a religion posted by Notta Hindu on March 13, 2003 at 12:18:20:
Having been brought up in a Christian religion we accept the oddities of the religion because we are accustomed to it. If you had been raised in the Hindu religion you would probably accept those customs and traditions as normal because you would be used to it and you would understand the greater meanings and reasonings behind them.
The Buddhists also set out food at their 'statues' though they aren't gods, they are the statues representing their departed ancestors and it is considered a form of respect to do so.
Christians gather together and pray out loud to their god, speaking in strange tongues and interpreting it as prophecies, singing in worship of their god. Wouldn't someone from another religion be somewhat taken back to see a Christian practicing the Bible to its full extent? (as in Paul's admonitions about the gifts of the spirit, specifically the more 'odd' ones?)
In some Christian countries don't they have some sort of 'caste' system, though it wouldn't be labelled as such? There are the 'old rich' who are the high society, then there are the most of us who are the middle class, then there are the homeless and beggars who are at the bottom of society? How many of the high society Christians are out on the streets helping their low-class neighbors in a fulfillment of Jesus's teachings to love your neighbor as yourself? How many middle class members are doing what they can for those who need their help? I think the caste system can be found in more than just one society.
And why are cows sacred to the Hindus? I'm not sure myself but before I consider it a strange custom, I want to know the origins of the belief, then maybe it won't appear to be so strange after all.