Is Religion Simply A Security Blanket? INTELLIGENT Discussion With NO FLAMING

reply to post by T0by


Thanks for the thoughtful response.

When I said

career-building, property investments, savings and pensions are used as 'security blankets'

I didn't mean in every case - I was merely pointing out this happens, (which I see you actually agree with).

Sorry for any confusion.

Originally posted by malcr
But when that faith becomes "my way or no way and all none believers are unworthy of life" whoa that's where religion becomes exceedingly dangerous. Unfortunately that's the nature of "clubs" with followers and not just religious, just look at football (soccer)!

Totally agree. That's why I have a huge aversion to being part of a group, following, going with the crowd or even being told what to say or think.

reply to post by pause4thought


It happens alot with finance.
But really... what doesn't it happen with?
Marriage could be seen as a security blanket too.

reply to post by malcr



Hi.

my way or no way and all none believers are unworthy of life

If that were what we believed it would not be worth defending. In reality that is just a parody of what we believe (-speaking as Christians, that is).

We actually believe that no-one is worthy of life - in the sense of eternal enjoyment of God's blessing. We believe no-one can make themselves fit for Heaven either, any more than a leopard can change its spots. We believe God Himself has said that human moral depravity leads to moral condemnation, and that justice is unavoidable.

We call our faith 'Good News' because the condemnation for human depravity was voluntarily taken by God's Son. Those who've turned from rebellion against their Maker to love for their Maker in response are forgiven, and transformed from within (which only God Himself can do).

As all this is a gift, no true believer looks down on those outside the church.

By grace you are saved through faith [in what Christ did for you], and this is not of yourselves; it is God's gift - not from works, so that no-one can boast

Source: Ephesians 2:8&9

God bless you.

Originally posted by alienesque

Originally posted by BlackViolet
Hi Dave,
Thanks for a great thread and thanks to all who posted here,some good stories,

Allow me if you will to relay my own.
I grew up in an occult surrounding and saw many things of the other world,Some may say that it is not true and that is fine,i have no judgment on
others and what they believe.

For myself since becoming a Christian i have found that yes,there is a security blanket,God himself provides me with it,
It is one of peace,peace when there is war about me,knowing that he takes care of me and will keep me safe while he wants me here and will take me when he wants me home
Love,love that is unbounded by performance He still loves me even when i get it wrong,Loves me enough to pick me up,dust me off and set me on my feet again
Trust,trust that he has my life and my best interest in heart and at hand
and that he knows what is best for me even when i can't see it

These things are the most wonderful security anyone can have and i am grateful for them

In saying this tho,there has been a price and that price has been great in some things,what he has asked in return is that i obey him,that in life that i approach the matters of life with his perspective,he commands that i not lie,to others,to him and to myself,and that may seem easy but there are many times that we do in light of his precepts,that i must love,and love those that are hard to love and show me hate and thats a hard thing to do sometimes,sometimes i fail and react instead of respond and i fall short of his mark,but you know what,he doesn't love me any less,and also he doesn't remove the consequences of my actions but makes me confront them and do what is right,to say sorry when i am wrong,to fix what i have broken,to heal where i have wounded,its Grace and it is character building and it is wonderful,Yes i love him and him me,there are times when i struggle to do what he asks because i think that i know better but i know when i follow him that the joy in my heart from knowing that i am pleasing to my Father is unsurpassed and i wouldn't swap it for anything.

This is the relationship that i have with God,not one that says that God will love me if i go to church and put money on the plate(yes,I like church and i feel blessed to give but it is not the foundation of my Faith nor is it done through fear,its a blessing,and for what it is worth and i say it with all humility because it breaks my heart greatly,to those that have ever been hurt or wounded by something done in the name of God that does not reflect his lovingkindness

I am Sorry

BV.

hello....why do you worship a god who causes so much suffering?

may i ask....many people claim satan is evil..but lets see...

god created the world and everything on it...storms...earthquakes..floods...hunger..war...drought etc..in doing so he has caused million and milions..billions to die and suffer in very horrible ways...

whats satan ever done thats so bad compared to all that?

He made you and me, us deny responsibility.
Maybe that's when all started, all suffering.
Why should he have a say to whatever happens in this world, it is not his creation, he wouldn't care less of what happens. I so much hate selfishness.
If he wants to lead, then lead whom and where? What has he ever done worthy of having men following him? Where is the world he created, where is his divine plan, where is the care?

