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Can religious people be genuinely decent?

Mole

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...well, when "doing what the System / State / Doctrinal Scree says is the best" is not what you think is the best. This actually happens a lot, but the person acting in accordance to conscience will be labeled as a reprobate at the time by the dominant social system.

^^ I mean, hell, you could say Jesus himself fits in that category, ironically.

I think it is extremely unlikely that Jesus acted according to his conscience against Judaism.

It is far more likely that Jesus religiously followed the dominent social system of Judaism and became a Zealot.
 

Thalassa

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If you would actually observe human beings over the course of history and in their present incarnation you would see that human nature, not religion is the problem. People can be equally as disgusting via communism, anarcho-capitalism, or witch hunting twelve year olds who smile in front of concentration camps. People are spectacularly selfish, self righteous, ridiculous, delusional and fixated on their archetypes. It's all the same underneath.

That's not to say I don't have strong ethics or cultural preferences myself, but yeah, people and their peopleness.
 

Mal12345

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If you would actually observe human beings over the course of history and in their present incarnation you would see that human nature, not religion is the problem. People can be equally as disgusting via communism, anarcho-capitalism, or witch hunting twelve year olds who smile in front of concentration camps. People are spectacularly selfish, self righteous, ridiculous, delusional and fixated on their archetypes. It's all the same underneath.

That's not to say I don't have strong ethics or cultural preferences myself, but yeah, people and their peopleness.

Comma splice between "religion" and "is." And you say you have a degree in English?
 

OrangeAppled

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I think it's been brought up, but in many religions, there is no "scoring points with God to earn a place in some utopian afterlife". It's often about reflecting God's perfect qualities the best a flawed human can because of a love for what is just & holy & loving, which God is said to embody. As for the Bible, it calls any "reward" an undeserved kindness from God, aka "grace", or something which cannot be earned, but is a gift. This is given out of God's love, not based on what we do or don't do, but on who we are. But this gift is bestowed on those worthy of it - those whose hearts are deemed complete towards God, because otherwise they are in effect scorning it & rejecting it (by not valuing God & what he embodies). The Bible simply shows that actions & words manifest from the inner person, so it's not like there is no connection between the two. But spirituality is about your inner person, the things no one sees or knows, sometimes not even you (ie. self-awareness), but that God knows because he reads "hearts". In other words, for a Christian, there is no fake being good or acting out of selfish motive to achieve a reward if you are actually following the teachings you claim to believe in. There is only refining the inner self to reflect God's glory, which will inevitably result in being more kind, loving, selfless, etc.
 

Mole

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I think it's been brought up, but in many religions, there is no "scoring points with God to earn a place in some utopian afterlife". It's often about reflecting God's perfect qualities the best a flawed human can because of a love for what is just & holy & loving, which God is said to embody. As for the Bible, it calls any "reward" an undeserved kindness from God, aka "grace", or something which cannot be earned, but is a gift. This is given out of God's love, not based on what we do or don't do, but on who we are. But this gift is bestowed on those worthy of it - those whose hearts are deemed complete towards God, because otherwise they are in effect scorning it & rejecting it (by not valuing God & what he embodies). The Bible simply shows that actions & words manifest from the inner person, so it's not like there is no connection between the two. But spirituality is about your inner person, the things no one sees or knows, sometimes not even you (ie. self-awareness), but that God knows because he reads "hearts". In other words, for a Christian, there is no fake being good or acting out of selfish motive to achieve a reward if you are actually following the teachings you claim to believe in. There is only refining the inner self to reflect God's glory, which will inevitably result in being more kind, loving, selfless, etc.

This is the Protestant doctrine of Justification by Faith. By contrast the Roman Catholic doctrine is Justification by Faith and Works.

The Protestant doctrine is special pleading and informs, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, just click on http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/1095/The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.pdf

So this Protestant doctrine, presented so artlessly here, underlies bourgeois American Capitalism. Whoopee!
 

Mal12345

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This is the Protestant doctrine of Justification by Faith. By contrast the Roman Catholic doctrine is Justification by Faith and Works.

The Protestant doctrine is special pleading and informs, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, just click on http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/1095/The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.pdf

So this Protestant doctrine, presented so artlessly here, underlies bourgeois American Capitalism. Whoopee!

"Bourgeois" is a communist term. Nice job outing yourself, commie! :)
 

Mole

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"Bourgeois" is a communist term. Nice job outing yourself, commie! :)

The words bourgeois, proletariat, and liberal are part of the English language which is used by Communists, Nazis, Islamists, and liberals. And it turns out I practise liberal democracy.

But calling me a commie reveals you to be a political son of senator Joe McCarthy.
 

Mal12345

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The words bourgeois, proletariat, and liberal are part of the English language which is used by Communists, Nazis, Islamists, and liberals. And it turns out I practise liberal democracy.

But calling me a commie reveals you to be a political son of senator Joe McCarthy.

Oh now THAT is SO Bourgeois of you!
 

Cimarron

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This is the Protestant doctrine of Justification by Faith. By contrast the Roman Catholic doctrine is Justification by Faith and Works.

The Protestant doctrine is special pleading and informs, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, just click on http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/1095/The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.pdf

So this Protestant doctrine, presented so artlessly here, underlies bourgeois American Capitalism. Whoopee!

Quite right.
 

Mole

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The Bourgeoisie and Pwned

Oh now THAT is SO Bourgeois of you!

The bourgeoisie are the owners. I own no property.

But it is telling that popular slang in the USA is pwned.

Pwned is bourgeois crowing over those who don't own property, or in the disgusting slang of the USA, pwned is crowing over losers.

