Religion is a disease

reply to post by sad_eyed_lady


I would like to respectfully ask why you see one persons opinion as "bullying" ?

The textbook definition implies that bullying is relentless harassment by an individual onto another individual.

The OP did not even take a stance against a particular sect of faiths.... just RELIGION in general....

Religion and faith have very little do with each other in my opinion. When I hit my light switch I have FAITH the light will come on, When I pull into my driveway I have faith that my home will still be standing in the same spot it was when I left. I didn't need to join a church to receive this faith... It was slowly ingrained in me after numerous times of flipping a light switch and experiencing LIGHT.

The internet CAN BE a wonderful place where an open mind can receive new ideas and expand ways of thinking.... IF and only if...when you use the internet you have faith that you will see things you both agree with and disagree with.

reply to post by Vrill


Are you using the word 'myth' as a mythologist, for example Joseph Campbell would, or are you using it in the warped 'common usage' way that Joe Sixpack would?

Originally posted by Vrill
reply to post by knightsofcydonia

 

No, but people call those things myths too. Its why it should all be in the same category.

I'll keep this simple.

Definitions:

Religion is commonly defined as belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, and institutions associated with such belief.[1] Religious beliefs and practices may include the following:
a deity or higher being
eschatology
practices of worship
practices of ethics and politics
Some religions do not include all these features. For instance, belief in a deity is not essential to Buddhism.


The term mythology usually refers either to a system of myths or to the study of myths.[2] However, the word "myth" itself has multiple (and some contradictory) definitions:
2007: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, "Myth: "1 a: a usually traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. b: Parable, Allegory. 2 a: a popular belief or tradition that has grown up around something or someone; especially: one embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society. 2b: an unfounded or false notion. 3: a person or thing having only an imaginary or unverifiable existence. 4: the whole body of myths.[3]

So you are also saying those who analyze mythology are diseased as well as religious people. Well, one aspect of myths that cannot be denied is that they are ubiquitous across all countries and cultures. Every society has its own form of myths, and interestingly, often these different myths are re-tellings of central archetypal stories that are changed slightly to fit different cultures and experiences.

The popularity of myths and the way that they are still read and studied just as much today suggests very strongly that myths are much more than just stories, and that they have an important purpose in today's world, just as they were important in ancient civilisations. Myths can be described as sacred tales that help man understand the world and his place in it. Myths often try to respond to eternal questions, such as the origin of the existence of evil, and also, through the archetypes that they provide, seem to give guidance to every generation. Let us take one example: the hero's quest, that we see echoed throughout so many myths, such as The Odyssey, the Twelve Labours of Hercules and Beowulf, is a kind of model for youngsters to imitate as they go through the process of growing up and accepting adult responsibilities.

These are just some of the reasons why myths are still important and popular today. Myths open the window of the timeless and the essential, and this remains true whatever period of history we come from or however strong our scientific sophistication.

reply to post by Vrill


My Opinion: Religion is a Plague that scars the world. Only because that religion is controlling in its on way. Do bad things- go to hell. Do good things- go to heaven. Dont have pre marital sex, dont be gay, dont do drugs, yada yada yada. God said this , jesus said that, allah is the only one, jehovah is king, etc...Too many contradictions within the bible and church.

Now, as for "God", I believe that god isnt human like or close to it. A mass source of energy- Possible. I dont refer to god like I would a human being.(him / he / it / she / shim / etc...) Most times, I believe that we may just be "Gods" ourselves. We create things and life.

I have more to say, but work is calling.

Peace Worldwide

Originally posted by Vrill
atheism isn't a belief system; it's an absence of a belief system based on the merits.

Exactly I'm not an Athiest, I'm simply someone who doesn't believe.

Originally posted by knightsofcydonia
Ya thousands of years of biblical scholars studying religions in every part of the world....

And you are the one smart enough to debunk it and call it a disease.
LOL

I think there are a lot of smart people that see religion as nothing but pure, Grade A, bull@#$^

The people to LOL @, are the ones defending the crap. "Grow up or die." - Religulous

Originally posted by southtower

Originally posted by knightsofcydonia
Ya thousands of years of biblical scholars studying religions in every part of the world....

