Pros And Cons [need help]

i wanna do a school project on religion and i wanna knaow what u think are the cons and pros of religion.
please help me.

My Opinion:
Cons:Everything
Pros:Nothing

i hope for ur opinion.

[edit on 28-11-2007 by Drzava]

What religion are you on about? Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam or what? If its one of the big religions what denomination would you be on about?

A bit more definition please.

And are you saying religious fundamentalism is not a con - people killing each other over some 'belief'?

I take it you want the easy option and get all us ATS'ers to write your project for you?


G

reply to post by shihulud


1.religon in general.
2. i said CON-Everything, That mean everything.
3. i want other ideas, cuz like u see, i only have one CON and zero pros.

Originally posted by Drzava
please help me.

My Opinion:
Cons:Everything
Pros:Nothing

If that's your view, I think this is a great idea, because there are pros to religion. Obviously, I would think that I would actually suggest some books, though, and not just getting people's opinion here. I expect, due to your viewpoint, that you have read one, if not several, books against, so I would suggest some that are pro. Two that come to mind are C.S. Lewis's Mere Christianity, which is a very simple read where he lays down in a stunningly basic way the fundamentals of Christianity and why he sees it as good. The other would be a slightly more difficult read, though about the same relatively short length, by A. W. Tozer called Warfare of the Spirit, where he does something very similar to what C. S. Lewis does in Mere Christianity.

reply to post by junglejake


thx, but i have read enough,
i already made my conclusion about this topic.

but i need ideas for pros, because without pros, the project will be very boring.

That's too bad, because it sounds like you've only read from one side of the argument. If your conclusion is strong, you should be capable of reading a rebuttal to the beliefs you hold. If anything, your mental response will solidify your position if you're right, or, if you're wrong, you will have a greater understanding of truth, thus denying ignorance.

You should never be afraid of an opposing viewpoint, because it's only going to give you a greater understanding of reality.

Originally posted by Drzava
reply to post by shihulud

 

1.religion in general.
2. i said CON-Everything, That mean everything.

Sorry, heads not quite working at the moment.

3. i want other ideas, cuz like u see, i only have one CON and zero pros.

Pro's for religion.

Gives people a sense of purpose
Gives people hope that there is a nice afterlife
Gives people hope that they will see loved ones again
Gives people a sense of community,family spirit
Gives a sense of reassurance
Gives a sense of doing good
In some cases a sense of morality

Although these can also be instilled without the need for gods or religions, the religious tend to claim these and others as their domain.

So in effect I totally agree that religion has no pro's

G

Originally posted by Drzava
i wanna do a school project on religion and i wanna knaow what u think are the cons and pros of religion.
please help me.

My Opinion:
Cons:Everything
Pros:Nothing

Religion, in general, is a system made up of 'pointers' or symbols which speaks of things greater than itself.

For the most part, people mistake the symbols as the absolute truth instead of seeing that which the symbols and allegories were meant to point to.

I have said it many times, but it is worth saying again - Jesus, Buddah, etc. were trying to relay a message, which in any other terms, the masses would never grasp.

Think about it, concepts of quantum mechanics and the workings of the universe would be unfathomable for a group of people who couldnt even garner the basic social ideologies taught by such philosophical view points. (such as love.)

Everyone has the key, in their religion, to unlock its mysteries and thus 'understand God'. I know this doesnt necessarily float well with a Christian - it is the same as saying 'all roads lead to God', to which they will say, 'the narrow road is the only way.'
...which they forget, 'God lets the rain fall on the good and bad' and that no religion is infallible - or without leaven. This includes Christianity, and I have blogged about this many times, that the main modern doctrine on salvation is split along 3 completely different lines of thought...which put together would make one of them wrong, and this is dangerous when considering that your talking about someones soul.

So, as I said before, each religion has more than enough truth from which they can see the 'creator' and find their way out of the dogma.

With that, I will leave it be...I have blogged extensively about such topics, those interested can browse my blog - link in signature.

Peace

dAlen




[edit on 28-11-2007 by dAlen]

I had to do something similar to this, years ago, when I was trying to come off drugs.
My christian phsychologist had me write lists of pros and cons about the speed I was doing.
She NEVER mentioned God!

Conclusion? Nothing.
It was killing me, then I heard the gospel on a Sunday morning and later that day, I was reborn from above.
I got Saved!!!
It's something you have to experience, not hypothesise.

Do you live in a country where religion is used to feed power-hungry church leaders???