There are thousands of creatures dieing every day, they don't have the means to protect themselves, the lack the intelligence. Yet we humans are the only creatures with enough intelligence to pity on them and stop this. We rarely do anything. Most times they suffer and die because we created these conditions. If God has given me a gift, to protect myself and others, why can't I use it?
Because I am denying responsibility. Imagine God doing this. Imagine giving an answer like "Why should I be responsible for them?" What do you think it would have happened. we probably are not alone in this fragile universe, where all walks of life might be present. Yet we are still here, free to do whatever we wish, oblivious from Cosmic catastrophes that could change entire star clusters in a blink of an eye. Still living, still breathing, still being free to chose and cooperate to make this a better world for anything, yet still denying responsibility.

Originally posted by pause4thought
reply to post by malcr

 

Hi.

my way or no way and all none believers are unworthy of life

If that were what we believed it would not be worth defending.

hello...as you follow jesus's orders..and his ideas..and his beliefs...then you should think the way the previous poster claimed christians think......if you dont you are not a christian..he clearly tells his followers to behave..and to think..the way the previous poster claimed..he is correct...you are ill informed:

1And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.

2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;

4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.

9Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

10Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.

11And into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter, enquire who in it is worthy; and there abide till ye go thence.

12And when ye come into an house, salute it.

13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

15Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

18And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

19But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

21And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

23But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.

24The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

26Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.

27What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.

28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

31Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

32Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

38And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

39He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

40He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.

41He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

42And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.




[edit on 22-9-2008 by alienesque]

reply to post by T0by


You continue to provide a cutting challenge.

Marriage could be seen as a security blanket too.

Interesting. I think the concept of refers to something ineffectual that brings you a feeling of security. If that's where you're going there are going to be an awful lot of animated wives chipping in pretty soon...

If you wish to pursue this perhaps you could start another thread.

Could you perhaps elaborate?

Dave,

Thanks for the great thread. It's a good discussion point and one often over looked or ignored.
Growing up I was baptized as a Protestant. But church was not a regular social function we attended. We would go for Christmas and Easter, but that would wane as I got older. I remember being in Sunday school classes and learning about Jesus but not understanding why people were putting an emphasis on him. He was the son of God but not the Creator. Mind you this is when I was 4-6 year old. So even at that age I was questioning faith. My mother was Russian Orthodox and the nearest Russian Orthodox Church was an hour away. My mother did read her prays in Russian every night from her little prayer book. I did go with her a few times to the Russian Orthodox Church to attend services. To me it was beautiful to watch and listen to. But I didn’t understand what was being spoken due to it being in Russian. Since my youth, I have been exposed to a variety of religions by numerous people and I have come to several personal conclusions.
-Religion and Faith is what you make of it. I think people believe in what they can relate to and how it fits into their every day life.
-Religion is an organized set of rules, tenets, and code wrapped together in stories and oral history of the past.
-Religions are created by humans to help organize and to bring their communities and ideologies together. (Though history will show it has done the opposite)
- The one rule that my father emphasized to me, and that I emphasize to my children is to think for yourself and not to let someone think for you.

To answer your question more succinctly:

1. Are people religious because they really believe?
- I would say you have to believe in what you are doing at the time. I know the term brain washed is thrown around a lot and is often missed used. I would say for the majority of people, they are looking for a path or reason for their existence.

2. Do they simply go through the motions because they are too afraid of the consequences.... just in case there is a Heaven or Hell?
- Again it depends on what you believe in. In some religions there is no beginning or end but a continual flow of ones being/spirit/energy from one plane to another. I think it is human nature to want to understand where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going. We are very linear in term of thinking and relating to our every day. Time is a fundamental concept in our every day lives.

3. Is it simply a security blanket because they want to believe that there is something better after they die and would be miserable if they didn’t believe there was something at the end of the religious rainbow?

-To say that it is simply a security blanket is too limiting and does not take into full account of all the religions and what they offer people individually. I think in some cases, fear of the unknown is the driving force for some religions but not all.

world_dogma

Originally posted by JaxonRoberts
Wow, what an awesome thread! First I would have to say that I look at spirituality and religion as separate things. I say this because I believe that all religious people are spiritual, but not all spiritual people are religious. I am the latter. To me spirituality is a personal journey that I am on alone. No rules, no dogma, no commandments, just a search for a higher truth.

