So, What happens to you if/when religion is proven false?

I don't know if it has been mentioned as I have not read the entire thread, but there is another component to the discussion. This is the difference between the commonly used word "belief", in regards to religion, and the word "knowing" which is commonly used in the spiritual community.

The word belief is defined by an opinion that is based on what an individual has been taught by an external source. People that follow any religion have learned what to believe. They can be hand fed at an early age before they've even had a chance to form their perceptions of life and reality. IMO, there isn't much authentic freedom in this approach. No discovery. "Belief" leaves much room for deception or error because it is essentially the word of humans who can be untrustworthy and manipulative.

"Knowing", on the other hand, is an absolute. There is no room for doubt in the views and perceptions you form. It comes from a deep inward searching that connects you to the source which can be revealed in many ways. (Intuition being the most common) When you quiet your mind and ask a question, the answer often comes in the form of, "now I know". It's an absolute feeling of truth when the answer is from a place of peace & love. The deeper you look, the closer you become with your source and then you'll "know" the answer to the original post. IMO, you would not care if religion would disappear because you should already have a connection with God...regardless of what name you gave him/her.

Peace.

reply to post by ZenTao


We may never "know" if God really does exist, or if he does - in what form.

What i highly doubt is that he's an angry human like God with set rules on all living things of how they should conduct their lives and be servants.

No-one could possibly know this about God, any religion who claims to do so, is lying to it's followers.

reply to post by The Western Sage


Why would you immediately become a psychopath if you discovered that there wasn't an invisible God that sent you a book of rules? Personally, I can't be the kind of person you describe yourself to be (if given the green light to be completely honest in your response to life), and it amazes me how many religious people assert that everyone would turn into child-eating beasts if God was suddenly proven to not be keepiong score.

Makes you uncomfortable to be around religious people. It's almost as if these are folks who are a hair-trigger away from complete mayhem, and God help us all if their faith should fail at any moment.

[edit on 9/7/2010 by NorEaster]

Without reading the replies to the OP, here is my own so hopefully I'm not parroting what many others have already said.

I think you would find those who are not so strong willed would go into a great depression and possibly commit suicide. Religion gives many of us the very purpose for living, and to have that purpose taken away on top of the realization that your purpose had been a lie would be extremely depressing. Honestly, I think you would find that many people would end their lives sometime in the near future after learning such a thing, especially if all religion was shown to be false. Otherwise, if it was just their religion, I think at least a few would then search for the answers in another faith that had not been disproved.

Since God Himself could not really be disproved, you might find a whole lot more people coming to believe in some god/energy force, but that would ultimately lead to some other form of religion and worship.

For some of us, the reason we have the faith we do is because we are seeking truth in the first place. We would accept our error, with varying degrees of depression as well, but then continue on in trying to find what the truth really was. If part of this revelation that came to us was that there is no soul and that there is no afterlife or reincarnation or anything of the sort, I think you would see a couple of things result from that as well...

1) You would see mass Hedonism, everybody doing whatever pleased them with no regard to others because this is all you've got. Not saying that non-religious people cant be civil, just saying that selfishness would definitely rise as a result.

2) You would see more suicides. The fear of suicide being sin is what keeps many depressed religious people from committing suicide. If they have nothing to fear in a the afterlife, they would likely choose to end their suffering. Also consider Buddhists. They live to end their suffering and lead others to enlightenment in order to eventually end their suffering and reach Nirvana, a state of non-existence and therefor no pain. Since this is what would happen upon death, Buddhists would turn in to massive suicide cults overnight.

3)Among leaders, you would see an overnight shift in policy. Those in power would seek even more power to ultimately become their own god. With no fear of reporting to a higher authority, and no religious people to keep them in check, men would become even more power hungry then they are now.

4) You would see a major shift in science and technology. Virtually everything would be aimed at one of three things...
1) Military: With the hunger for power, certain people would want the most effective way to control lives and end them in order to maintain power.
2) Life-extension: A major emphasis would come in to technologies and medicines that would extend life, with us ultimately becoming more and more like machines, though I dont imagine much real success in this area despite the science fiction we always read about and see on tv.
3) Entertainment: People would want to make the most of whatever life they've got. Simulations would be huge, and people would make their life's purpose to be entertained, because all that really matters is that you are happy with your life.


That's my two cents. Obviously I dont think said revelation would happen. If I did I wouldn't be aman of faith myself. Good day!

ALL religions ARE False.

ALL Religions are a control mechanism.

They do not provide a path to GOD, if anything they act as a diversion to one's path to GOD.

AS a Christian, I learned long ago that the different denominations say they are of the Christian faith do not practice or encourage the teachings of Jesus. It is the same for the followers of Islam or Jews or you name it.

