Religion... why?

[wyrdsister]

In our age of scientific discovery I would like to pose the question...

Why is religion still relevant in out time?

Obviously in past centuries it was a form of mind control and personality cults. Myths and legends to explain our Earth and the Universe and why we were here and to be good people or we shall rot in hell or be reborn as amoebas... but now in the year 2007, why is religion still relevant?

[SolitaryWalker]

Originally Posted by wyrdsister

In our age of scientific discovery I would like to pose the question...

Why is religion still relevant in out time?

Obviously in past centuries it was a form of mind control and personality cults. Myths and legends to explain our Earth and the Universe and why we were here and to be good people or we shall rot in hell or be reborn as amoebas... but now in the year 2007, why is religion still relevant?

Religion's task is to give one meaning in life by answering the biggest questions of cosmology. There are two kinds of religions, those that run on theology and those that run on mythology. Theological religions use reason juxtaposed with the Holy writings to make sense of the world, the other kind just rely on absurd and clumsy fairy tales to satisfy the masses.

All in all I would say that even theological religions are not acceptable, as questions of eschatology need scriptual testimony for legitimation.


Beliefs like that in Christian God can only be accepted on a wild leap of faith and they can only be believed because they talk about things that we can not ascertain of with our reason. Hence, you dont know if God exists or not if there is an afterlife, or whatever, so leave it. And maybe, just to be safe accept Jesus (as Pascal would say) who knows, if he really was right, this would be the best decision you'd ever make. But again, you're not in the position to make assessments on how likely he is to be right or not because he speaks of things that are outside of our grasp.

[nightning]

Yes we have science... but science can't explain everything. For example it can only look at whether something exists or not, the mechanics how something works. It cannot and will never explain the "why questions". Why are humans the only dominant species on this planet? What's the purpose of life etc. The mind craves explainations for everything... I suppose that's why many people turn to religion.

[SolitaryWalker]

Originally Posted by nightning

Yes we have science... but science can't explain everything. For example it can only look at whether something exists or not, the mechanics how something works. It cannot and will never explain the "why questions". Why are humans the only dominant species on this planet? What's the purpose of life etc. The mind craves explainations for everything... I suppose that's why many people turn to religion.

Science deals with what we can inquire into, hence what is within the bounds of reason. Religion claims to give us insight into what science can not grasp.

They cant clash into one another because they are exploring totally different fields.

[nightning]

Originally Posted by SolitaryWalker

Science deals with what we can inquire into, hence what is within the bounds of reason. Religion claims to give us insight into what science can not grasp.

They cant clash into one another because they are exploring totally different fields.

That was what I was trying to say... thank you for rephrasing it

[ptgatsby]

Originally Posted by SolitaryWalker

Science deals with what we can inquire into, hence what is within the bounds of reason. Religion claims to give us insight into what science can not grasp.

How do you feel about the overlap between science and religion, on themes like evolution (where science is exploring topics that religion believe to be their domain) and philosophical concepts like theories of knowledge (which used to be the domain of religion).

[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by wyrdsister

Why is religion still relevant in out time? Obviously in past centuries it was a form of mind control and personality cults. ...

That's a pretty cynical view of religion.

Plus, lumping all "religion" into one category is difficult, because of the wide variety of belief systems and behaviors stemming from belief systems. Obviously religion has run all over the gamut from sincere to manipulative, from naive to crafty, from domineering to passive, from peaceful to bloodthirsty.

Like others have said, people search for meaning. When they don't have meaning, they lose the will to live.

On the contrary, I think in a postmodern world that offers no inherent meaning, religion is becoming even more important... and I think the growing strength of religion around the globe (and how it's becoming "in vogue" again) attests to this.

[SolitaryWalker]

Originally Posted by ptgatsby

How do you feel about the overlap between science and religion, on themes like evolution (where science is exploring topics that religion believe to be their domain) and philosophical concepts like theories of knowledge (which used to be the domain of religion).

Nope science cant go there. It can only describe what happens in this world. The problems of science and philosophy are of understanding this world and Gods are to be left on the outside.

Evolution tells us nothing about eschatology or metaphysics, it can only tell us that perhaps man evolved from apes, but to say that from this it follows that God does not exist, or what our creator may have looked like, or what happens after death would just be mere conjecture. We dont have enough to speculate from what we've gained from either science or philosophy.

Theoretical theology is impossible, Kant has already burried it, as whatever Gods may be are in the noumenal world that we have no access to.

[wyrdsister]

Originally Posted by SolitaryWalker

Science deals with what we can inquire into, hence what is within the bounds of reason. Religion claims to give us insight into what science can not grasp.

They cant clash into one another because they are exploring totally different fields.

I disagree. They aren't always exploring totally different fields, look at Creationism and Darwinism.

[SolitaryWalker]

Originally Posted by Fortunato

That's a pretty cynical view of religion.

Plus, lumping all "religion" into one category is difficult, because of the wide variety of belief systems and behaviors stemming from belief systems. Obviously religion has run all over the gamut from sincere to manipulative, from naive to crafty, from domineering to passive, from peaceful to bloodthirsty.

Like others have said, people search for meaning. When they don't have meaning, they lose the will to live.

On the contrary, I think in a postmodern world that offers no inherent meaning, religion is becoming even more important... and I think the growing strength of religion around the globe (and how it's becoming "in vogue" again) attests to this.

He is right, religion has nothing to do with spirituality, it is slave to the political ends of whatever powers that be. True religion as you'd like to see it is nothing other than your private meditations with God.