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The nature of religon
This is a thread about the nature of religion as a whole.
Is it an archaic and outdated concept whose only purpose it is to explain what we do not understand? Does it explain the whys of life or not? Is it just an invention of individuals to attempt to wield power over others? Is it the unavoidable satisfaction of a certain part of our human nature? Are we designed to be like that? Discuss. Politely. Jam it back in, in the dark. |
Personally, and this is only personally, I think religion is archaeic and has no real purpose but to offer salvation to those who are lost among humanity or need an imaginary reason why things are.
I think people just need to feel less alone, by nature. So they make up some stories. Some really GREAT stories, but stories nontheless. I don't think that religion, in itself, is a bad thing. Only when it is abused and used as a power device does it turn into something outright evil. People should be able to think for themselves, and religion is counterproductive to that point. There's nowhere I can't reach. |
My personal beliefs(in a very truncated form):
There is an aspect of human nature which demands meaning to be ascribed to our lives. We have trouble functioning properly in our lives when we do not have this satisfied. I feel this is actually part of the deliberate design of human beings. Since thi is design, it is only logical to figure that there is a designer, which I feel is God. God placed in ourselves this yearning for meaning, and I feel that Christianity is the proper vessel through which this is satisfied. Double Post:
This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.
Last edited by Fjordor; Mar 3, 2006 at 05:52 PM.
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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I think religion is just a human construct in which people put all their hopes, dreams, and faith into. I can imagine that without religion, our history as a people would have been vastly different. Who would those caveman have begged for rain, afterall. It's a feeling of powerlessness which summarizes religion, in my opinion. ^_^ I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
Why couldn't we accept that things are not within our control? (although, some religions already ackowledge that things are totally out of our control... like Christianity... so I think that is a bit off :-P ) Anywho, I am off to a friend's house, so I will pick this up later when I get back home. I was speaking idiomatically. |
Sass:
I agree that a huge part of religion is to bring hope to an overall sense of hopelessness. However, I think its something slightly more than that. For one, religion is a social construct. You have a hierachy, and places of worship are for the most part places of instruction and community. Many forms of religious worship contain sermons, a method of instructing followers and gioving advice. There is also an emphasis or payer / meditation and the like. Even if prayers are unheard, they force someone to think about a problem they may have and give them confidence that it can be solved. To me, religion is an intrinsic part of human nature. There just seems to be a part of us that requires the existence of a higher power (for atheists, the higher power is reason / science). It may be there or it may just be a fragment of consciousness or our evolution as a species. But it is most definately there. I feel it every time I meditate and reach that state where all conscious thought stops and the entire body feels enveloped in a great ocean. It's a very powerful feeling and it leaves me with a sense of calm and knowledge that my problems will work themselves out with the right amount of effort. In one sentence, religion is the power of prayer and reflection submitted to a higher power. At least for me it is. What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
For a lot of people it's a tool used to explain things they cannot rationally explain. Some people are uncomfortable with unanswered questions. A lot of self-centered people NEED it to keep them from doing immoral stuff. Others need it to boost their confidence. Life is scary, and having an all-knowing, all-powerful being on/at their side makes going out into the world easier. In general, I think most believers mix these three factors together. FELIPE NO |
Now, I am not talking about today. I am talking about in the days where there was major issues in society and nature. People had no way of controlling what happened to who and when. So they attributed it to something.