Spirituallity is the true path, GOD has written on each of our hearts the true path for your personal awakeing. When one is truely awakened you will find that there are no rules, no absolutes, No Separtation, We and everything around us are ONE, with the TRUE GOD.

As it can't be proved, I'd say people would mchange nothing. Believing in a God takes some of the selfishness away from just living a life for oneself.

But, what is you found that God was real and you did have to answer him and that it was too late once you died? Would you have changed your life now if you knew that to reject him when given free choice no means eternal separation? Actually it wouldn't becuase the BIble already says that people are detsiend for what they are destined for.

That means some will say thats unfair yet do noting to try to seek God therefore proving the case. If somone was lal knowing, would he already know that?

I find some peoples argument against God's decisions disturbing as if God owes htemm something when he already knows they'll reject him till they die. Yes, people are that stupid.

reply to post by brokedown


You must not realize how many religions are out there that place no restrictions on people and that people choose to be a part of. Are you being controlled if you make an informed decision to do or believe something? I mean, Christianity is NOT all about controlling people, though there are some in leadership who make it to be that way. What about Satanists? They are all about being your own god and not obeying the rules of any other person. It's all about you. That's a religion.

God is not some force that we will eventually awaken to and be a part of. As for absolutes, there must be some if you are going to claim that ALL religions are false and that ALL religions are simply control mechanisms.

reply to post by NorEaster


Hey, I know this is a common response, but this is a common response resulting from an understanding of human nature. If you take away a higher authority, people tend to try or do things they wouldn't have done if the authority is there. You don't see looters all the time, but if there is a disaster or something, they seem to come out of the woodwork. likewise, when a parent leaves their teen home alone for the weekend, many of them are likely to do something they might not have tried if their parents had stayed home, such as getting into the alcohol cabinet or throwing a party. Order will be restored in both cases, but not all the damage that might result from the consequences of their choices can be undone.

I'm not sure if you simply skimmed my post, but I would like to point out again, that personally, I have not seen a convincing argument that makes morality rational, aside from a mere evolutionary basis, which in and of itself, is the result of chance. It appears to me that it is merely chance that the western moral system developed the way it did, or any for that matter, and it would be hypocritical to criticize any other moral system.


As for you not being the person I admit I would become, I don't mind. I would like to think like you would, that I couldn't be that person, but I would be denying that potential in me. And, I think that that potential is within you too, if you would allow it to develop.

Makes you uncomfortable to be around religious people. It's almost as if these are folks who are a hair-trigger away from complete mayhem, and God help us all if their faith should fail at any moment.

I don't know about every religious person, but just think about it a moment. they spend part of their life, or most of their life, or all of their life, giving themselves up to an authority greater than any we could possibly create or become. They learn to ignore the barbs of naysayers and those who would persecute their beliefs, be it neighbors, coworkers, other religions, atheists, nations, etc. They lose their fear of what others can do to them. Once you take away their religion that doesn't automatically make them fearful of others around them. On the contrary, you take away the one thing that could strike fear into their heart. So, really, it isn't a stretch of the imagination to see them become what this society would call "psychopaths." You have a lack of fear, a lack of a credible authority to encourage them to practice self restraint, and a large dose of corruptible human nature.

reply to post by Mykahel

Hmm... another Christian who thinks anarchy and mayhem would ensue if God were found dead.

Read my earlier discussion with The Western Sage and see whether you still think so afterwards. Start here.

reply to post by SaturnFX


What happens when religion is proven false is a lot of people are shocked.

Not me, I have always known that the so-called religion invented by mankind is false.

Jesus is the only way.

Originally posted by catwhoknows
reply to post by SaturnFX

 

What happens when religion is proven false is a lot of people are shocked.

Not me, I have always known that the so-called religion invented by mankind is false.

Jesus is the only way.

Uhm, if religion is false, and Christianity is a religion...

I hope that one day people will wake up and understand that most religions have been manipulated into controlling people and to deny them there own history of this planet.

The Bible, Koran and torah speak of the gods / aliens and how they came to earth to teach man and manipulate man for their own agenda.


Miracles happened because we as a people could not understand what our gods / aliens were doing. The earth being created, no the earth was already here, our gods / aliens bought the earth back out of an ice age and taught us how to live again.

Many ancient peoples speak of a bearded fellow who helped restore the world after dark time.. Is this being God our God ???

The worst thing about religion is having our own history denied.

I would love to go into more detail but I'm having a bit of an issue with time.. so please feel free to PM me.

Originally posted by brokedown
ALL religions ARE False.

ALL Religions are a control mechanism.

They do not provide a path to GOD, if anything they act as a diversion to one's path to GOD.

AS a Christian, I learned long ago that the different denominations say they are of the Christian faith do not practice or encourage the teachings of Jesus. It is the same for the followers of Islam or Jews or you name it.

