Why?

You take it as you will, but all I see out of this is a way for people to push off responciblity of their actions, and let them live ignorant without any repercussions.
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Hmmm. No. I wouldn't go that far. I doudt that most religious people push off responsibility. Maybe that is the case for some hardcore imbeciles. But I don't believe that a religious person is necessarily ignorant or is afraid of responsibility. Not in today's society.

What I would say is that it seems unethical to me when somebody helps someone mostly because he wants to look like a good person in the eyes of am omnipotent third party (god) and go to heaven, instead of genuinely caring for others. But in this case as well, we can't condemn all religious people, since many have proven they do not think that way at all. It depends on the person.

Bakunin argued that the idea of god is a priori against society. I have my doudts about that idea too. But I'm too sleepy right now to continue.
 
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Honestly, I choose to move away form this discussion. I have alot of diffrent ideas about religion, and being the bull-headed person I am, i'll get into a big argument about the whole thing and make an ass of myself.

*Washes hands*
 
Ortorin said:
Honestly, I choose to move away form this discussion. I have alot of diffrent ideas about religion, and being the bull-headed person I am, i'll get into a big argument about the whole thing and make an ass of myself.

*Washes hands*
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Have you checked the "Evolution vs Creationism" thread? Duty's lair? I would strongly advise you to do so. That thread has seen more blood than the middle east.
 
Taz said:
Have you checked the "Evolution vs Creationism" thread? Duty's lair? I would strongly advise you to do so. That thread has seen more blood than the middle east.
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Not to stay off topic of the thread, but I choose not to go posting in there. I'm still new to the forums, and I don't feel like making any enemys yet, 'cuse that's another subject that will get my blood boiling....

Be a flaw on my part, but I see people that can't agree on what I view as stone cold facts to be stupid. So I tend to stay out of thosue conversations before I alienate people.
 
Ortorin said:
Not to stay off topic of the thread, but I choose not to go posting in there. I'm still new to the forums, and I don't feel like making any enemys yet, 'cuse that's another subject that will get my blood boiling....

Be a flaw on my part, but I see people that can't agree on what I view as stone cold facts to be stupid. So I tend to stay out of thosue conversations before I alienate people.
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what is a stone cold fact? a group of people can believe a certain thing is true, but perceive that one thing in completely different ways. to each person, that one "fact" could mean something completely different.

i personally don't have a problem with evolution like some people seem to, but i see the core problem between the creation/evolution controversy to center around what everything really "means" instead of what those same things actually "are".

if people could understand that science isn't meant to dawdle in "meanings", there would still be a controversy, but i think it would be much less severe than it is now. the problem is that religion has spent so much time being anti-scientific, and, culturally, science has become the religion of secularism.

a lot of times, how you view and say something can make all the difference without compromising the facts... or without universalizing naturalism's view of "is".


also, the answer to why people believe in a "specific" religion is really impossible to answer without a strong bias. the religious would say "well, it's because mine is true and people deviate from my religion". a non-religious person would say "well, it's because none are true and people personify the fulfillment of their wants and needs in their religion". another way would be "well, all religions really are the same". . . . . . . anyway, you aren't going to get a straight answer on this because the answer depends completely on what religion is, which is probably the most controversial thing in the world since the earliest recorded history.
 
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What I ment when I said "Stone cold facts", is anything that I see as an apsolute truth, something no one could ever sway me from. I am very loyal and feircy protective of my ideas and beliefs.

Honestly, I believe that the problem with all the religious beliefs isn't about what is right and wrong, there will never be a right or a wrong as long as people can believe in diffrent things. The problem is that a great number of people can't just be tolerant of other people's views, and others can't keep their beliefs to themselves.

It's great if you believe one way, talk all day you want to me about how you view things and what you think is true, and I will counter with my own ideas, it's called a conversation. It's when one person wants to say that the other is "WRONG" and try to force the other to belive what they do is when problems arrise.

Seriously though, if people could simple share their thoughts without having to push it on to others, then things would be alot easier to work with. Not everyone has to agree with something for it to be true to YOU. So what if Jimmy at the cornor store is an atheist and your a chirstan, both of you can exist in the same place if you're just TOLERANT of each other.

So, all and all, if people would be more civil and not push their ideas on to others, then there wouldn't be such problems with this debate.
 
I think religion is a nice thing to have, unfortunately, their are a lot of people who get beyond defensive about it. There is a fine ine between passionate, and rude. Not saying anything about things people on here have said, I just think that it's what scares most people away from it. You don't have to jump right into dedication to religion. Different beliefs take work, especially taking on new values and resonsibilties.
 
Taz said:
The way I see it, the most important reason (or maybe the only reason in some cases) a person would be religious is the fear of death. Any religion is not a religion if we take away the promises about afterlife. Hope for an afterlife and fear of death are basically the only things that can make a man be religious.

If religion didn't promise heaven or hell, I doudt anyone would ever care to give a damn about it. Everything else comes way after that.
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Respectfully and totally disagree.....for myself if not anything else.

Not fearing death does have its value, but I could walk the walk I'm walking if that were removed totally from the equation. Might find it interesting to still not fear death.
:deadhorse: "Kick him in the head....told you he was dead." "I don't know....kick him in the back; kick him in the back." "Crack that whip; that'll get him up. He's still not moving, though." "Will someone wipe that smile off his face; it is almost haunting me."
 
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The humans desire to seek explanation for
1. Birth
2. Sex
3. Death

alongside easy to follow guidelines. They seek an explanation and a meaning of life, and this is what has come of it.
 
To answer the op, it all boils down to the fact that people are free to choose what they believe in. Should implies some factor that would motivate people to use the system of religion in their lives (versus other systems available).

There are benefits and drawbacks to any system being used. I suppose it depends on the person if they believe that the benefits presented are more important than the drawbacks perceived. That being said, perception also plays a large role in the whole thing.

Finally, trying to be a better person could lead to misery in a sense. However, so could doing nothing. We have the power to change our own lives (and attempt to do so in the lives of others) for what we think is better. The question is this: what will you (or anyone) choose to do with that power?
 
there is no 'should'- or theyre shouln't be
its a choice
 
Religion is a social system. It helped create the foundations for society in that it helped establish and give a reason to follow "rules." Religion is not a must, but it also isn't bad; it's an answer, it's a question, and, perhaps most importantly of all, it's a purpose. Some people approach it in different ways, and sometimes those ways can be destructive, but overall, it's for neither construction nor destruction; it's for order.

That, and there's a distinct difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is the foundation of belief; religion is the organization and widescale execution of beliefs.
 
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