And you are the one smart enough to debunk it and call it a disease.
LOL

I think there are a lot of smart people that see religion as nothing but pure, Grade A, bull@#$^

The people to LOL @, are the ones defending the crap. "Grow up or die." - Religulous

We're all dying regardless of our beliefs.

Originally posted by Vrill
Religion is a disease of the mind and you can't argue with a disease. If you point out the many flaws/evil statements in the bible, they'll claim you're interpreting it wrong......if you point out the absurdity of "free will", and our ability to influence outcomes, in the context of "god's plan", you'll get a lot of cognitive dissonance....

Hmm, I agree with Religion being a disease and it needs to be distinguished, but then you started referring to the Bible as if that was Religious? I mean, I can say weapons are dangerous and should be all eliminated, and then start talking about hammers.. Sure, they can be misused, but that's NOT it's intended purpose.

Here's a thought - maybe the "flaws" or "evil statements" in the Bible are actually.. misinterpreted? Did you think of that? I haven't found a single flaw in the Bible, and I kind of make the Bible "my" business. So please share if you have some secret.

The absurdity of free will? You know, if you want to believe that we are all just the product of random molecular cells coming together by "chance" (an absurdity in itself), and are simply random electrical occurrences in our brains, how can you trust your own thoughts? How can you trust at all? How can you believe anything?

If you want to chase down other wild theories, such as our internal consciousness affecting an external source, try not to think about the possibility that external forces are actually affecting our internal consciousness into believing we have some greater effect on our universe.

if you point out the science of evolution/physics, they'll merely claim those are god's tests (test for what?....god already knows what's going to happen).

No, don't you dare make that claim. The ONLY people who make this stupid excuse is Sunday school teachers who are teaching 5 year olds at some crazy church that doesn't even believe that Jesus is the son of God.

Point out all the "science" of the religion of evolution you can. There's not a single case you can provide to prove 5 of the 6 theories of Evolution (Cosmic, Chemical, Stellar, Organic, and Macro evolution), yet there are plenty of irrefutable cases of Micro-Evolution take place. Show me some proof, tangible evidence, that ISN'T based on "a lot of time" or "by chance", because that is NOT science, it's faith.

Epicurus said it best, "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?".

Said it best? It's set up. He questions something, implying he doesn't know the answer to it - and gives an answer? Biased much? Even still, the correct would be He is able and willing. Yet, He chooses not to, because of.. you guessed it, free will. Why do you think He even put the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden of Eden and told Adam not to eat it? You don't think God KNEW Adam would eat of it? Read the next part for the reason why.

But, the fact that someone can claim that we have "free will", yet also claim to be "god fearing" really underscores the level of cognitive dissonance involved in religious ideology: We're free to choose what we want, but if that choice doesn't involve worshiping our master (without a shred of tangible evidence), we'll be tortured in the most horrible way for eternity....seems legit.

The whole point of all of this is love, it is to perfect us, to mature us. God wanted a family, a perfect family, and so he created us, gave us life, allowed us to have the ability to choose from right and wrong in hopes that we would choose right. Righteousness can only be obtained by those with the ability to disobey.

And I just wanted to pull this part out..

(without a shred of tangible evidence)

Lol. Here's some ways to prove God-

- Two Witnesses (The Stars and the Great Pyramids), watch The Glory of the Stars and you'll see that the entire gospel has been written amongst our stars. The Pyramids also tell a significant story. And the Bible mentions it - "the capstone the builders rejected" which is the missing capstone on the Pyramid, which was never put on. Check out The Great Pyramid trilogy - Lost Legend of Enoch, Message from the Stars, and Gateway to the Galaxy.

- The Authenticity of the Bible, through prophecy or through the Great Flood. If it's accurate about the beginning, and of the past events, and of future events, and not wrong ONCE, it's probably divinely inspired.

- Miracles/Prayer as well. Here's my mother's testimony here, and this isn't the only case. It's just mine. There are thousands and thousands out there like this.

It shouldn't even require more than common sense.
This world is designed, and if you don't think so, no one can help you.

