Just came to my mind... I believe that religion was created for mass control. That being said do you think that a world would be better off with no religion at all? Or worse off? I can see how religion has controlled society and some are good points (10 commandment type stuff), yet we have to also look at it's negative effects. Religion has caused so many fights and wars. 9/11 was done religiously (so it's been said). People having prejudgments of someone else because they don't share or believe in the same religion or follow in their holy footsteps. So I ask you blades, world better off without religion? Or worse off?
95% of the world's problems can be traced back to religion. the other 5% is because we don't have unlimited resources (yet)
[quote name='"Danceswithjuub"']95% of the world's problems can be traced back to religion. the other 5% is because we don't have unlimited resources (yet)[/quote] Idk how true that is but I wouldn't doubt it at all....I believe some day soon when all older generations die out we will have a day where religion is extinct... But when that day comes I fear it's because the government will be known as the higher omnipotent and all knowing power.... When your born they will let you know. Welcome to physical Life: may be recorded or monitored....unless we revolt and take back what's rightfully ours...freedom
[quote name='"zedfonse"']If we didn't have religion, we would be a thousand years more advanced.[/quote] If drugs weren't illegal I believe we would be 2 thousand years more advanced lol well maybe just weed.
Without religion, morons wouldn't just accept everything as the work of 'God' and actually strive to forward scientific studies.
I was actaually thinking about this last week. But when you think about how many people have died and suffered in the name of god its mind boggling, and how society has to be molded around it. On the other hand without religion alot of people have no structure in their lives and therefore may not have any morals. So its a double edged sword.
I think having a personal religion is fine. But once people start praising a God saying my God is right, and this is what my God expects of me in the judeo-christian-islamic sense (Basically and generally, not ALL people, but most leads to confining yourself, and creating judgments on other people who don't share your faith). You get put into boxes. And then you can only act in a number of controlled ways -depending on your religion. Religion that makes you give them money just to build more churches, and hence, create more profit off of a confused-looking for security-human, i think is wrong. I agree most all forms of religion is a control mechanism. Although western religions are the scarier of the two. I haven't done a tone of research but i think buddhism is pretty legit because it puts the responsibility soley on the individual(correct me if im wrong). But to conclude, I think you have to be your own personal God, and create your own temple (so basically go deep into yourself, exploring everything. Good and bad), while understanding that your universe/reality was created by a higher level of dna. Just my thoughts at the moment.
Religion does not provide morals. It subtracts them/muddies them. Police and Human Law provide morals to a an immoral society. Religion does no such thing. Religion can provide "hope" on false terms, while science can provide "hope" on true terms. Religion is the most convoluted concept out there. *Love thy neighbor...unless of course he is gay. *Do not murder....unless in the name of your God. *Do not steal...unless of course you are marauding/crusading in name of your God, in that case- sack the city! It's all bull shit. Without religion, this world would be one of happiness, prosperity, curiosity, and scientific understanding. "I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance any day." *Side note, I was brought up Lutheran. Now I believe in a Creator, but certainly not one based off an institutionalized religion. ** If any religion is closest to being correct, I would say it was Buddhism. ***Christianity is not that bad either if you cut out 98% of the Bible and leave the parts about love and understanding in there.
Dont know how true this is.....religion and deities has been used to explain the human condition since time immemorial. I dont think any civilization can legitimately survive and function as a unit without a shared cosmology, so people strove to explain the things around them as best as they could. I understand your point that the conflict that has resulted from religion has hindered our progress as a species, but at the end of the day, I believe that faith is the manifestation of the desire to be free from the terror of the unknown, and humans needed some kind of anchor and definitely a cosmology to explain why they were there and what they were doing. Would we, nothing else considered, have been further along without organized religion and the great amount of blood that has been spilled in the name of God? Certainly. But I wonder if humans could have continued to advance and constantly improve upon civilizations at all without the comfort and unity of religious faith and shared cosmology.
