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Religion... why?

riel

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The fact that we can't currently explain something scientifically doesn't mean that it's miraculous. It just means that we can't currently explain it. A lot of people seem so uncomfortable with the idea of uncertainty, but I think it's dangerous to take the vast scope of things we don't understand and lump them all under the "religion, not science" umbrella. Our understanding of the world is constantly changing. A few thousand years ago, people had a complex system of beliefs to explain things like the rising of the sun (Apollo in his chariot, for example) that we now understand on a scientific level. Personally, I'm okay with admitting that there are things that we can't understand or even comprehend, but that doesn't mean I think we should say that it must be God at work and stop trying.

Yeah, why didn't I think of that? I believe you got a point. Humankind shouldn't stop searching the why in things just because no one seems to care/ they just accept the things that so-called experts say. Thanks for the enlightenment. :)
 

professor goodstain

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It sure beats some other beliefs out there that haven't been introduced yet. It does not ,however, come with a money back guarantee.
 

Fluffywolf

Nips away your dignity
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I respect those that have religion in there lives and those that don't. As long as they stand with their beliefs respectfully and with 'common sense'.

Personally I chose not to believe in things I don't understand. And instead enjoy challenging those ideas. In search of scientific explanations. Yet I've studied many a religion. Despite the fact I'm not religious. I do find quite a lot of inspiration in many other religions. Most noteworthy for me is buddhism.

Technically that makes me a hippocrit to most people. "You either believe, or you don't.". I don't get the ultimatum but I can live with that tag if need be. I just like how many religions have very valuable life lessons. And are a great source of inspiration. Not only to the religious, but also the non religious. :)
 

CJ99

Is Willard in Footloose!!
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What makes you think that God created you for a purpose that suits your likings or anything that you can understand?

Maybe God created the ethereal form of man, but what we understand for man to be could be an arbitrary product of nature. God is unfathomable so we can never know what he created us for. This has nothing to do with the kind of a God that the ignorant Biblical literalists believe in.

What said god created us? Or if you means god as anything that may have somehow caused up to be created then why do you presume there was a conscience reason behind it?
 

CJ99

Is Willard in Footloose!!
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I'll say this again... I believe religion gives us meaning to life. That we like living with a purpose. It doesn't directly affect the way you act, rather it affects your attitude... and from altering your attitude change your approach to life and indirectly affects your interactions with other people.

What says we have an inherent meaning to our lives?
It seems to me that meaning is something that humans have created ourselves and we have all presumed there is a meaning to life somewhere without actually thinking about whether there actually is.
 

Mole

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Our Jealous God

If religion is a way of seeing, what do we see when we look through Christianity; what do we see when we look through Islam or Judaism; or Buddhism or Shinto or even Hinduism? Ah, and what do we see when we look through the eyes of the God Poseidon?

How odd that most of us insist on looking only through the eyes of one God when there are many Gods.

We are rich in Gods and rich in ways of seeing. But we only see in one way.

Why is that?

'Cause my God is a jealous God.
 

foolish heart

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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?

This is your belief, albeit not on a topic of the supernatural, it is not much different than religions.

Science and the supernatural are not mutually exclusive which is why what you call religion is still relevant. It's my belief that that is a widespread belief in response to the value exaggeration stereotypical of those who follow a religion.

Some cling to religion, others cling to what they believe to be facts. The fact is, we don't really know much for sure. In the meantime, I propose we STFU about it.
 

BerberElla

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Because science doesn't give the same reassurances that many people still crave so much.

Science doesn't tell a grieving father that his little girl is still alive but in spirit and waiting for him to join her in some happy paradise. Science doesn't tell someone dying, that they shouldn't be scared, there is still something more and this isn't the end.

In science you are simply dead, and not everyone can be comfortable with that knowledge.

I mean I don't believe in religion, and life after death, but I wish I still did, it was a very comforting blanket when I did.
 

KDude

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If religion is a way of seeing, what do we see when we look through Christianity

I think people see outside "help".. an interventionist God. Some control in their lives, and in the Universe as a whole.

or Buddhism

People probably see self-reliance and accepting life as it is. More so in Theravada Buddhism probably. Some forms of Mahayana have a slightly different view on "interventionist" entities.

Of course, they all play out in more than just these ways.. But at their core, you've got two different ways of seeing here.
 

Mole

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The Ancient and the Modern

Canberra was designed from the God's eye view.

The design of Canberra only makes sense when viewed from the clouds. In fact the model of Canberra you will see when you first arrive, shows you the city from ten thousand feet. So you need the wings of an angel, or a God's eye view, to make sense of Canberra.