I also think that religion is some kind of disease, a mental disease in our perceptual capabilities, in our ability to evaluate reality, and thus it influences every other decision we may take regarding any other topic. We start to have more of a tendency to accept any system of beliefs, be it in politics, economics, relationships, etc... Believe in your leader(s), believe in the current economic doctrine, you stop asking questions because you start to think that there is something unknowable that is working in the background in which all you can do is believe, have faith. You start to live in a magical world where things can or cannot happen just because it is possible to verbally voice it or phrase it, or even just imagine it. Some people say science and religion are compatible, I don't think so, they are not compatible in their premisses, and I am talking here about the scientific method, not what that or this scientist has said or done. In my opinion they are not even comparable, because the scientific method is, well, a method, a structure of learning, and religion is just content, with no real structure. The real problem is the dogma, something that never changes even if the context is completely different, the problem is "doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result". Human beings are all about learning, all we do is learn, from birth (and even before birth, in the womb ..) to death, we learn from everything that we stumble on, and all those experiences are what make us who we are, how we see ourselves, others and the universe around us. In my opinion, religion is an infantile disease, in the sense that we are far less civilised or advanced than we think, we are a young species. We are a young species because we have so much unexploited potential, and that's how I define "young".

The atheists I knew in HS by a huge margin were more mentally ill and on more medications than anyone else.







Just saying.

Originally posted by knightsofcydonia
We're all dying regardless of our beliefs.

Imagine if humans could overcome the obstacle of death. We just never knew because 1. The world loves to consume products that slowly kill us 2. The majority believes good things will happen after death....like Heaven.

This takes the focus off your current, real, one and only life- and puts the focus on your non-existent fear mongering "afterlife".

What if the elites are in fact actually waiting for the populations to grow up. Mature. Revolt. Cigarettes advertise cancer on the package yet millions are sparking up right now. Why share the secret of life with complete idiots?

9/11 is a perfect example of how oblivious America is as a nation. Christianity is next. The more they get us thinking about death, the more we accomplish nothing.

Originally posted by Turq1
The atheists I knew in HS by a huge margin were more mentally ill and on more medications than anyone else.

Just saying.

edit on 6/29/2012 by Turq1 because: (no reason given)

Maybe you hung out with the wrong crowd?

Originally posted by LionhearteLol. Here's some ways to prove God-

- Two Witnesses (The Stars and the Great Pyramids), watch The Glory of the Stars and you'll see that the entire gospel has been written amongst our stars. The Pyramids also tell a significant story. And the Bible mentions it - "the capstone the builders rejected" which is the missing capstone on the Pyramid, which was never put on. Check out The Great Pyramid trilogy - Lost Legend of Enoch, Message from the Stars, and Gateway to the Galaxy.

- The Authenticity of the Bible, through prophecy or through the Great Flood. If it's accurate about the beginning, and of the past events, and of future events, and not wrong ONCE, it's probably divinely inspired.

- Miracles/Prayer as well. Here's my mother's testimony here, and this isn't the only case. It's just mine. There are thousands and thousands out there like this.

It shouldn't even require more than common sense.
This world is designed, and if you don't think so, no one can help you.

Utterly false.
There is zero proof which is why there are so many gods.
There isn't even 'evidence', which is required before any proof.

Its actually called faith and 'beliefs' because of this lack of 'proof'.

In the absence of cognitive dissonance, it can be 'proved' that none of the gods of any of the organised religions do not exist in the form that these religions describe.

reply to post by Lionhearte


Why don't you start to prove with at least logical arguments that "good" and "evil" are absolute values or concepts that are independent from any context and any intention/subjectivity ?

reply to post by Vrill


Ive always been a non-believer persay...my family never went to church,so I was never "steered" towards religion. I did go to a pentacostal church a couple times with a friend when I was in middle school. Every time I went,the people would stand up in the middle of the ceremony and start Running around the church,jumping up and down,babbling non-sense,falling down,rolling around on the floor. Then after the theatrics, they passed around a plate and people put their money on the plate, and gave it to the...to the preacher I guess? Maybe there was a fee for "the show?" Heck I dunno... The whole thing was very strange to me, and in some ways, shaped my opinion on religions and the people who go to church.

I wouldnt quite say Im an atheist, because I believe in...Something. Or Someone, Maybe Several entities? Im not sure exactly,as I have never seen the "source" or "creator" or "supreme being" call it what you want.