Pwned is a bourgeois corruption of the word owned. It is a word of the ownners, by the owners, and for the owners, and expresses contempt for the losers.

And of course the USA hates losers, while Oz loves losers.
 

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

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Everyone has some kind of code that they live by. Everyone operates out of self-interest. We're taught early on that being nice to people means they'll be nice back -- and that respecting others means they'll respect you. We're taught that you can live a more fulfilling life if you are a better person. How is that not self-interest?

 

Mole

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Religion, Trance, Suggestion, Love and Hope

All religions induce a trance plane in their followers. And in this trance plane the followers are suggestible. Most, but not all religions, give suggestions of love and hope.

So most religious followers are more hopeful and loving.
 

Julius_Van_Der_Beak

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All religions induce a trance plane in their followers. And in this trance plane the followers are suggestible. Most, but not all religions, give suggestions of love and hope.

How, though? Usually, it does this through words, images and music. Art seems to have been developed originally with a religious purpose in mind, even before Christianity. Which begs the question of whether or not art can put someone in a trance state, too. This also suggests the role of art in propaganda and advertising.
 

Mole

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The Suspension of Disbelief, Art, Religion, and Advertising

How, though? Usually, it does this through words, images and music. Art seems to have been developed originally with a religious purpose in mind, even before Christianity. Which begs the question of whether or not art can put someone in a trance state, too. This also suggests the role of art in propaganda and advertising.

Sure, the measure of art is whether it succeeds in suspending disbelief. And the suspension of disbelief is a trance state where some of the critical faculties go to sleep and some of the creative faculties take centre stage.

This is equally true of religion as all religions depend on the suspension of disbelief. And as you point out so well, not so long ago there was no separation between art and religion. We see this in the great religious art of the West and in the Dreamtime of Aboriginees where art and religion are one.

And yes, propaganda and advertising depend on the suspension of disbelief.

The ultimate American propagandist, Edward Bernays, set this out in his book called, Propaganda.

To see Edward's history click on Edward Bernays- The Ultimate Propagandist - National History Day 2009 - YouTube

You can read how Edward Bernays created the American mind in his book, Propaganda, just click on http://www.whale.to/b/bernays.pdf
 

Nocapszy

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better question: who cares?
if people do good, why does it matter what reason i had?
if people do bad, why does it matter which devil told them to?
why does it matter if i did it because of some intrinsic qualities or if i did it because i know i'm being watched by the almighty? either way, i did some good or bad. why does intention matter?
i'm not talking about accidents: if your intention was good and you miscalculated or screwed it up in some way and you wound up doing bad, that's something else - that's has nothing to do with your nature, but with your competence.

but my question is, how is the internal process, be it conscience or fear of god; whichever drives one's action relevant to... i guess my question is, who cares? why is anyone asking?
what good does this curiosity do anyone?
 

renaiziphonts

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better question: who cares?
if people do good, why does it matter what reason i had?
if people do bad, why does it matter which devil told them to?
why does it matter if i did it because of some intrinsic qualities or if i did it because i know i'm being watched by the almighty? either way, i did some good or bad. why does intention matter?
i'm not talking about accidents: if your intention was good and you miscalculated or screwed it up in some way and you wound up doing bad, that's something else - that's has nothing to do with your nature, but with your competence.

but my question is, how is the internal process, be it conscience or fear of god; whichever drives one's action relevant to... i guess my question is, who cares? why is anyone asking?
what good does this curiosity do anyone?
Well, as far as whether intention matters, imagine you're on a date. I apologize in advance, this is the only relatable form I can think of. Anyways, you are on a date, and you think it went well, but the next day you discover that for the other, it was because of a bet, or something stupid. They went out with you for some external motivation, and the emotional connection you had imagined wasn't real. it would probably hurt a bit. At least a bit.

Ultimately, intentions only matter after the fact, when somebody gets what they wants, or what have you, but they can sometimes play a more important role than the action itself. Just my opinion though.
 

renaiziphonts

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Do religious people - particularly belonging to religions of moral dogma - genuinely care about others well being? Or are they simply acting out of their own (Imagined) self interest (Scoring points for their afterlife game)? How can you know? How can they? Are there any situations in which acting for the benefit of others would not be in their own spiritual interest?

Disclaimer: I don't mean simply in action, but in terms of intent.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter if you're in the church of Christ our Superman, or Satan's Sharing Circle, whether you are insane, or autistic, whether you are man, woman, black or white. Everyone is unique and everyone has the same likely hood of doing good or bad. Being of a religion will not change who you are. That I am fairly passionate about, if not dramatic, but here's some logical stuff to:

In law, it is considered illegal to kill. If it was not illegal, would you kill someone? I assume whether it is law or not doesn't change your choice, because right or wrong is only influenced by what you are told, not decided. You ultimately will have the same morality, and empathy, and will to do good, no matter where you are.
 

Mole

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Ultimately, it doesn't matter if you're in the church of Christ our Superman, or Satan's Sharing Circle, whether you are insane, or autistic, whether you are man, woman, black or white. Everyone is unique and everyone has the same likely hood of doing good or bad. Being of a religion will not change who you are. That I am fairly passionate about, if not dramatic, but here's some logical stuff to:

In law, it is considered illegal to kill. If it was not illegal, would you kill someone? I assume whether it is law or not doesn't change your choice, because right or wrong is only influenced by what you are told, not decided. You ultimately will have the same morality, and empathy, and will to do good, no matter where you are.

The simple fact is that we all fall under the Bell Curve.

This means that a tiny proportion are always good and a small proportion are always bad, and most of us in the middle are good and bad.

And statistically, what stops most of us from being bad is the likelihood of being caught.
 
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