Our society has become MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more advanced/intelligent since the Ancients who wrote the Religious texts. We understand so much more now. We have models for sub atomic particles for fucks sake. We put a man on the moon with a space ship that we propelled out of the atmosphere! We have lasers that perform precision surgery deep in people's brains, and remove tumors. There is a reason we have hit TV sitcoms called "The Big Bang Theory" and not "Jesus Was Right!" Our society no longer needs religion to function. We have become more enlightened as our knowledge of the universe continues to grow everyday. The religious are holding everyone back from breaking through to an age of understanding instead of the age of imagination. And it is mainly because of fear and power. Now, is it fair that I want people to abandon their religions? No and Yes. No: It's all they know. LITERALLY. Who am I to take away their entire meaning? Yes: If I took it all away, our society would sky rocket towards higher-order consciousness. Once again, I have faith and am quite spiritual. Do I believe that when I die I will be standing up in the clouds in a waiting line for some Heavenly Executive in a business suit to decide if I deserve eternal damnation or eternal "paradise?" No that is fucking asinine to believe. Fuck off with that nonsensical shit.
Existentialist philosophy, for example, revolves around individual responsibility and is the antithesis to determinism but Buddhism kinda holds the individual accountable in terms of the fact that their actions count and that their journey of self exploration is purely personal. Rather than the Christian cut and dry concept of heaven and hell, there is a karmic reincarnation cycle......im gonna stop talking to risk sounding like a dumbass. I dont know enough about buddhism to continue, so I wont. Read about buddhism sometime though, its fascinating bro. I like what you say in the first paragraph and agree with it. Keep on keepin on bro, peace.
I strongly disagree with the bolded statement. As long as humans continue to exist without concrete answers as to the nature and purpose of their existence as well as what happens after death, religion will be integral to our survival. From the standpoint of government, how can you have even a slightly motivated, semi-unified, productive citizenry when they have nothing to hold on to and nothing to tell them they have meaning and are doing things for a reason? I think religion has persisted for as long as it has precisely because people need it and value it about all other things. People's religious beliefs come to be part of how they see and EXPLAIN the world and themselves, and if that clear explanation were to be taken away, they'd be tossed into the void of uncertainty and fear. I am an agnostic, and I'll tell you, it would be really comforting to be religious and have answers, this lack of definitive answers is a terrible burden for me to bear. Im just too rational to be able to deceive myself into fully believing what should not be unquestionably believed...but perhaps that is my loss. PS: "There is a reason we have hit TV sitcoms called "The Big Bang Theory" and not "Jesus Was Right!"" LOLOLOL
Religion is only mans excuse for slaughter, something he is programmed to do. A world without social indifferences or the existence of Social-Darwinism, now thats a good one. But then you must change the structures of evolution, and life itself would be unimaginably different. Perhaps the science behind things is less advanced than we believe, or the system itself is flawed. No telling.
Let me clarify. Society has no need for RELIGION. Society has great need for SPIRITUALITY. There is a difference. Religion is fear and power. Spirituality is love and hope. Religion is discrimination. Spirituality is unification. Religion is a made up story. Spirituality is real. Religion breeds contempt. Spirituality breeds acceptance. Religion tells you not to question. Spirituality empowers you to question. Religion is misconception/confusion. Spirituality is education/understanding. Religion is an institution. Spirituality is personal. Religion is control of the masses. Spirituality is freedom of the masses. This is what I mean. People need something to hold on to. People don't need something holding onto them---and never letting go, not even in death. People need hope. People don't need illogical fear of eternal damnation for sinning. ------------------------------- Religion is like a virus of the mind. The human brain is like a computer. A computer does what it is told to do based on a preset code. A brain also thinks/does what it is told by preset codes of evolution. Religion is like a virus infecting the brain and making it go haywire. A healthy human mind is run by unconditional love and morals. An infected human mind (religious) is run by fear and paranoia of going to hell or being punished in the afterlife for not following orders. The religious want to find you when you are young so they can plant the seeds of the virus in your mind when your brain is young and impressionable in hopes that when you grow up, you will pass the mind virus onto your off spring, thus infecting more minds. This is what religion is. People are blind to the truth. PS. I don't consider Buddhism "religion." I consider it a spirituality. Buddhism teaches nothing morally offensive and explains most of the concepts of science in spiritual terms, thus making it believable. It also does not contradict itself every time it opens its mouth *ahem* Yes I am looking at you Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. Side note: It's kinda like this. Matter is physical. Mind is spiritual. Human's are nothing more than physical reality (matter) contemplating itself. (spirit) Checkmate religion, checkmate.