I know for a fact that I believe the bible & the quran (spelling) & ANY other religous books are bunk. Its the main tool for the "leaders of religion" to obtain and maintain control over the followers.

Also, I'm pretty sure all the religions are worshipping the same person with a different name. i.e. Jesus,Mohammad,etc...are all actually the same being. So it goes without saying there is absolutely no reason for religous wars. Its silly, reminds me of this:




Lastly, I was once told by an old friend that bible was an abbreviation for

Basic
Information
Before
Leaving
Earth

who knows really? Its a journey we travel seeking truth. I'll keep walking, searching for that truth, and when I find it, I'll share the wealth.

Sirhc

Originally posted by Vrill
Utterly false.
There is zero proof which is why there are so many gods.
There isn't even 'evidence', which is required before any proof.

Nice, ignore everything else.

It's impossible to DISPROVE something if it doesn't exist. You cannot disprove someone's claims of an invisible pink unicorn that turns visible when no one is looking, because it knows even if there's hidden cameras. You simply can't disprove it. Burden of proof is on the person making the claims.

Everything I said is utterly true, thanks very much.

There's proof of a worldwide flood. There's proof of the historical accuracy of the Bible. There's proof in prophecy. There's proof in miracles. There's proof in prayer. There's proof in witnesses. Common sense should be all you need, but apparently even THAT isn't enough for you, so how could anything else be CONSIDERED proof for you? I guess it can't.

Its actually called faith and 'beliefs' because of this lack of 'proof'.

"Utterly false". The disciples walked, ate, and slept with Jesus for years. Even they lost faith, but even they "believed" and had faith. And they saw with their own two eyes the risen Christ.

Originally posted by gosseyn
reply to post by Lionhearte

 

Why don't you start to prove with at least logical arguments that "good" and "evil" are absolute values or concepts that are independent from any context and any intention/subjectivity ?

On what basis? Would you presume morals are subjective? Good luck with that. Majority opinion does not determine right from wrong, nor does any one man. No one determines it. But we feel it. We FEEL the difference between good and evil, and that comes from God alone. Try to explain it "naturally" - where do morals come from?

Why isn't it morally acceptable to have sex with anyone you see?
Why isn't it morally acceptable to lie, steal or destroy?
Why isn't it morally acceptable to kill someone?

God explains all those pretty well. Can you? Naturally?

Doubt it.

Originally posted by NewAgeMan

Originally posted by Vrill
Epicurus said it best, "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?".

That argument is pathetic and disgraceful.

And, your disagreement on this is?

Originally posted by Vrill
reply to post by knightsofcydonia

 

And someone worshiping a God without any sound evidence makes me question your judgement on the matter. But then you have.....faith. I guess?

To be honest, worshiping Jesus Christ goes into the same category as UFOs, Sasquatch, Area 51s and Alien autopsies and the whole Ancient Alien belief system....and really, that is a lot more believable to me.

What???? Aliens are real, even if they haven't visited yet!

Originally posted by sirhc0329
reply to post by Vrill

 

Also, I'm pretty sure all the religions are worshipping the same person with a different name. i.e. Jesus,Mohammad,etc...are all actually the same being. So it goes without saying there is absolutely no reason for religous wars.

Except none of them are the same. Allah is not God of the Bible, though they claim he is because "Allah" means God. That's retarded. My friend Charles is a pretty swell dude. I don't suppose it would be logical to claim he is the same as Charles Manson? No? Why not? They share the same name..

Same applies to Jesus. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses and even the Baha'i all believe in a different Jesus. They are not Christians. Even Jews don't even want to talk about Jesus. They say he's a false messiah, "the most influential, and consequently the most damaging, of all false messiahs." for one reason, and one reason alone.. he claimed to be God himself. Sure, there claims were that he was against Caesar, but the Jews didn't really care about the Romans. They just used that excuse to get the Romans to crucify him.

Originally posted by gosseyn
reply to post by Lionhearte

 

Why don't you start to prove with at least logical arguments that "good" and "evil" are absolute values or concepts that are independent from any context and any intention/subjectivity ?

If no one had ever heard of a god, would there still be good people in the world? And, if no one had ever heard of the devil, would there still be bad people in the world?

If so, then what's the point of a god or a devil?