AboutJohn of AllFaith Expertise To varying degrees I have worked and studied with many different groups including:
The Noahides, Gaudiya Vaisnavism, Swami Muktinanda's Sidha Yoga Foundation, the Yoga Society (of Sri Ramamurti Mishra), Sikhism, various Pagan and neo-Pagan groups, Sunni Islam (Wahabi), Taoism, various Buddhist sects (including the Dharmad Hatu of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche), various diverse Hindu sects, numerous Christian denominations and movements, and have been involved with numerous other groups and movements too numerous to mention. I refer to my personal beliefs as AllFaith.
See my questions and answers at allfaith.com/questions
A Statement to Students about Plagiarism any why I answer questions:
Plagiarism is a crime.
Plagiarism can end careers, lead to expulsion from school, the loss of financial aid, and can even result in fines and imprisonment in some cases. Its not worth it!
Despite this a small percentage of those who ask questions at AllExperts, Yahoo Answers etc. copy and paste our answers as their own, often without giving credit. This is plagiarism. Its not worth it!
We all know that one can google a homework question and in many cases find an easy response, but so can your teachers! Many teachers are aware that some students do this and catch their cheating students.
To read more about this go to the following link. Its a conversation between one such teacher from a respectable institution of learning and me: where she writes: ...I have had over 20 students copy your work in the past 3 months...
Understand that if you plagiarize you are cheating your instructors, your answerer, your fellow students, everyone who respects you... and ultimately yourself. Its just not worth it!
Please use our answers to help in your research, not to replace it.
Learn, don't cheat.
Experience Experience: A lifetime spent Reaching for the One.
I hold an MA in Religious Studies from JFKU. I hold three Christian ordinations. I hold a counseling ordination from the Interfaith Seminaries of Santa Cruz. I am an initiated Vaishnava bramana (Gopinath Gaudiya matha and ISKCON), have practical experience with many other branches Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Paganism, Wicca (Welsh Traditionalist mainly), Judaism and other traditions. I own and manage AllFaith.com
Question QUESTION: Is the most "primitive" society in economic terms also the most "primitive" in other spheres of culture?
ANSWER: Depends on how you define "primitive."
The modern world is the most wealthy in recorded history and yet tends to be very barbaric and primitive in many ways.
The villages of India and similar places are far more cultured and civilized than cities in the US and Europa in general terms.
So I'd say the question is not specific enough.
Culture is an state of human respect and civility.
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QUESTION: Someone said that the religion of the Australian aborigines is the most 'primitive' religion because their economy is 'primitive'. Is it the truth?
Answer Hi,
Again, it depends on what one means by "primitive." That word is too loaded and has too many possible meanings. I never use it because it has no central meaning.
Some of the Australian aborigines certainly live "primitive" lifestyles compared to other people. These people however tend to be very spiritual, very attuned to nature, very supportive of their communities, very loving to their own, and so on. I don't consider these to be "primitive" traits as generally implied.
Contrasting groups of people leads to and often stems from the assumption that "we" -- whoever "we" are -- are superior to "them" -- whoever they are. Better to examine people based on their own criteria in my opinion. There are pros and cons to every culture.
From my limited study of the bushmen I have a lot of respect for them and would never say they are "primitive people." They are merely observing much older cultures than we are in ways that work for them.
