If Religion is so AWESOME tell me WHY?

We live in a world where religion is paramount to our existence as a human. You are either on the side that believes or doesn't believe the stories of the Bible, Koran, or numerous other religious based texts, but I just have a very basic problem with this religion concept. It has absolutely no basis for existing if the the fundamental reason is to extoll the virtues of righteousness.

How can you pray to a GOD about anything one minute and then be completely immoral the next? Religion is steeped in hypocrisy. Do you really need to have religion in your life to know what is right or wrong? I don't. I know what is right and what is wrong.

Ask yourself why you are buying Christmas presents and celebrating a ridiculous notion that is the basis for the economic stimulus we use to survive in our fake commercialized society?

I watch the news and see stories about the Pope having a desire to change the way the Vatican operates; that would be great, right? If it wasn't a crock of poop.

The fact is, as long as there are homeless people and starving people living on this planet, religion is a farce.

Could religion have merits? Sure. But as it stands right now, there is no merit at all to believing or praying to any fake GODs for the sake of redemption in your afterlife. Give him your sins? Really? How about just not sinning. Sure, you see this and think of me being on my soap box with my high horse, but I am not a fake and I completely understand that we all can make mistakes; learning from them is the key and not hurting others deliberately is paramount.

I don't need religion to understand right from wrong; do you?

Soul

reply to post by soulpowertothendegree

Religion is a proposed map of the universe, and has the same value as any other map.
If the map is wrong, it is useless.
But if the map is right, it has to be accepted as reality, and the question of whether you like the way it looks is beside the point.

reply to post by soulpowertothendegree


firstly as a person who believes in the ancient astronaut theory I have been astounded that in times of crisis when I felt I had nothing to lose and I prayed, my prayers have been answered to the letter

the latest was that since 1998 I have been longing to have a family of my own and after much positive affirmations I finally resorted to prayer and my prayer was that I wanted happy healthy triplets or twins

I now have twins and they are 10 months old and have never been sick ever in their lives and they are happy and so easy to get along with

others tell me I am lucky because they started sleeping through the night at 4 months of age and have never ever thrown up anything

right now I am potty training them and even though they cannot speak they do indicate when they want potty and are already managing their own muscles to stop doing it in their nappy and wait for me to get them up from a nap and put them on potty

they are wonderful babies and I feel blessed and it all came together when I started to pray

so what do I believe? I dont know

I think the holy books were written about ancient aliens but somewhere there is a god force that is real and exists and hears our prayers

the good of organised religion is the creation of communities who subscribe to common morals and that makes them worthwhile

reply to post by soulpowertothendegree


Because once you give in to it..any of it. Your mind closes .

Crikey, a second immaculate conception. And told at xmas. Oo

Twins after a prayer.

Most people need to have sex to get pregnant, but god did it again.

So, Mary, I assume that is your name, how did Joseph take the news?

oO

soulpowertothendegree
We live in a world where religion is paramount to our existence as a human. You are either on the side that believes or doesn't believe the stories of the Bible, Koran, or numerous other religious based texts, but I just have a very basic problem with this religion concept. It has absolutely no basis for existing if the the fundamental reason is to extoll the virtues of righteousness.

Its all about control. Demi-Gods that have for whatever reason found a way or method to exploit humans (one way was/is to project themselves as Gods). The higherups that exist in the upper dimensions/dropped down in frequency to manipulate (they are the Gods you might acknowledge). They are no different than us other than have a greater knowledge or better resources to exploit us (and its all fair for some reason); not saying its MORAL but is done anyway. Flaws in the system that are acknowledged AS TRUE, strife, unfairness (lesson the entropy because with too much entropy there is no growth). All of this will fall away once exposed. We are all a God aspect but some of us are less dim than others and will be taken advantage of. MINERALS/METALS are one example.

Soulpower
How can you pray to a GOD about anything one minute and then be completely immoral the next? Religion is steeped in hypocrisy. Do you really need to have religion in your life to know what is right or wrong? I don't. I know what is right and what is wrong.