With that in mind, I do think that for most religion is a security blanket. They want to take the easy way out and have someone or some ancient text tell them what is and what is not, what is right and what is wrong, instead of trying to find those answers on their own.

There are certain things in common with most religions that are a determent to this journey. Almost all religions claim that they are the only true way to find the Divine (I don't like using the word God because it carries too many religious overtones for me). And if you don't believe what they are preaching, then you are at best going to spend eternity in limbo (Jewish teachings) or at worst going to spend eternity burning in the eternal flames of 'Hell' (Christian and Islamic teachings). If this is true, then at least two thirds of us are doomed. All this from what they will all tell you is a kind and loving God. I find this hard to believe in.

I believe in the end, be you Christian, Muslim, Jew, Agnostic, Aethist, Buddist, Taoist, Wiccan, Pagan or Purple Spagetti Monstratarian, we all end up in the same place, together, with the Divine. You'll see me out on the other threads doing battle against those who get all preachy with their defense of their religions, but in the end, we're all on the same journey. I also firmly believe in the Eastern philosophy of reincarnation, so some of us will have to make more trips back than others, because religion holds the individual back on this journey. In the end, it's this journey that really matters, not politics or who really shot JFK or 'is that the Twin Towers on the moon?' To cling to Dogma and Ancient Texts is to hide from really discovering what 'God' is and why we are really here, because if you've already had your mind made up, there is no room for further discovery. Well, that's my two cents worth on the subject.

[edit on 21-9-2008 by JaxonRoberts]

Great post.

The journey is not only fun and enjoyable, but it keeps your mind from stagnating in areas that have so much potential. When you study as many religions and belief systems as possible you get the full abundance in spiritual growth life has to offer and are compelled to add a little of your own to the mix. It stretches corridors in your mind you never even knew you had.

I agree, the journey is awesome.

There is no security blanket offered when you really and truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and are born again ..(Not being involved in religion but a personal relationship with him)
The bible tells us that in this world we will be hated,tormented,tested,tempted and persecuted and some will even die because they believe in him.
I dont see any supposed security blanket in any of the above do you ?

As far as hell goes ...at first I considered hell and yes I was a bit scared ..but then it never crossed my mind again once I got to know the Lord more and how much he truly LOVES US ALL ...Now its more about the fact that I know he loves me when no one else does and it is a love that does not come and go ..but is there the whole time ..even when I fall he is there and he picks me up and forgives me and tells me to pick up and just move forward.Not only does he forgive but the bible says he FORGETS our sins as well ....We cant even forget them most of the time which is why we hold ourselves down so much ....the Lord taught me to forgive myself too ...that was a real load off for me ...and I eventually was able to move forward in this life .....all because of the Lord .....(was nothing I did ..was all him and his patience and love for me )

I am a believer because of HIS LOVE not because I may face hell if I dont believe .

4 Rabbits Up everyone. Except for one person we had to ban and another who couldn't resist using the word Stupid and Crap, even though his/her thoughts expressed were appreciated.... each of you so far has done a masterful job of making this thread interesting, thought provoking and reflecting. Some of you have, like I did, given us personal stories that I'm sure were hard for you to post. Others have made great questions to posters and allowed them to respond. All in all, the intelligent conversation has been enlightening for me and has given me a hope for the world we live in today. I figure, if a controversial thread about religion can stand muster for the members and guest of ATS without it becoming a FLAME contest..... maybe there really is something to be hopeful about.

To ALL Who Have Posted And Been Respectful Of All...... THANK YOU!

Keep it up..... I haven't read this much since cramming for exams in High School.

Dave

P. S. I have been awarding 500 Applause Points to everyone who has made intelligent contributions to this thread.

[edit on 9/22/2008 by Dave Rabbit]

reply to post by alienesque


Hi.

Thanks for the challenge. However I am not ill-informed. I've been studying the Scriptures for nearly 30 years, daily.

You've misunderstood the meaning and application of the passage you quoted, as you haven't heeded the context, which is actually contained within the portion you laid out, as follows:

5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

This was a specific instruction to the 12 disciples to declare to the Jewish nation, from village to village, that the Messiah had come. By explaining his teaching and speaking of his miracles they were to bring the wonderful news of what God was doing in their time to them.

The attitude of rejecting the hearers severely was specifically commanded in cases where the Jewish people, who knew the prophesies about Christ, knowingly rejected him. Actually realising who Christ is and then opposing him is described in the NT as the only unforgivable sin, as he alone is the means to God's forgiveness.

