The great and all powerful religion thread!

[Hatebreeder]

Is it the principle of religion that everybody hates? Or is it the fanatics that embrace it?

Religion, to me, is just a divinely-influenced philosophy, and thus I have no real quarrel with it. But because it is forced upon so many people and has been corrupted and perverted constantly once people discovered its massively influential use, I detest it.

 

[Evil?]

In my case, both.

 

[Rabid Headbanger]

^Me too, but I cna't imagine my area without Christianity. They don't call this place the Bible Belt for no reason.

It could be called the bullet belt if you did something about it.



(KIDDING)

 

[cookiecutter]

The Jesus tomb is irrevelevant, in my opinion. And if it's his bones they found, then that destroys all of Christianity. If he left behind bones, then he obviously did not resurrect, and thus, he was not the "Son of God".

I HOPE they found Jesus' bones.

I completely agree.

Is it the principle of religion that everybody hates? Or is it the fanatics that embrace it?

Both. Religion teaches people to accept an absurd story instead of accepting reality. It creates divisions among people. It gives people false hope, when they are better off improving themselves and facing the world as it is. It creates communities, which in itself is not a bad thing, but then it teaches that the other communities are bad. It spawns fanatics through it's dogma. It deliberately attempts to subvert science. That is what I don't like.

 

[Evil?]

Cookiecutter that paragraph is just about perfect.

 

[~Derek~]

To me religion is outdated and is just man's way of explaining stuff int he ancient times, it really shouldn't hold any relevance in society today.

 

[Evil?]

Agreed.

 

[cookiecutter]

You know I heard a very interesting observation posed on a podcast I listen to. In it it talked about how hallucinogenic drug use causes experiences similar in nature to religious experiences. Both experiences often involve becoming aware of "a higher plane" or that "reality is not what it seems." Also, both often have ego death or the loss of self, a trait often found in eastern religions. Another similarity was that drug users, like many religious people, often feel the need to tell others about their experience. I don't know how relevant it is but it's an interesting idea

 

[Hatebreeder]

A lot of eastern religions are known to have used hallucinogens and various recreational drugs in ceremonies and such. That's probably why.

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

Is it the principle of religion that everybody hates? Or is it the fanatics that embrace it?

im fine with religion, just not the big three.

 

[AchrisK]

I hate when religions think they got a monopoly on God and belittle their competition. I had to go to church this morning and the preacher was so obsessed with him having the "true gospel" and that he belittled the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses when they have just as right as being true as the Baptists are, I just think there's seriously something wrong when people think they got a monopoly on God and think they know everything about religion and the afterlife when their only proof of God is that "he works in the heart and they can feel him" and that is just your mind afterall.

Most religions are exclusive by nature. Most of them by definition are the only correct way to follow God. And when you think about it, there can only be one truth, so either only one is right, or they are all wrong and something else is the truth. So you can't blame people for thinking they are right. But you can blame them for acting self-righteous and treating other with disdain based on this (although it may be that some religions teach this philosophy, which sucks).

 

[~Derek~]

^There doesn't have to be one true faith, they can all be right in their own way and wrong in the others and they all represent God and there's no wrong or right religion.

 

[genocide roach]

^There doesn't have to be one true faith, they can all be right in their own way and wrong in the others and they all represent God and there's no wrong or right religion.

that doesnt change the fact that the major religions all say they are the only true religion.
~gR~

 

[Hatebreeder]

^There doesn't have to be one true faith, they can all be right in their own way and wrong in the others and they all represent God and there's no wrong or right religion.

That defeats the purpose of most modern-day religions. If each religion accepted that they might only have a piece of the puzzle, then there would be no point to them at all.

 

[AchrisK]

^There doesn't have to be one true faith, they can all be right in their own way and wrong in the others and they all represent God and there's no wrong or right religion.

Well, I can agree that they all may contain truth and they all may have value. But they each usually have a central doctrine that is exclusive. So they cannot all be some right and some wrong in that regard. This doesn't rule out the possibility that they are all wrong, though.

I guess the crux of the matter is, truth exists.

 

[cookiecutter]

All religions have slightly different absurdities than the others

 

[cookiecutter]

The thought of using a chemical to change my brain is not appealing to me at all at the moment. I don't want to lose control of myself and I have no need of the departure from reality.

But that is off topic. One thing I saw today on a church sign disturbed me. The sign read "Sometimes disappointments are his appointments". This disturbs me in multiple ways. First it discourages people from dealing with the reality of a bad event. Instead of trying to deal with and correct a bad situation it allows people to say "oh it was just God's plan". It also victimizes people, because it sets people up to be victims of a divine intelligent being instead of just being unlucky. It causes unnecessary guilt.

 

[Hatebreeder]

But that is off topic. One thing I saw today on a church sign disturbed me. The sign read "Sometimes disappointments are his appointments". This disturbs me in multiple ways. First it discourages people from dealing with the reality of a bad event. Instead of trying to deal with and correct a bad situation it allows people to say "oh it was just God's plan". It also victimizes people, because it sets people up to be victims of a divine intelligent being instead of just being unlucky. It causes unnecessary guilt.

I hear this answer to problems all the time at my school. Every time someone talks about a problem they're having, they respond with "oh, don't worry, it's God's plan, he'll take care of it". It's kind of selfish to think that God is using the bad to create good, because what if your life just goes downhill from there? Will you stop believing in him? That's not the answer at all.

Of course, I fell victim to this for years, I usually gave people this response to their problems.

 

[cookiecutter]

Meh. Anyone retarded enough to accept all their misfortune as the work of God deserves whatever they get.

As far as drugs go: I don't necessarily endorse drug use as a way of life (I've never even tried any of the hallucinogens or 'hard' drugs yet). But I do think it's an important option to have in one's life, since it can provide a very powerful sense of meaning and purpose in an otherwise meaningless existence. I expect I'll get more into drugs once I've gotten out of college and achieved a steady job. Right now, I don't want them around as a distraction.

I don't understand this search for purpose. I don't need or want and innate purpose. I want to make my own purpose not find it in false stories or material things.

I hear this answer to problems all the time at my school. Every time someone talks about a problem they're having, they respond with "oh, don't worry, it's God's plan, he'll take care of it". It's kind of selfish to think that God is using the bad to create good, because what if your life just goes downhill from there? Will you stop believing in him? That's not the answer at all.

Of course, I fell victim to this for years, I usually gave people this response to their problems.

It's comforting to think that bad goes to good, but that is unrealistic.

 

[zabu of nΩd]

I don't understand this search for purpose. I don't need or want and innate purpose. I want to make my own purpose not find it in false stories or material things.

First off, I don't believe in any such thing as meaning or purpose in life, nor do I think anyone can truly find it. But I do think it's important to feel a sense of purpose from time to time.

Secondly, I'm pretty sure that without a sense of purpose in life, motivation cannot exist. And I'm guessing that you're a reasonably motivated person. So I'd say that you do need a sense of purpose. To say "I don't need or want an innate purpose" sounds to me more like a spiteful anti-religious stance than an accurate statement about one's nature.