That's not what I was getting at. I was comparing stubborn theists (you) to stubborn anti-drug supporters. No matter what evidence is brought up against their argument, they will simply stand stead-fast in their belief because of what they have grown up with and surrounded themselves with.
Religion: totally worthless. It has nothing to offer us that we can't get another way. In my view it is glaringly obvious that religion -- and especially monotheism -- is getting us nowhere. God: imaginary. I haven't encountered one argument for the existence of God that I haven't seen debunked a hundred times before. With all we know about psychology, it again seems obvious that the concept of God is simply anthropomorphization.* We try putting the human stamp on everything but it's simply not necessary. You're just a buncha particles constantly coming into contact with others. Think of the universe and how many particles are not on the Internet right now. You're lucky particles. *A good one to know.
I don't believe it in the slightest. I'll respect anyones right to do so provided it has no effect on my day to day life. The thing I find funny about religion is that they'll look back through history at Greek, Roman, Aztec etc Gods and proclaim them as imaginary higher beings disproved by time. How are those religions any different to the religions of today?
I take parts of different religions that I like and form it together into my own. Why? Simple, because it makes me happy. Maybe there is no god, but telling myself that there is comforts me, and that's all that matters.
Fuck religion with the long, red dick of the devil himself. Hopefully religion disappears without a trace in the next 200 years or so.
I wouldn't want it to be forgotten though. It would be important to know that we have progressed past that type of irrational thinking so we don't fall back into it.
Exactly. If you are to forget history, you are bound to repeat it again. Religion is a corrosive, irrational belief. It one of the most prevalent anti-intellectual movements in society.
i agree with george carlin. "if thier is a god i think he might just not give a fuck. i meen it seems he can do anything but create money for his religion." "he has a special place reserved filled with a eternity of pain and suffering and fire and death and torment.......BUT HE LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!" no but in all seriousness. i believe in free believe i dont believe in a god(persay) but i do believe that no matter how hard you try to cause hate you can get along with "anyone" i believe world peace is attainable if more people spent time out fo thier day to imagine that those people they hate. have lives and dreams and loves and things just like you. a mom a dad(maybe not) but were all people and like any good buddhist i do my best to treat everyone equally. i dont mind christians.(or anyone with a difrent belief) just the .01% of extremists who stand outside abortion clinics or that tie bombs to eachother and kill innocents. i wish one day i could be sittin in a circle by a bonfire with people of all difrent cultures enjoying the herb and talking about life. i believe the farther we dwelve as a world in capitalism the further we will be from a free people. to many people spend to much time worrying about their hair and nails and the dishes and feeding the dog and the newest tv's that they forget. those people across the oceans(or even downtown) are the same as you...just people who want happiness.(or something else)
I don't agree with religion. I could probably type on for quite some time on why that is, but I just don't. I think the reasons are obvious to those who have considered them, and they have probably been stated in this thread. I grew up as a mormon, and one day I realized how ridiculous the indoctrination truly was.
Yo bro, the bible never says "Everything will be perfect and nothing bad will ever happen." Just because evil exists (most of which comes from our own doing, not god. Ie- drug trade, starvation, etc.) does not mean a God cannot exist as well. Why do you choose to focus on all the negatives and forget the beauty, and love, and passion that exists in spite (and most possibly BECAUSE) of "evil". While we're on the subject though why do things even have to be defined as "good" things or "bad" things. Who defines such things? Certainly not us. We can't see the effects everything has on the big picture. Do sad things happen? Yeah sure, but they also make everyone who is effected by those situation appreciate their own lives that much more. We all go through little moments of pain in our lives, and afterward we can truly see the beauty around us. Who's to say death just isn't one more of those little moments? Seems like you have a misunderstanding of what true faith really is. You see, you can have faith that your wife won't cheat on you, or that you'll receive a gift on Christmas, or that your family will have your back. These beliefs aren't necessarily based on "fact" but more on feeling. It also matters WHAT you have faith in. Some people have faith in their wife and she'll end up sleepin around. And the rest have faith that isn't baseless, their wives give them a reason to believe they won't sleep around. Same is true for "religions". Some people have a baseless faith in their religion, and therefore just pretend to really feel it. And yet others who truly believe base their beliefs principally on the way they feel about it, not necessarily on "facts" that can be proven or disproven. You can't prove or disprove if your wife will be faithful to you... yet. Haha, just like we can't prove or disprove the existence of a god... yet . Although I don't "support" any particular religion either, I do believe many of them have MUCH truth to be found if looked at with an open mind. You really need to start focusing on the positive instead of the negative, you'll really start to feel better about life in general.
