Would we currently be more advanced if not for religion?

Discussion in 'Religion, Beliefs and Spirituality' started by HCL, Jan 18, 2010.

  1. I've been thinking about this for awhile, and my answer comes out to yes. There are so many opportunities for us to advance that we are just now cracking open and exploring, and some of that is because religion has deemed some things 'morally wrong', like stem cells from fetuses.

    So do you think that if religion was never created, we would currently be more advanced today?
     

  2. I have to agree. There's a reason the dark ages were called "dark" and the subsequent period the "enlightenment".
     
  3. Yes we would definitely be more advanced if religion wasn't slowing us down. Luckily we are moving towards a society that will only restrict science when there is a logical reason to do so.
     
  4. Yes, imagine if the Dark Ages never happened?
     
  5. if it were not for religion, minds like Newton and other enlightenment-age thinkers would may not have come up with the ideas that they did.

    i mean, it seems humans need repression to really flourish. if we were born inhibited, we would not know what the feeling of accomplishment would be like, we need to constantly break barriers to 'succeed' as we have defined it.

    that being said, the oppression of thought and freethinking that religions tend to subject their followers to is what sparks rational/intellectual human beings to think... we all need to start somewhere.
     
  6. Its not religion, its man's fault.
     
  7. nah, its not religion, and its not even man's fault.

    its the catholic church's fault :devious:



    there, it was said on page one :bongin:
     
  8. the catholic church is a human invention, a product of human (ir)rational thought; much like gravity, physics, art.

    i think its clear; it is an eerily (somewhat) linear progression of advancement in the art of thinking;

    paganism -> polytheistic -> monotheistic -> scientific thought.
     
  9. Loaded Question?
     

  10. i get what youre saying

    i was going a different direction I think. Im referring more to the setbacks caused, IMO, by the catholic church.

    granted, it was slathered in sarcasm, as there are many groups that would be considered just as guilty of similar crimes.....but the catholics were burning books (and people) that didnt correspond with their views, calling them heretical and heathenistic, for the better part of 1000 years lmao
     

  11. no i feel you, the Catholic church (out of the 1000s of others) is probably the most responsible for the destruction/oppression of human advancement.. why? fear of power outside of an elite few. fear that followers will actually discover salvation through self improvement and rational thought, and not faith in some floating deity in the sky. fear of having their bullshit be exposed.

    i find it ironic that what was supposed as salvation for the human race, as defined by the religious, is responsible, in some parts, for the downfall of man; by desecrating the ability for man to discover their meaning of/for life, instead of being spoon fed someone else's spin on the issue..
     
  12. i believe that religion is the reason for why we are the way we are. Religion is a huge reason behind alot of things and i think a new topic should be started just so we can discuss the actually point, meaning, blessing, what ever. that we we can accuratly decide the true answer for this topic. But i do most sertainly believe that religion was invented by man. and in turn it is the security blanket that has stunted the confidence of all man, people think we need god in order to continue with our lives, if u need a thing that has done nothing for you that u have seen. hes done nothing against you that u have seen, and yet we think we need his guidance with our decisions and safety in order to continue....

    God was invented by greedy men(opinion=catholics) , that the poor man would continue to donate their hard earned money, for unseen protection. its a lazy mans profit(opinion=98% of american leaders tactic to gain obedience from their people). Religion is most definatly a crutch under the subconcience of man keeping him obedient and generous
     
  13. ++Rep for starten this thread bro, i've been on the same bowl for hours thinken bout the same stuff.
     

  14. we are definitely on the same page there. well said.
     
  15. This discussion is philosophy, not science. Please remember to post in the correct section.
     
  16. like it freaking matters dude, let us blissfully discuss
     
  17. it does matter, if you cannot even discern the difference between regular philosophy and science, then you need to start at the beginning. Neither one is better than the other, they merely have different goals and tools to advance their hypotheses.

    I don't mind these discussions, but they need to be submitted in the correct place. There's a reason why its seperated, would you not have me do my job?
     

  18. IMO, thats subjective

    it could just as easily be approached from an anthropological viewpoint, in which case, we are discussing the evolution of human society, and discussing the outcome of the inherent human desire to explain the unexpainable, and previous oppressions thereof

    science is just an attempt to explain things, no?

    in that sense, this thread seems just as much a discussion of science as it does religion/philosophy to me.....granted, I am specifically trying to be a pain in the ass now, but I think its a fair point in its own right :D
     
  19. The bolded is why I chose to place my topic in the section I did. In my opinion, this:

    does not seem as fitting as the description for Science and Nature. I was actually going to post it in Spirituality/Philosophy first before I read the descriptions on each. Since you're a mod, I would suggest to ask the admins if an updated description for each section can be updated to clear up confusion.
     
  20. With the way the 3 monotheistic religions most think of upon hearing "religion" (judaism christianity and islam), then yeah, we'd be ages ahead. And it's not so much even the teachings of the religion itself (aside from islam) that held us back, but the church, deeming trying to figure out how gods creation works as heresy and putting people to death.
     

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