deleted

[JediDillon]

MySecretConfession

Why is Religion important?
Dating back to ancient times, why do humans always seem to have the need to establish a belief in a higher being?
As if people long for something to believe in…

1. God and spiritual forces reveal their presence to key individuals all around the world and they convince people of the belief of that religion.

2. Many people believe in a higher power becasue they know that man did not create the Universe and needs guidance on how to live life.

[IronySandwich]

Henry Hobo-Master

IronySandwich

What most religious people don't realize is that it was their religion which created that void in the first place.

Actually it does the exact opposite. It takes the unimaginable vastness of the universe with all it's amazing wonders from realms beyond our comprehension on scales both too small and too large for our 1 meter optimized mammal minds to fully grasp, and replaces it with unimaginative stories where everything has an laughably simple human-centered explanation. The only perspective religion gives is the one of self-centeredness and arrogance.

Perhaps she never had the emptiness drilled into her in the first place. If so, she's quite lucky.

1. Not really. Adolescence, addictions, and human emotion (such as suffering and depression) creates voids.

I guess it is possible to create a void by introducing religion, but you seem to think that the void was only there after religion. That is a flawed logic, and its absurd to think that the Atheists and the anti-religious are void-less (given that religion creates only voids, then there is no other way according to your logic to obtain a void other than religion).

2.So what you are saying, is that because religion teaches an alternative explanation for the universe, that it is incapable of giving us all different perspectives? Because that is what you are arguing (because you stated it does the exact opposite). They might be closed minded arguments, yes, but they are different. If my mother suddenly dies, and my religion teaches that she will go to heaven, then that is certainly a different perspective.

3. Perhaps she did not, and perhaps she does, and does that really make her lucky?

Are robots who are emotionless lucky? Its perspective, and you cannot determine how lucky she is based off your opinion. She may be lucky compared to your standards, yes.

In case you didn't catch on, I labeled my responses 1,2,3. These correlate to your above statements.

1. You're assuming an awful lot there. I never once said that I thought religion creates this "void" because it shows up after someone is religious. It's an inherent part of what religion is. Just about every religion teaches you that you are "incomplete" without it, and they have various techniques to make you incomplete. It's not circumstantial.

2. No, what I'm saying is that the perspective taught by religions is small and centered around human egos. The religious perspective is wrong because it assumes the entire vastness of the universe is all centered around some hairless apes on a planet in some backwater corner around a common star (one of billions) in a common galaxy (one of billions). Many of them postulate "greater" beings and then give them human traits. Religions' perspectives are small-minded and arrogant.

3.Some slaves consider themselves lucky to be slaves, I value freedom. So yes, it is a matter of perspective, but I don't consider your perspective, wherein the damaged and psychologically hollowed out person is the better off one, worthy of notice.

[Gisy The Hippie]

I don't know about you, but in my opinion, I think people have the wired need of needing something bigger & greater to hope for, other than themselves.

I believe this is something that is biologically infused within us all, and that each individual chooses to suppress or accept this, hence the free will we all have been given to do as we wish.

[Mrtyu-Mara]

More like people long to explain the unexplained.

[dh8d1]

gisygisy

I don't know about you, but in my opinion, I think people have the wired need of needing something bigger & greater to hope for, other than themselves.

I believe this is something that is biologically infused within us all, and that each individual chooses to suppress or accept this, hence the free will we all have been given to do as we wish.

I'm curious. Would your conclusion change if you did not believe there was free will?

Mine does.

[Henry Hobo-Master]

IronySandwich

1. You're assuming an awful lot there. I never once said that I thought religion creates this "void" because it shows up after someone is religious. It's an inherent part of what religion is. Just about every religion teaches you that you are "incomplete" without it, and they have various techniques to make you incomplete. It's not circumstantial.

2. No, what I'm saying is that the perspective taught by religions is small and centered around human egos. The religious perspective is wrong because it assumes the entire vastness of the universe is all centered around some hairless apes on a planet in some backwater corner around a common star (one of billions) in a common galaxy (one of billions). Many of them postulate "greater" beings and then give them human traits. Religions' perspectives are small-minded and arrogant.

3.Some slaves consider themselves lucky to be slaves, I value freedom. So yes, it is a matter of perspective, but I don't consider your perspective, wherein the damaged and psychologically hollowed out person is the better off one, worthy of notice.

1. I'm mistaken in assuming that you said:

Quote:

What most religious people don't realize is that it was their religion which created that void in the first place.

????

If my logic is suddenly failing me, I could have SWORN that you just said that "their religion which created that void in the first place". Either you worded it incorrectly, or i'm just retarded.

We see in YOUR quote that it clearly statest:
-Religion creates the void
-Religion must have created the void before other organizations got ahold of that person (thus we see you stated "In the FIRST PLACE" wink .
-Read your quote one more time, and see if you don't notice why I "assumed" what you think I did.

To respond to the other part of one, I'm just going to throw a few ideas around, and see if we are on the same page or not. So you are initially saying that Religion teaches a person that they have a void in their life.

Can you tell me what exactly a "void" is in your definition. I have always seen the "void" as a particular effect in the brain, that makes us feel incomplete, with or without religion. The "void" is what makes humans feel like they are missing out on the greater things, and they lack the ability to obtain what they truly want. It is not caused by just one organization, idea, or incident, but by many.