I don't believe in any kind of god or superior being. On occasion, when I'm tearing my house apart in search of something I've misplaced and I'm flustered by temporary insanity, I'll curse the omnipotent force that hid it on me. But's that it, then I eventually return to reality and realize that I just get really baked and forget where I put shit sometimes. I respect anyone who invests their beliefs in some kind of after life. That's the point of religion in my opinion; something to focus on and follow by in life, a kind of code, that will determine where you end up when your sapient being ceases to function, rather than just rotting in the ground. Buuuuut... Come on. Just because it's a big book that's been around for 100's and 100's of years, doesn't make what's in it credible at all. It's a giant fairy tale, and I would never devote my life to some made up dude in the sky that just sits by and watches 9/11 with a bag of popcorn. Fuck no am I going to feel guilty for participating in any of what is ridiculously deemed as sin. Life is too short to live it by a big of fiction.
Of course the Bible never says everything will be perfect and nothing bad will ever happen. But Christians claim their God is both omnipotent and omniscient, which means he has complete control and knowing over all the 'bad' things that happen on Earth. I'm simply making the point that what type of loving and caring god would allow such things to happen? Honestly, Greek mythology makes more sense, because Greeks did not portray their Gods to be all-loving higher powers, because it simply would not make sense because of all the suffering in the world. And I never denied that there was no beauty, love, and passion, because there is, but that wasn't the point I was making. You're right. The two words 'good' and 'bad' are human conceptions. But in the Bible, there are numerous occasions where it defines 'good' and where it defines 'bad', so I can use that as a marker when trying to disprove religion to Christians if they try to bring up the argument that good and bad is simply human conception. You're the one with a misunderstanding about the term faith. Let's take a trip to dictionary.com, shall we? Here is the 2nd most used definition of faith: The word faith in the use of religious pretenses should be considered a negative connotation. I know many people will agree with me. Some religion has truth in it to a certain extent. It usually depends what religious text you are reading. I personally believe that Buddhist texts such as the Tipitaka or Pali Canon contain the most enlightening information out of any other religious text. Lastly, why are you assuming so much about me from one or two posts a made in this thread? You act as if you know everything about me... how I should start focusing on the positive instead of the negative, and how I'll start to feel better about life. Let me tell you, you have no clue what you are talking about, my friend.
Saying that all religions are "anti-intellectual" is as ignorant as saying all southerners are conservative, or that all governments are evil/currupt. Are most southerners conservative? Yep. Are most governments corrupt? Yep. But does that mean that southern liberals can't exist? or that an honest governmenment that is truly for the people has never and will never come about?... Likewise, does the fact that no "perfect" religion has yet come about mean that there are no good ones? Or that we should stop striving to attain that perfect "religion". I'm not a proponent of any particular religion but I do believe in a God and that we do have a "purpose", even if that purpose is just to enjoy ourselves, love each other, and acknowledge God and his creations. I hope you haven't forgotten that the father of genetics was a monk . Many many learned and intelligent men are "religious", even some of your beloved scientists haha. @everyone is pertains to: If you want to look at all of the problems with the prominent religions and use that to fuel your belief that no "God" exists and that we have no purpose for our lives then so be it, I'm not going to rain on your parade...