Its allowed for all variations, not saying it is rightful; the intent is to cause 'change' or to reformat/reboot the system or in the destruction of one system allow another 'system' to take this ones place. There are many receipes available for this 3D experience/experiment (all are shadows at this point but ready to be overlayed. This has happened many times on this planet. You need to trust in the Absolute All that Is; because its major intent is to grow/allow itself to experience a better/larger circumtance (that of self knowledge) NOT TO DESTROY ITSELF; and that means your conscousness as you are IT as a partical of are the explorer of its nature ever expanding.

reply to post by winofiend


if you consider IVF to be immaculate conception then yes the twins are definitely immaculate conception lol


after so many failed attempts for years and years using different donor eggs and surrogate finally it only works after I started to pray...

I don't do "religion." I follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ, which make me a better person. I believe in His promise of salvation from sin and from the dust of death. I look forward to His promised resurrection, and eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Remember that all fall short of perfection in this life, but far from being hypocrites, most celebrate what they know, and strive to be better people - do you not do the same? The sick look forward to renewed health. You POV may be skewed by a bad attitude, or maybe not. Knowing you better would help...

kisskiss
reply to post by winofiend

 

if you consider IVF to be immaculate conception then yes the twins are definitely immaculate conception lol


after so many failed attempts for years and years using different donor eggs and surrogate finally it only works after I started to pray...

IVF!



Congratulations... I don't really think god did it though. One thing I think people confuse with prayer is the power of positive thinking.

But... who am I to say. In a world full of suffering and poverty, and where children are dying every single day, starving and malnourished, where sickness strikes even the purest of hearts, and where innocence is trampled on by the greed of man and prayers for an end to the worst of suffering is left unanswered... god might have just given you that miracle.

reply to post by soulpowertothendegree

It has absolutely no basis for existing if the the fundamental reason is to extoll the virtues of righteousness.

But......... is righteousness subjectively or objectively measured? It's a bit like the term 'quality' -- we have a hard time defining it, but we know it when we see it. It becomes equally difficult to apply those variables to one's life, and that's where you and I agree: A person's personal rules provide boundaries, but also freedoms. The source of those rules can be drawn from experience in addition to formal cultural writings.

I wouldn't characterize religion as "awesome". If it provides a framework or gestalt for some, there is nothing there for me with which to find fault, unless a person feels compelled to use written works as a weapon to persecute others.

There is an expression in one of the dialects of Chinese called "wu li" (not the painter/priest). A loose translation might be "patterns of organic energy" or "physics" or "beauty", depending upon peripheral context.

That gives me comfort -- not the phrase, or the meaning, but the wholeness that it portrays. I believe that living creatures are linked somehow. Certainly they are interdependent to an observable degree.

I don't care, personally, what that "link" is called, nor if others believe in the link. How many languages are there on the Earth? Is math a language? In that manner, I don't personally feel a conflict between religion and science, both using different terms to describe what is often related phenomenon.

I don't feel the need to choose one 'side' over the other. Not every thing that I can perceive or discuss is measurable.

Lazarus Short
I don't do "religion." I follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ, which make me a better person. I believe in His promise of salvation from sin and from the dust of death. I look forward to His promised resurrection, and eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Remember that all fall short of perfection in this life, but far from being hypocrites, most celebrate what they know, and strive to be better people - do you not do the same? The sick look forward to renewed health. You POV may be skewed by a bad attitude, or maybe not. Knowing you better would help...

I don't see anything wrong with living in a way that others have when that way is full of compassion and love. So I often have to think twice when people say they try to live life as christ did. Even if it is a myth perpetuated over the aeons, that really doesn't matter. But why not look within yourself and find your own christ? Why look to an external path? What is it that you lack that you need something else to guide you?

As the OP said, he doesn't need religion (or christ) to know right from wrong.

Why do so many people not value their own worth... and consider that without (insert guide) they would not be the good person they are?

winofiend
Crikey, a second immaculate conception. And told at xmas. Oo

Twins after a prayer.
Most people need to have sex to get pregnant, but god did it again. So, Mary, I assume that is your name, how did Joseph take the news?oO

With one statement "So's, Mary; WHOSE YOU BEEN MESSIN AROUND WIT".

reply to post by winofiend



meditating and power of positive thinking failed for more than a decade

then I started praying and got exactly what I prayed for

I agree with you that there are so many bad things in the world and there is no easy way to fix them

maybe my little boys when they grow up, with help find a solution - who knows?

I very much believe in God.

I very much believe in the message of Buddha, Jesus, Lao Tzu, and other enlightened individuals--to use this existence as an opportunity to morally refine yourself to the best of your ability.

But I very much DO NOT believe in what less enlightened men have made of religion, and especially not in the atrocities they've wrought in God's name.