A few pro's.
Well the biggest one is that you, one of 6 billion people on this earth can have a Relationship with God. the maker of heaven and earth, when that happens you feel just a little bit humbled.
Next, when all else fails who can you turn to? Yep, God. He won't mind but perhaps you should not make him your last choice.
AND knowing that you have a place reserved in heaven. might not mean much now but when, like me, you have a body that seems to be falling to bits (just an age thing) it gives you a little comfort and less worry.
I am sure other people will give you many more things to ponder on. Good luck with your project.
John


[edit on 28-11-2007 by jon1]

danke everyone who help,
i appreciate it

Originally posted by Drzava
reply to post by junglejake

 

thx, but i have read enough,
i already made my conclusion about this topic.

but i need ideas for pros, because without pros, the project will be very boring.

I am curious what grade you are in. I hope you develop more of an open mind the more educated you get.

Absolutes like "everything" and "nothing" are often hard to justify.

I doubt that anything anybody says will do much to help you with your project. I get the distinct impression that whatever "pro" anyone comes up with be automatically shot down by you, and you'll respond with something like, "I mean a REAL pro!"

I am not going to try to share any of the pros or cons that I see with regard to organized religion... I feel I would be wasting my time.

You have read "enough"? I am curious what you think is "enough."

I changed my mind very quickly. If people just ignored my opinions when I was younger, I never would have questioned the validity of those opinions myself.

I would agree that there is a major downside to organized religion. Please note that I said "organized." I don't see that there is anything wrong with having strong beliefs about the spiritual world, that you develop through your own experiences and understanding. I DO see a problem with people blindly following anything that they are told is "required" in order for salvation. What I see as the primary "con," is that some people get so militant about their beliefs being "right" for whatever reason that they lash out at anyone with a different way of thinking.

What I do see as a "pro" is that religion can be a major source of comfort when people go through difficult times in their lives. Also, people often go about their lives behaving a certain way (i.e., "being good") because of their religious beliefs. Religion often encourages helping others and following some moral or ethical code. There is certainly nothing wrong with being a good person.

Good luck to you.

Originally posted by Drzava
i wanna do a school project on religion and i wanna knaow what u think are the cons and pros of religion.
please help me.

My Opinion:
Cons:Everything
Pros:Nothing

To ensure maximal success and minimal embarrassment, I would suggest doing a "project" on something, ANYTHING, that you have actually thought - not to mention read - about...











[edit on 29-11-2007 by Vanitas]

Pros:
Gives people something to live for
Allows people to face death without fear
Gives people an incentive to act decently
Gives people a disincentive to act badly
Can unite people who share the same religion

Cons:
Can inspire fanaticism
Can be misused by those with selfish motives
Can divide people with different religions or divide the religious from the non-religious.
Can be abused by those who misunderstand it.

That's a non-comprehensive list but the best I could come up with in a couple of minutes.

[edit on 29-11-2007 by Jim_Kraken]

reply to post by Drzava


if you want to start a religious war with your project study into why churches keep sunday as their lords day when the scriptures teach that the sabbath day is the 7th day of the week=saturday---------------and the authority to change to sunday cannot be found in the bible-------nowhere--------------------or you could check into the inquisitions and find out that many were directed against jews and sabbath keeping remnents of the apostolic church that Messiah authorised His apostles to start on the day of pentecost 29 ce true time 33 ad catholic calendar time-------------theres another project-----why did the catholic church change the calendar and advance the date by 4 years-----the real time will be 2004 when 2008 catholic calendar time rolls around.

In my opinion religion is a personal issue, and should be treated as one.

Religion in the way of believing in some kind of god, hooking up with others of same belief, start worthshipping the god, trying to make others believe, using the religion for political issues, fighting over it, living your life after it, place total trust in it....is from my point of view a misused way of having/believing in a religion.

However, studying all the different religions and using the loving and humane guidelines, as guidelines, in a personal way without preaching is in my point of view the right way to be religious.

There are lots of religious guidelines like:
You shall not steal, kill, envy your neighbor..etc.

Thoose guidelines will benefit all humankind if followed... but you find thoose guideline in all kinds of religions, so to say one religion is right and another is wrong, has nothing to do with religion in my point of view.

so my pros would be: good guidelines
and my cons would be: to easy to manipulate people with

reply to post by Bluess


religion is a personal issue and should be treated as one-----------what is the point of having a religion that when you come to the end of your life------------ends up being a religion you find out then or in the resurrection is one that G-D hates----------and offers you no reward in the afterlife ? dont you think its important to make sure you pick the right one?there's only one way i know how to find the right religion besides G-D opening the eyes of the blind so to speak------that would be to study the scriptures end to end and see what G-D and Messiah and prophets and apostles teach---------and then search for a group that does all that apostolic church taught in the new testament-------------i personally am not a member of any religious organization because i can find none that are perfect-------------only a few that come close but that balk at going the whole way.