'Religion' in our lives.- Page 2

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:12am

According to this website World War II was caused SPECIFICALLY by religion. Granted, it's skewed, but good luck finding sources that aren't towards one agenda or another.

http://www.asktheatheists.com/questions/137-how-many-wars-have-been-caused-by-religion

Goth, if you think that there haven't been more deaths in the name of religion (the Crusades, the Holocaust, and the Inquisition to name just three) then you are FRIGHTENINGLY misinformed.

Jane, I've spent a lot of time trying to imagine/picture "nothing" and it's almost impossible. The closest I've come is to sit in a dark room and close my eyes. If you do that, and try to name the color you're seeing, you can kind of imagine what nothing is-- it's not REALLY black, it's more of a nameless void...

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:12am

I was always more inclined to believe that there is "something" out there that is larger than us, rather than a man up in heaven, and I found out what it is. It IS US. It is your conscience, your love, your knowing the difference between good and bad, and your adhering to it.

We all know in our hearts and minds if we've been "good or bad." Except for sociopaths, of course. But God is us, it's inside all of us. That's what I believe in.

just thought of something funny. My saying that god is us, reminds me of a famous line in a film we all know-"soylent green is PEOPLE!" lol

Updated On: 10/14/08 at 10:12 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:16am

I have no problem reconciling faith and science. The god I believe in doesn't require ignorance from me. Nor hate, for that matter.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:16am

"Goth, if you think that there haven't been more deaths in the name of religion (the Crusades, the Holocaust, and the Inquisition to name just three) then you are FRIGHTENINGLY misinformed."

The Holocaust wasn't about religion. Hitler didn't stop to ask if Jews believed in the Torah or not, he was against anyone who had a drop of Jewish blood. In fact, if you look at some of the culture of that time period, you see a culture that was going in the opposite direction of Torah beliefs.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:18am

Jason, that technique sounds pretty close - thanks!

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:24am

How could you POSSIBLY say it's not about religion? I'm Jewish, though not practicing and obviously not very religious. If I lived in Germany at the time, I would have been put into a concentration camp because of my ASSOCIATION with the religion. Based on that, how can you say the deaths WEREN'T due to religion? Your argument is faulty.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:28am

"How could you POSSIBLY say it's not about religion?"

Because Hitler didn't stop to ask Jews whether they believed in the Torah or not. He was trying to exterminate a race of people no matter what their religious belief system was.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:28am

The Holocaust wasn't about religion. Hitler didn't stop to ask if Jews believed in the Torah or not, he was against anyone who had a drop of Jewish blood.

What the hell are you talking about?

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:31am

"He was trying to exterminate a race of people no matter what their religious belief system was."

And what race was that, Goth?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:31am

I think faith is very important. Believing in the things we don't or can't understand drives us forward as people. It elevates us to new heights and inspires us to persevere. It's a necessity of human life as much as food or water. Without a basic faith in something or someone (even if it's ourselves), we would just curl up and die.

I also think people get caught up in themselves entirely, and think that their perceived "reality" IS reality. The only reality. It's not. It's just what they can perceive as an individual member of the human race.

A fundamental (simple) example: Dogs are color blind. For their species certain colors don't exist. But we (as humans) can see those colors. Our reality is different than theirs. Do you suppose for a moment that there are things we humans can't see or hear, simply because we're humans? I think it's a big possibility that we aren't experiencing all that there is in life or in this world. They aren't made "visible" to us.

I look to religion and faith to help answer the bigger questions that can't ever be answered by science.

I also draw a big distinction between religion and "organized religion" which (as a general rule) scares the hell out of me. It's one thing to offer me allegorical teachings as religious solutions to otherwise unanswerable questions. It's another thing to try to force me to believe that these teachings should be followed "to the letter" and are the literal "words of God." Or that "our religion is the one and only true religion." Those type of organized institutions of faith go against everything that's being taught in their own "bibles." The hypocrisy is blinding and very dangerous.

But I try not to confuse "organized religion" with religion itself (which is a wonderful thing).

Believing or having faith, despite "the perceived facts" is a wonderful ability. It's a gift we've been given as human beings. We should learn to use this gift and not abuse it, misinterpret it, or force it in a harmful way on others.

Updated On: 10/14/08 at 10:31 AM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:40am

Is religion by its very definintion organized? If you believe in god, but don't go to church, are you really following any sort of "religion"?

For example, back in the day when "scientists" were saying the Earth was flat, the Bible said that the Earth was round. When mankind finally figured out how to sail around the world, and got up the courage to do it, and found the Earth was round, God said "Duh, I already told you that in the Bible."

I really don't think that's right at all, up to and including the part where god says "duh."

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:42am

Well, Phyllis, I think he actually said "Oy." But you get the point.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:48am

Except for the fact that the Bible always proves how stupid mankind is when they try to act without God.

Imagine that. It's almost as if the book has its own agenda or viewpoint!

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:52am

that's the title of my new one-man show, god said, "duh."

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:54am

So, you're playing God?

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 10:59am

God wrote the bible? MAYBE he wrote the Ten Commandments before Charleton Heston dropped them...but the rest? I dont think so....and I'm pretty sure several people down the whispering lane have pretty much ruined the original content, for what it was worth.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 11:16am

i'm a god, mb. i'm not the god.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 11:43am

:::God said "Duh, I already told you that in the Bible.":::

Funny how in Goth's imagination god talks like a character in Clueless.

::Without a basic faith in something or someone (even if it's ourselves), we would just curl up and die.:::

That's literally not true.

[Jane2]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 11:47am

Goth also doesn't know what race Hitler was trying to exterminate.

[blueroses]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 12:23pm

"Funny how in Goth's imagination god talks like a character in Clueless."

God is a TOTAL Baldwin!

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 12:32pm

best12 -- I just have to say your post really resonated with me. Your analogy of the color blind dog is something I never thought of before, and in a way it actually makes me think about things differently than I had before. I mean, I always agreed with what you said about the difference between religion and "organized religion" which is what my first post on this thread was getting at, but I love the way you look at it...

I'm still trying to understand what Goth is talking about...maybe God needs to, like, totally tell me...

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 12:39pm

It occurs to me that this thread isn't even the most religious thread on bww...

...that would be the Madonna Sticky Sweet tour thread.

Updated On: 10/14/08 at 12:39 PM

[Weez]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 12:48pm

Religion doesn't cause problems. Religious zealots do. I'm religious, but you don't see me going out and killing people and starting wars. It's the people who take religion TOO SERIOUSLY who are the problem.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 12:51pm

says weez as he straps yet another suicide vest on a youthful martyr brainwashed into delusions of a paradise in the afterlife.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/14/08 at 1:26pm

"Religion doesn't cause problems. Religious zealots do. I'm religious, but you don't see me going out and killing people and starting wars. It's the people who take religion TOO SERIOUSLY who are the problem."

I believe that is one of the problems Weez. Organized religion seems encourage zealotry.
Gays will destroy the fabric of the family as set forth in the bible!
Abortion is murder and will cause the downfall of man! (which I thought Adam and Eve already did, btw)