Spirituallity is the true path, GOD has written on each of our hearts the true path for your personal awakeing. When one is truely awakened you will find that there are no rules, no absolutes, No Separtation, We and everything around us are ONE, with the TRUE GOD.

I have had my awakening and I know who god / the gods are.

Worst thing knowing is that they did what they had to do on earth and left us to it.
So much is lost in translation with in the good books and what people believe is now so far from the truth it's unreal.

So much knowledge is denied by our leaders and we are sheep until our inner spirit awakes.

reply to post by Astyanax


Read the post, and I think you have some valid points, but ultimately I think it comes down to this. Without God and a hope for the future, everything is meaningless. A quote from the movie "Equilibrium" (one of my favorite movies btw) goes something like this...

"You exist to continue your existence, what's the point?"

The lady speaking is making the point that our purpose is to feel, to experience emotion and so forth. I think this is all meaningless as well though if one day we will cease to exist. We will not be able to look back and say we enjoyed those times. We will have learned nothing, as nothing could be remembered or anything. People may talk about us, and so we might "live on" in their memories, but we would be unaware of it and eventually our names would be forgotten. The world could end and it would not matter, because those who never came into existence still wouldnt have, and those who passed away no longer exist. As far as the universe is concerned, we never existed. We are nothing.

I'm not saying that people as a whole would completely turn over a new leaf, but I stick to my thesis that there would be considerably higher crime rates and general selfishness, alongside of depression and suicide. You might see global chaos initially as radicals would simply take to the streets.

I think society could continue to function, but I feel it would be a colorless, dark society where there was no hope.

I had to minister at a funeral last year for a student who committed suicide. The only thing that kept his parents going was the hope that they would see their son again at the resurrection. There is a noticeable difference in the atmosphere of funerals for the religious and those that are secular. Even if it was a false hope, it was a hope. Without hope, what do we have? Temporary enjoyment followed by temporary pains that will eventually end and have served no ultimate purpose.

As was said by King Solomon, a man of God who questioned the purpose of doing anything in the book of Ecclesiastes:

Ecclesiastes 12:8 (NIV)

8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.
"Everything is meaningless!"

Edit: To comment on the issue regarding using God as our "get out of jail free" card to excuse our actions.

I believe that too many pastors have lead people to believe that if you are forgiven by somebody there should be no consequences to your actions. You can be forgiven but still suffer consequences. Not only though are we supposed to ask God for forgiveness, but we are supposed to repent. True repentance simply means "turning and changing." You turn from the direction you were going and then change your actions. You dont continue doing what you have repented for. Also, Jesus commanded us to forgive each other. We are supposed to forgive others if we want to be forgiven.
If I brake the law, I can ask the person I have offended to forgive me, but still expect to suffer consequences for breaking the law. Those consequences might be lessened, but I would still have them. A husband who cheats on his spouse might be forgiven and the spouse might not leave him, but he is going to have to live with the consequences of not being trusted around other women or when he is by himself or away on trips. True repentance leads to a change of action.

[edit on 8-9-2010 by Mykahel]

reply to post by Mykahel


I always try to say this but atheists always reply with "you make your own meaning" as if that makes existence any less pointless if there is nothing eternal.

[edit on 8-9-2010 by 547000]

reply to post by SaturnFX

So, What happens to you if/when religion is proven false?

Simply put, it can't be done... disproving a religion, that is.

Religion is based on faith in the unseen and immaterial deity-type. So, since it cannot be proven to exist to begin with, it cannot be proven to not exist... or labeled as false.

This is all purview to the human heart and mind, and so it should be. You can preach for your religion or rail against it but neither is conclusive. Your only discovery will be entirely personal.

reply to post by redoubt


An interesting comment, and to an extent I agree with it.

However in the future things will be made known to humanity that leaves no doubt in their minds, about God and what he is doing. But we aren't there yet.

Saying religion is false is like saying Labor Day is false. It can't be false, it is there, don't you see it?

Originally posted by Ophiuchus 13
reply to post by Romantic_Rebel

 

Can 1 get a simple answer, HOW CAN RELIGION BE DISPROVED AND BY WHO?
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I CAN YOU FOOL!

let me share with you people LAWS of this universe NOT SCIENCE OR RELIGION there facts: 1.)there IS a chance for everything YES everything and yet at the same time nothing pls see #2 for more details 2.)there is a balance for everything and yet nothing its hard to expaline lol but anyways theres ALMOST always a balance lol its REALY HARD to expalain 3.)theres (almost) always another side to a coin(stroy,object whatever) ex:good evil always in balance neither winning OR losing. NOW what do ya think its the laws of the universe or am i as nuts as i think???