This explains what you are referring to:

12And when ye come into an house, salute it.

13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

15Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Rejection by the disciples was a sign that God would in turn reject them.

However the work of believers in the Church era is not encompassed by that whole scenario. This is how Christ commissioned believers to bear witness of him to the non-Jews:

The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet. So those slaves went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests...

Matthew 22:8-10

We invite and invite and invite. Even if people are inclined to ridicule and despise us we go on inviting them and praying for them. Good or bad we implore them to be reconciled to God, as forgiveness is available until the day they die (unless they knowingly, understandingly, willfully reject the possibility of receiving forgiveness - something which, thank God, few ever perpetrate; e.g. Judas).

The Christian attitude to those who are not believers is simply "We've got the most amazing news to share with you". (And boy am I glad somewhere along the way during the few days I have on this earth someone plucked up enough courage to share it with me.)

God bless.


(PS If you wish to pursue this further it may take us off topic. Perhaps you could start another discussion?)

Originally posted by Dave Rabbit
1. Are people religious because they really believe?

Yes. The vast majority of religious people believe in their god and the specific tenets of their religion. I'm sure there are those (many televangelists come to mind) who are "doing religion" for other reasons, but regular people who go to religious meetings regularly, pray and raise their families in their belief structure are generally people who believe in their religion.

2. Do they simply go through the motions because they are too afraid of the consequences .... just in case there is a Heaven or Hell?

I think some do. Some (probably small) subgroup of the above religious people are doing it because they are afraid of the consequences if they don't, and they're very uncomfortable with "the unknown" in this context. They have been deeply indoctrinated with the religious dogma (for lack of a better word - it's actually the perfect word, but some take offense at it) and some part of them believes that if they don't comply, they will go to hell. That still means that they believe, though. At least to a degree. Because if they didn't believe, they wouldn't believe in the consequences.

3. Is it simply a security blanket because they want to believe that there is something better after they die and would be miserable if they didn’t believe there was something at the end of the religious rainbow?

I think there is, again, probably a relatively small group of people who fit this category as well. They WANT to believe because the thought that "this is all there is" OR accepting the "unknown" is too much to contemplate.

It's easier to know than not to know, even if the knowing isn't real. But once a person takes the "leap of faith" from knowing to not knowing, it becomes very easy to accept not knowing. At least from my perspective, it does.

I am an atheist. I don't believe that an entity "God", as I was taught, exists. I don't KNOW any more than any other person alive KNOWS, but my BELIEF is that it's a fantasy.

I was raised in an EXTREMELY religious family and it took many years to determine what I really believed, separate from the indoctrination I received.

I don't have negative judgments about people who believe differently than I do. I don't think they're "wrong". I just don't think it's my place to make that judgment. Many people are very happy in their religion and it's absolutely none of my business. I don't have to be right about my beliefs, nor do they have to be wrong. Because if I look at the facts of the case, none of us KNOWS. We all believe. A person can't KNOW that God doesn't exist any more than they can KNOW that God does exist.

Some people are comfortable with not knowing and some are not. Those who aren't comfortable with the unknown follow a "story". They even claim to KNOW, but I think they're just trying to convince themselves, so they can be comfortable. Believers and atheists alike.

[edit on 22-9-2008 by Benevolent Heretic]

I believe it is and heres why. Many people who live in basic mentality like "I have faith, Jesus will save me" are copping out on the big picture. Life is obvious and needs no God or Church or religion. If there is a God i would ask why he let the universe go as it did, a cruel place full of false minded people who plague my life with absolute boredom and anger.

The basic programming we all have is to eat, procreate, and sleep, and maybe a primal urge to hunt. So with that God said what he would have through the natural order of things, but the miracle comes through specifics hidden in time and space. The unexplained mysteries so to speak. Which keeps me holding onto a God or creator, but not mankind invented religions, i find them to be distractions, like when your bowling and you keep gutter balling. God may give you one for effort but you didnt see past the big picture to a bigger picture, using the most basic picture of all.

One liners are always a defense for religious people, when they object they rebut with "but God said"-let me correct your understanding a bit..its actually a human being who wrote any religius text. It is merely the misguidance of faith that places it as gods word. Because im more inclined someone had some drug in them before I believe it was a god speaking. Thats just my logic and personal experience working.

reply to post by pause4thought


I didn't mean to challenge, I just like offering alternative takes ( Obviously skewed by own bias )

It's tough to elaborate on fully, I don't like to rant for too long and keep things short. That way people actually read my posts

Why is it necessary for two people to legally bind themselves to one another? Why must it be legal? Or religious?
Putting love aside, and i'm sure alot of people that marry do love each other, the act of marriage only serves to solidify a union of two people.