So if religion is a way of seeing, religion gave us a way to see Canberra.

And in fact the designers of Canberra, Walter Burley Griffin and his wife Marion, were theosophers, as were a number of our members of Parliament of the time.

The design of ancient cities is entirely religious, as indeed were even the hearths of their homes. And the design of this newest of new cities is religious as well, uniting the ancient with the modern.
 

Moiety

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Because science doesn't give the same reassurances that many people still crave so much.

Science doesn't tell a grieving father that his little girl is still alive but in spirit and waiting for him to join her in some happy paradise. Science doesn't tell someone dying, that they shouldn't be scared, there is still something more and this isn't the end.

In science you are simply dead, and not everyone can be comfortable with that knowledge.

I mean I don't believe in religion, and life after death, but I wish I still did, it was a very comforting blanket when I did.

Well, there's always at least two way to look at things. Nothingness after death is what gives life meaning, if you ask me. It what gives it weight. It's what makes it beautiful and adventurous. How boring would life be, if it were only a something to be repeated over and over again (reincarnation) or merely the preparation for the real thing (afterlife).

If a grieving father wasn't afraid to lose his girl, then his care and love for her wouldn't be as strong in life.
 

Abcdenfp

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Becauuse most people can not govern themselves, and so they need an external guide to exist to provide rules that must be followed. There is also a need for hope, but most people can not pull hope from within themselves. They need a mecca a place, a governing force, it is to daunting to see themselves as the creator of their own way.

Recently i have really been drawn to the concept of the ubermensch, this is closer to my thoughts that Nature is divine, being alive is a miracle and every moment a gift, my truths I discover through knowing myself and knowing nature.

"Much of Nietzsche's thinking is tied to the decline of religious belief that Nietzsche describes as the death of God. Nietzsche views religion as a rejection of life such that life is viewed as a terrible struggle with true rewards such as peace only being achieved in the afterlife. Nietzsche is concerned with what will fill this large void in values and purpose that religion once filled. The ubermensch is proposed by Nietzsche as a way to find a new moral path that celebrates life as opposed to rejecting it. An ubermensch embraces life's hardships and pleasures alike and accepts hard truths without complaint.

"Nietzsche fears that with the decline of religion, man is once again becoming animal with a way of life he refers to as the Last Man. The last man is the antithesis of the ubermensch. He seeks only comfort, consumption, security and risk minimization. The last man is deeply dissatisfied with life and is intensely jealous of the freedom, bravery and moral purpose of the ubermensch. He seeks to defeat the ubermensch in the name of equality by breaking down any distinction between the strong and weak or superior over the mediocre. A society of last men seek harmony, earn a living, keep warm and punish risk taking as an affront to equalness and safety."
 

Kanra Jest

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I understand both sides. Religion can empower you for a sense of purpose and fulfillment, or a reassurance that you won't say "burn in hell" for being not "good enough", or indoctrinate you into a life where you lose your own sense of self. But to me it's always been off.

While we can't know there's something on the other side I've 'felt' someone there. Something greater than I, and upon researching other similar experiences from others, I concluded it's real. Especially in some nde's where they're brain dead. Does this mean I believe it's God (or a Goddess? because WHY does it have to be a male deity anyway, or any gender for that matter?)? Maybe, or maybe it's just some kind of essence of the universal with an intelligent consciousness or something. I don't claim to understand it and tbh. Putting feelings aside. I don't believe it makes any sense for any religion to be spot on about any diety or purpose in life, and I believe WE have the most value. Work on yourself and be the best you can be. Find a greater purpose that YOU yourself resonate and desire to follow and Be. Only then shall you be free. ;) All this aside though, given my experiences it's fairly personal, but I don't believe religion is key. Those systems are confining and depressing to me, overly traditional. I grew up having to follow it... and it took over a great deal of my psych in a negative way. So I only really believe in spirituality. As I've said before.
 

Siúil a Rúin

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I think it helps people form communities of shared assumptions, values, and perceptions. I don't like the social dynamics in organized religion so avoid it. I don't like people telling me "god's will" when it's just what they want. It makes for big fluffy egos.
 

Mole

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Until the "Origin of Species" religion made intuitive sense. Just as astrology and Mbti make intuitive sense.

However almost all of science is counter intuitive, along with modern economics, liberal democracy, and literacy.

And the more educated we are, the more we can think counter intuitively.

However although print is counter intuitive, images on the net are intuitive.
 

Mole

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Religion is based on sympathetic magic.

Sympathetic magic is not based on evidence and reason.

Sympathetic magic is intuitive, and easily understood by children and the illiterate.

Images are made of sympathetic magic.
 
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