I think math and science work only from our perspective. I think we've read the chapter titles in a book, if I can use a metaphor. We may have some things right, but we haven't seen the big picture yet. We're likely to never see it. Does that sound religious? Maybe. But I do not have faith or hope in anything - including science. I can see how some people would identify it as a sort of religion, and I AGREE that a lot of people "worship" it, in a sense. It holds answers. Science and religion parrallel in a lot of very interesting ways. But it should be observed that nothing - and I mean nothing (includiing nature) should be sought out for answers of a reason to believe in anything. What science offers as fact may not be fact at all. We know science is discovering new things everyday on a whole. Some of things contradict what we have found in the past, and will contradict things we will find in the future. There are no definites. Welcome to the universe. ^_^
Eks, I almost entirely agree with you. But I don't have time to type everything out that I want to. ^_^ What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? |
eks:
Sass (Yeah, Moon = Candle Tree):
Take the religious notion of God. His existence is asserted as true, but exactly what is God is left to the believer. Is he a being, or is he an omniscent force? Heck, even the Bible isn't sure what God is. In Genesis 4:26, God is asserted to be an anthropomorphic being without human flaw, whereas in Deuteronomy 12:5, God is asserted to be an all-permeating, omniscient force. This is a lot like what reason and science does. It takes something that is asserted to be true and builds upon them. For example, the number system is based on 8 axioms (or set theory, depending which route you choose). Hence, it is less so a matter of what is absolute, it is more so the system you are working on and assuming as true. It is not necessarily THE system, as I don't believe that there is one correct religion / interpretation, but it is a system. Jam it back in, in the dark. |
I think that something people often overlook is simply the social aspect of religion. It's somewhere to go regularly and meet new people. This certainly isn't its origin, but many certainly practice for this reason now.
There's nowhere I can't reach. |
This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it. |
Well, we all do. Whether you call it religion or society. You weren't born knowing the difference.
I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
Holy Chocobo |
Throughout time, mankind has sought explanations for the "Why?"s of the universe. Religion now, as it has always been, is an attempt by us to explain and apply reason to the world around us. It gives us a sense of purpose, a sense of hope. It is not an outdated concept. I don't believe it will ever be outdated--it just might become really silly. "The Church of Phil" or something like that.
I was speaking idiomatically. |
What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
FELIPE NO |
What, you don't want my bikini-clad body? |
But if Humanity created religion to have a security of never being alone, why do we have families? Wives? And surround ourselves with other people? I know husbands and wives still have faith, yet they are not alone, they have each other and family members. Do you mean to never be alone on a higher plane? Other than the physical?
Jam it back in, in the dark. |
"Why must we put our hopes and faith in things" "Because when humanity was young, many things happened to us which we had no control over" It does not seem like you answered my question at all. Why is there the need to put our faith in something? It does not seem like you are making the logical link from "we cannot control everything" to "we put our hopes and faith in something" Perhaps it is just me right now. My brain is getting a bit scattered.
I don't know exactly where I am going with this, but that I totally disagree with your entirely disagreeing with me. :-Þ There's nowhere I can't reach.
Last edited by Fjordor; Mar 4, 2006 at 05:47 AM.
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And is it possible that your preception is wrong? Maybe something doesn't appear to be affecting people, but it is? How ya doing, buddy? |
Oh wait. You must be one of those people that understand 'wrong' as absolute. Nevermind.
I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body? |
Perhaps it's just me, but you're not making a great deal of sense.
I was speaking idiomatically. |
Religion is a good and bad thing.
The good thing is many of the major religions preach peace, love, and respect for one another. If people really lived by those guidelines, then there would be no war now would there? The bad thing is a lot of people do not follow those guidelines, and think their religion is the best, and ask their god to destroy those who oppose them, when in reality, the religion states that god and their prophet is merciful. These people become extremists, and people die everyday because of them. What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now? |
However, in developed countries I agree that religion is quite archaic and seems to be more of a cause of conflict these days (religious extremists etc). I have always been atheist and have never believed in any higher form of existence such as a god, and I don't see any issue with this. Even people who call themselves religious aren't all following their holy book 100% any more (heard reports of Sunday church numbers falling for example); I think these people look for a balance between religion and society. FELIPE NO |
How ya doing, buddy? |
I don't think you would be going off topic much by answering my question. It's a simple question. How do you know your preception of right and wrong or what "affects people" is valid?
Jam it back in, in the dark. |
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