I think a main reason people marry, apart from legal or financial reasons, is because it gives a sense of security.

I own you and you own me. Noones going anywhere.

Another man would think twice before he tries to steal you away from me now.
He'll think twice if and when he ever thinks about cheating.

Security.

Outside of marriage, noone is really obliged to adhere to any rules.
The union of two people forces both parties to adhere to financial, moral and legal rules. Both feel secure knowing this.

Kinda realised how off topic this was. Sorry.

[edit on 22-9-2008 by T0by]

Originally posted by pause4thought
reply to post by alienesque

 

Hi.

Thanks for the challenge. However I am not ill-informed. I've been studying the Scriptures for nearly 30 years, daily.

You've misunderstood the meaning and application of the passage you quoted, as you haven't heeded the context, which is actually contained within the portion you laid out, as follows:

5These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:

6But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

This was a specific instruction to the 12 disciples to declare to the Jewish nation, from village to village, that the Messiah had come. By explaining his teaching and speaking of his miracles they were to bring the wonderful news of what God was doing in their time to them.

The attitude of rejecting the hearers severely was specifically commanded in cases where the Jewish people, who knew the prophesies about Christ, knowingly rejected him. Actually realising who Christ is and then opposing him is described in the NT as the only unforgivable sin, as he alone is the means to God's forgiveness.

This explains what you are referring to:

12And when ye come into an house, salute it.

13And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

15Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Rejection by the disciples was a sign that God would in turn reject them.

However the work of believers in the Church era is not encompassed by that whole scenario. This is how Christ commissioned believers to bear witness of him to the non-Jews:

The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Therefore go to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet. So those slaves went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests...

Matthew 22:8-10

We invite and invite and invite. Even if people are inclined to ridicule and despise us we go on inviting them and praying for them. Good or bad we implore them to be reconciled to God, as forgiveness is available until the day they die (unless they knowingly, understandingly, willfully reject the possibility of receiving forgiveness - something which, thank God, few ever perpetrate; e.g. Judas).

The Christian attitude to those who are not believers is simply "We've got the most amazing news to share with you". (And boy am I glad somewhere along the way during the few days I have on this earth someone plucked up enough courage to share it with me.)

God bless.

(PS If you wish to pursue this further it may take us off topic. Perhaps you could start another discussion?)

hello..thanks...

in matthew 10 jesus clearly says go out and spread my message...and those who wont listen are not worth your time or energy and they will be punished..is this not true?

reply to post by T0by


OK, I see where you're coming from.

Suffice it to say I see marriage (-I've had nearly two decades of it) not as an issue of security, but one of commitment and faithfulness.

Beautiful things when they are mutual. And very special.

What an excellent thread and some excellent responses. I'll just leave a snippet of what religion means to me. Well everyday I would like to pray and when I do do this little ritual in the morning it leaves me with a feeling of completeness. I do believe in the thought of a higher power. But that is not just why I want to believe in religion. I love the ideals of faith, hope and dreams. I believe these three things are important mentally and emotionally in our lives. We need to strive for something. When were on our lowest point in our life and trust me i've been there, we need to believe in something and not just ourselves to get us through it. Religion has done all these things for me. And it asks for so little in return.

Plus I did also like what some of the other posters were saying about organised religion and how it should be upon the individual to decide on what they believe in.

reply to post by alienesque

jesus clearly says go out and spread my message...and those who wont listen are not worth your time or energy and they will be punished..is this not true?

No it isn't. That is not the spirit of his message at all. As I explained the context is specifically one that referred to willful, stubborn rejection of Christ himself by those who knew full well what the Messiah would do, according to millennia of prophetic writings.

Hope this clarifies the issue.

God is for us. Good or bad!

(This whole thread is mind-bogglingly informative. 1st class contributions & honest q.s & a.s. Awesome.)




[edit to correct typo]

[edit on 22/9/08 by pause4thought]

reply to post by pause4thought


Agree, and your aspect is probably the more important one.
I just like to consider them all.

The bottom line is religion, marriage and so many other things in life can have 'security blanket' apspects to it. Both none of them always do.