Here is my bit, I Dont mean to offend anyone but if you are offended. I really see no reason why I should apologize. After all I find the concept of being divinely created as a special species pure hubris and offensive. I am an atheist, I believe in science and quantifiable fact. Religion has some good teachings that can help you lead a life that some would call "Moral." I personally believe that morality is subjective and nothing can be determined as entirely moral, except maybe dont kill people. But lets face it the world would be a better place if some people never existed or were killed before they could do what they did. I.E. Hitler I was baptized and raised catholic, but I now hate the catholic church because of the atrocities they have committed throughout history. I really dont understand how anyone that has the knowledge can take them seriously. I.E. Crusades killed thousands of innocent people just for being of a different religion. Dark ages and inquisitions, the church tortured and executed thousands of people because they "Confessed" when in actuality they were tortured until they confessed to something. Missionaries going to places and telling people that they should be christian or they will burn forever in fiery flames, if i was ignorant that would be enough to scare me into religion. Etc... the list goes on and on.. Not to mention pedophilia and the recent scandal that the current pope didnt do anything about it when he was supposed to investigate and he was a nazi. The last pope was pretty good, he even said "Evolution is no longer a mere theory." I also think religion will ultimately bring about the demise of the human race. Many bible thumping types often say "The bible is the word of god" because they genuinely believe this they refuse to accept that some parts of the bible may not be correct. Remember the bible is very old, and written before the time of modern science. Back then no one could explain the natural phenomena that we can explain today. If you got sick, it must have been the devil or divine retribution. If it rained its cause god decided to give you water. etc etc... For example Pork muslims believe eating pork is unclean or even evil, could there be a connection that pigs back then often carried parasites that would make you sick? Also religious scriptures have been translated thousands if not millions of times, rewritten and edited thousands if not millions of times, by thousands if not millions of different people. And remember very few people back then could read and write. Yet people still take it at face value... despite there are hundreds of versions of the bible in english alone... Its like dough that has changed hands between thousands of people, kneaded by thousands of people, and had ingredients added and taken out by thousands of people. Would you eat that dough?? I sure wouldn't... Now I understand the concept of faith, and that it is about believing without needing proof. And I myself used to believe as well, say whatever my faith was weak. But the fact that many religious people reject things that scientists all around the world have a common consensus about is just plain blind faith. Are the religious that afraid of death? Many people believe the apocalypse is upon us because signs from scriptures are appearing. Scriptures that are not credible sources of information, look at what i said above, ever play the game telephone? someone always messes it up whether it was intentional or not... There are religious fanatics that would try to bring about the end of the world to prove their scriptures right. Remember the bible is not written by god it is written by men, whether it was divinely inspired or not. I worry that the religious will bring about a self fulfilling prophecy that will kill us all.
You seem to lack understanding of the concept of free will. Just because a God is omniscient in everywhere and everything doesn't mean he will interfere with them. Do I fully understand omniscience and "God"'s reasons for allowing things to unfold as they do? No. And neither does anyone else. As I stated before, I'm not a subscriber of any particular religion, and I don't think christianity is perfect by any means, just so you know. You're not disproving religion, simply coming up with a counter-argument you can use against Christians who hold a certain view contrary to what most main-stream Christians believe. What you are still failing to acknowledge is that there is a difference between baseless faith and faith that is well-founded. Galileo had FAITH that his hypothesis that the earth revolved around the sun was true. And then he proved it with science. Just because science has yet to evolve to a point where we can prove without a doubt that God exists doesn't mean that we shouldn't have faith in it. Do you think Galileo was the first person EVER to think that the earth may not be the center of the universe? Most likely not, he was just the first person who had that notion AND had the means to prove it. Without those instruments he would have been thought of as just as crazy as ever by society until he died, just as many Theists are. So because many people will agree with you that makes your opinion more credible? How very "scientific" of you... I wasn't "assuming" anything about you. You talked about natural disasters, people being killed in drug trafficking, etc, all of which asserted to be negative things. You also did not list any positive things. Therefore I pointed out the FACT that you were focusing on negative things as opposed to positive things. Also I believe that you assumed that when I said that you would feel better about life in general, that I was asserting that you felt bad about life in general. I wasn't. For all I know you could have a very positive outlook on life. But that doesn't mean that your outlook on life can't become better, can't improve, does it? You WILL feel better if you focus on positive things, it's been proven. I sure feel better when I focus on the positive. But hey, whatever floats your boat.
The only reason I was talking about those things was because I was making a point that this planet is not governed by a loving God. Free will has nothing to do with it, God knowingly lets it happen. Honestly, this is the only remark I'm going to reply to. I've had hundreds of arguments over the exact same thing you are trying to debate with me right now. I'm too lazy to go any further. conclusion: Christianity mostly supports ignorance. Granted, there is maybe a few lessons you will be able to learn... but if you are looking to learn something, don't read the Bible.
Religions are anti-intellectual. Mind showing me how I am ignorant for saying this? You've given examples of religious people who have contributed to our knowledge through scientific means, not religious ones. Also, I'd like for you to explain why you think my disbelief in Aman-Ra would make me have "no purpose" in life.
There's your first problem, judging religions based on the atrocities some of the people who have "claimed" to follow that religion have committed. Do you believe that every single muslim supported the bombing of 911? Or that every republican is conservative, or every democrat liberal? Look at some of the atrocities that some of the Republicans and Democrats are committing in government, does that mean we should denounce all of the pillars upon which those parties were based? I'm amazed at how judgmental most atheists tend to be, and how most christians tend to be, and how most muslims tend to be, and how everyone including me tends to be. You thought I was just gonna pick on atheists huh? How presumptive of you!