From what you have explained to me about your "void", is that it is merely the idea that religion teaches that humans are not alone, and that they are incomplete without God. Thus, religion must be a part of our society, and taking God away creates the void. Now as I'm trying to be as fair and honest as possible, I do not fully understand how this "void" is the same as my "void", and I think that we cannot come to mutual ground without first establishing what "void" even means. I don't think that your definition or explanation is even close to what it really means to ALL people. And although your definition of "void" may work with your statements, it does not for mine.

2. Then you are arguing that it is a wrong perspective in your opinion. I initially must have said at some point that religion seeks to give new perspectives, in which you said that it does the exact opposite. You now tell me that you are saying something completely different altogether, and I'm starting to think that there is a large amount of miscommunication here.

Although you may think its the wrong perspective, that doesn't mean that it is wrong for some to seek religious meaning behind science. Many people think that the perspective on Atheism is wrong, and that science doesn't always hold the best explained answer for all things. Sure, some people believe in some whacky things, but that's not everyone. And we cannot say either perspective is entirely wrong or right. There is no way to judge this.

3. I used to consider other people's perspectives unworthy of notation, until I took an arrow to my knee.

[gigacannon]

You don't have assume religion is important to explain how and why it exists.

Religion perpetuates itself through a combination of superstition and fear of deviating from the norms of your social group. A small proportion of the population exploit this to serve their own interests.

[Gisy The Hippie]

dh8d1

gisygisy

I don't know about you, but in my opinion, I think people have the wired need of needing something bigger & greater to hope for, other than themselves.

I believe this is something that is biologically infused within us all, and that each individual chooses to suppress or accept this, hence the free will we all have been given to do as we wish.

I'm curious. Would your conclusion change if you did not believe there was free will?

Mine does.

What do you believe in? Do you not think you're free to believe in what ever you want? Don't you think there is?
Just curious. whee

[dh8d1]

gisygisy

dh8d1

gisygisy

I don't know about you, but in my opinion, I think people have the wired need of needing something bigger & greater to hope for, other than themselves.

I believe this is something that is biologically infused within us all, and that each individual chooses to suppress or accept this, hence the free will we all have been given to do as we wish.

I'm curious. Would your conclusion change if you did not believe there was free will?

Mine does.

What do you believe in? Do you not think you're free to believe in what ever you want? Don't you think there is?
Just curious. whee

I see demonstrable cause and effect. I do not see free will.

[Riahlize]

MySecretConfession

Why is Religion important?
Dating back to ancient times, why do humans always seem to have the need to establish a belief in a higher being?
As if people long for something to believe in…

Well, to clarify, which I'm sure you know, not all belief systems include a higher power.
But the answer is quite simple. To cope with the unknown. Many humans seem to be terrified of it. If they tell a story about it or otherwise convince themselves of a story, then it's no longer the scary unknown.

[Islamic Teacher]

Religion Gives Us Human Beings Hope that when we Die, (and we performed good deeds) that we can rest in a Place of Peace (Heaven,etc.) And It gives us faith that the wicked people in our societies who are rich,greedy,and cruel will die and pay for the evil deeds they committed (Hell,etc.)

Without Religion we as Human Beings would have no moral guides in this Life and If Religion disappeared someday, then we Humans would live like savages.

That is why God sent Us Prophet From the Time of Adam to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to teach us Moral Truths in this world

[willowkat]

Khalid Ibn Walid

Religion Gives Us Human Beings Hope that when we Die, (and we performed good deeds) that we can rest in a Place of Peace (Heaven,etc.) And It gives us faith that the wicked people in our societies who are rich,greedy,and cruel will die and pay for the evil deeds they committed (Hell,etc.)

Without Religion we as Human Beings would have no moral guides in this Life and If Religion disappeared someday, then we Humans would live like savages.

That is why God sent Us Prophet From the Time of Adam to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to teach us Moral Truths in this world

I totally disagree that without religion we would live as savages. I think people in religion are often the most savage.

[IronySandwich]

Khalid Ibn Walid

Religion Gives Us Human Beings Hope that when we Die, (and we performed good deeds) that we can rest in a Place of Peace (Heaven,etc.) And It gives us faith that the wicked people in our societies who are rich,greedy,and cruel will die and pay for the evil deeds they committed (Hell,etc.)

Without Religion we as Human Beings would have no moral guides in this Life and If Religion disappeared someday, then we Humans would live like savages.

That is why God sent Us Prophet From the Time of Adam to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to teach us Moral Truths in this world

We have a unique opportunity today of having actual sans-religion societies to compare to. So, if you're correct we should be seeing outbreaks of barbarism in Sweden and Denmark. Meanwhile, Somalia and the Republic of the Congo should be the most peaceful, civilized areas on the planet.

Care to place a wager on that relationship panning out?

[Ask Jappleack]

IronySandwich

Henry Hobo-Master

Religion can give hope, and fill a void that people see as "bad".

What most religious people don't realize is that it was their religion which created that void in the first place.

Like saying we are all guilty of sin, but god has forgiven us! It makes you look down at yourself, then quickly forget you did, then he mentions god as the solution, with a positive, to make it apealing. I suppose I dont need to explain the obvious, but in that case Im saying it for the thread.

[Ask Jappleack]

savages are actually nice guys once you get to know them.