People believe in God because they’re afraid of death. That’s what it all boils down to. Having a religion to follow gives them a peace of mind, even if it’s rubbish. Doesn’t matter. It’s like rooting for a sports team
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People believe in God because they’re afraid of death. That’s what it all boils down to. Having a religion to follow gives them a peace of mind, even if it’s rubbish. Doesn’t matter. It’s like rooting for a sports team
that's true, but things aren't better because we choose them. I think the actual aim of religion is creating and cementing community. Irreligious ppl have a very loud inability to do that. I think the belief aspect is for kids and women and it's def not the 'main thing' about it. Christianity is particularly fucked because i focused all it's energy on the belief aspect, but Judaism does the opposite where the community is more important than the belief. Islam does a lot of both.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaDynasty
But it's really just everyone playing the same make believe game. We can all choose our own but the point of the game is all of us playing around in the same game with the same rules. THe big issue with the abrahamic religions is they also say that if someone isn't playing your specific game their the enemy and that's the part where the shit gets stupid. But people will create fictious play-space no matter what, and imo it's best there's some orthodoxy to it so that we don't spin too far off the rails.
but maybe in the future we won't be as shitty about it as we currently are. who knows
It doesnt bother me. I know the bible and quaran are not true but its a spiritual path to some of my friends. Get at it, its no different losing yourself in sex or porn, social media, art. Its the fantasy people need
Sometimes my friend say I'm going to hell if I dont follow his word. Please. Thats what I cant take, he know I dont believe it and still throws that corny shit at me from time to time
Are you afraid of death?Quote:
Originally Posted by Goldenchild
Anyone who bases their well being or way of life on text written over thousands of years ago. Good luck with that, honestly.
To be specific, Jehovah's witnesses are the worst.
Probably the most organized and aggressive denomination. They knocked on my door and left a leaflet last week. I played possum, although they could probably see me.
Glad I pulled myself away from that white supremacist cult of KKKristianity.
You see what it did to Kanye? He need a therapist
I am almost certain most christians don't even know what the bible contains. Only what the preacher preaches.
https://www.themonastery.org/blog/wh...n-utah-schools
I went to a Baptist church when I was a kid. Sort of forced. I never liked it. People are full of it.Quote:
Originally Posted by THE W
I am a Christian. I would like to think that I am not annoying. But I can see how people think that some are. For sure.
they kind of are though, I believe Islam has been the fastest growing religion in the world for decades nowQuote:
Originally Posted by ShaDynasty
I used to be extremely cynical towards religion in general anyway. But if I exclude my feelings toward it I know it gives way too many people a basic moral scaffolding to get through life, plus its a natural by-product of being human as much as breathing is. If I snapped my fingers and all religion disappeared I'm certain the world would be waaaay worse off
I said for the most part. To clarify, I meant in countries that are already Islamic, its difficult to shun convention. Religion is in decline overall worldwide.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mumm Ra
Its as natural as breathing? Its not. Its a collective hallucination. It has some value to societal cohesion and morality, but its also fraught with bad logic, outdated dogma, and often a clear misunderstanding of morality. Its about as natural as a political ideology or supporting a sports team. Its all just shit we've invented.
Last sentence is an absurd hypothetical. You can look at almost every western nation where religion is in decline and see that theres relatively less crime and political corruption than in any theocratic country.
I agree with the description to a large degree but I don't know of a recorded human period where it didn't exist. Completely separate civilizations all had religions since recorded history. You agree that it's something we invented but I'm saying that inventing things, such as religion, is as natural to humans as swimming is to fish - it's just something we will always do.Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaDynasty
it would be impossible to accurately correlate those two statistics though. It's literally as ridiculous as saying crime is decreasing in countries where electric cars are more popular lol. Crime and corruption are both subjective and cultural too. Dubai is almost 100% muslim and would bury the US in every single crime statistic. Also what about mental health and suicide statistics increasing in western countries.Quote:
Last sentence is an absurd hypothetical. You can look at almost every western nation where religion is in decline and see that theres relatively less crime and political corruption than in any theocratic country.
I'm not even religious in the slightest degree tbh. I just think erasing religion without replacing it with any sort of largely-agreed upon system of maintaining a healthy society and populace would be a huge net loss. Hence why people can't even agree upon basic biology in the west, and the family and community structure is basically dead at this point.
I don't know many people who would say we have a stronger societal structure in the US today than we did 20-30 years ago, despite so called crime statistics.
The correlation is there, it could be a coincidence but it doesn't seem likely. The more wealth and education nations have, the less they rely on religion.
Dubai has less 'crime' because its an oppressive regime that violates its citizens human rights. USA has horrible crime statistics, mostly because of the liberal gun laws. I get what you're saying though.
Recorded civilzation is a tiny fraction of human existence. Modern organized religion only spans a few thousand years. Given the human races adaptability, theres no reason to think it will stick around forever. As you said, other things will replace it over time, you can already see that atheists tend to have strong humanist ethics.
People always think things were better when they were growing up. Thats the world you prepared for. A few hundred years ago that worked, but now things change too quickly for people to be comfortable with them.
I disagree with every point because I think it's all unproven assumption but I will say - yes other things will replace it over time. Other religions. Call them athiestic systems of morality or whatever but it's still the same. But to think there will be a point where most humans won't believe in a higher power seems absurd to me. It's been a natural part of being the only species that recognizes it's own mortality and can communicate. We're only able to speculate about all of this because religion has got us here in the first place