The core idea of religion is awesome. But the way greedy douchebags have corrupted it to control and exploit the gullible masses... that, not so much.

reply to post by vethumanbeing



god is also sadistic

made us to want to sleep together and then invented snoring! lol

This is why it's so Awesome.

Some people do give to the homeless and give food to the less fortunate. Giving presents at Christmas Time? It is more blessed to give than to receive.

soulpowertothendegree

I don't need religion to understand right from wrong; do you?

Religion isn't really about understanding right from wrong. It's about transcending right and wrong. Transcending pairs of opposites.

'Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase "each other" doesn't make any sense.'
-Rumi

reply to post by soulpowertothendegree

I looked at the thread title with anticipation.

If religion is so awesome tell me why.

It seemed that the OP wanted people to discuss why religion is awesome. I was fooled, he had no such intent. This is another "I hate religion, and by the way, I don't believe in God" thread. I'm not sure why there have been so many angry threads about religion recently, it seems that Thanksgiving and Christmas bring out a confrontational attitude. Why? Got me. But here we go again, episode 42 in the continuing saga of "religion is stupid" threads.

I just have a very basic problem with this religion concept. It has absolutely no basis for existing if the the fundamental reason is to extoll the virtues of righteousness.

Let me work with Christianity, I have no idea what Zoroastrianism, Mitraism, or Universal Unitarianism teaches. Given that, you should be very happy. The fundamental reason for Christianity is not to extol the virtues of righteousness. What sense would that make? You don't need the Church to tell you that "Goodness is good."

How can you pray to a GOD about anything one minute and then be completely immoral the next? Religion is steeped in hypocrisy.

No, there are some hypocrites in religion as there are hypocrites in every group, religious or not. It is part of the human condition not to live up to the ideals we believe in. Religion itself is not hypocritical, but it has followers who are not perfect. Do you ever behave hypocritically? Does that mean that non-religion is steeped in hypocrisy?

How about just not sinning. Sure, you see this and think of me being on my soap box with my high horse, but I am not a fake and I completely understand that we all can make mistakes;

I'm not suggesting that your high horse is on a soap box. How I do see you is contradicting yourself, or at least being illogical. You announce that we are all sinners, then condemn religion for having followers who sin. What?

Ask yourself why you are buying Christmas presents and celebrating a ridiculous notion that is the basis for the economic stimulus we use to survive in our fake commercialized society?

If you happen to believe that celebrating the Birth of Christ is a ridiculous notion, go right ahead. But I would like to see some evidence of that. Further, there may be others who agree with your opinion, but it certainly would be correct to label such a group as "fringe."

I watch the news and see stories about the Pope having a desire to change the way the Vatican operates; that would be great, right? If it wasn't a crock of poop.

Are you sure this shouldn't be a rant? "Crock of poop?" OK, what's your evidence for this opinion? What does it even mean? Are you saying the Pope doesn't have a desire to change Vatican operations?

The fact is, as long as there are homeless people and starving people living on this planet, religion is a farce.

The United States, spending over $3 trillion dollars are year, can't fix homelessness and starvation right here. You want the Vatican, a sovereign country with an annual budget the size of Omaha's, to solve the problem for the entire world? Aren't you asking a little much?

But as it stands right now, there is no merit at all to believing or praying to any fake GODs for the sake of redemption in your afterlife.

I absolutely agree, that's why I don't pray to fake gods, but to the real one.

Do you really need to have religion in your life to know what is right or wrong? I don't. I know what is right and what is wrong.
I don't need religion to understand right from wrong; do you?

And how, exactly, do you know? You can't say it comes from society's laws, laws can be, and have been shown to be, wrong and immoral. You couldn't have learned it from another person, that's just pushing the question back. Where did theylearn it from? Certainly, you didn't learn it from school. Nor were you taught by religion, according to you.

So, you claim to have a developed moral code for which the source is unknown. Further, this code must be pretty much the same for everyone in the world. (If they were different, you'd have no way of judging which was "better.")

If you'd like a discussion, I'd be happy to join you.

If Religion is so AWESOME tell me WHY?

IMHO God is NOT religious.

Nor is there ANY religion in Heaven.

He isn't the one behind religion.

That would be the imposter: AKA "the god of THIS world".

"...religion's like spraying perfume on a casket
See the problem with religion, is it never gets to the core
It's just behavior modification, like a long list of chores"