Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

[Satori]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

I believe in some form of higher power.

In my work I see too much suffering of good people to believe that it's all part of some entity's grand design.
I like Tanaka berieve in barance,
Good things happen, Bad things happen.
The problem isnt religion, It provides guides on how to life life as a good person, The problem with religion is the people that twist it's meanings to suit their own purpose.
There's a lot of similarities between the religions, So I see it as, We're all going to the same place but we all choose different ways to get there. Kind of like work, some walk, cycle and catch the bus.

[Malacite]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

It is, at least in the USA.

Survey: One in five Americans has no religion – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs

Roughly 20% of US population now identifies as non-religious. Still a minority, but a growing one.


Icemage

I saw this on CNN a few weeks ago, it's been rising by 1% a year for the last 5 years which is pretty fast all things considered. I myself am agnostic (my father is Jewish & my mother is French Catholic - and yes that's a thing in Canada).


I'm inclined to agree with Cid on this, but not entirely - largely because the Jewish faith (and to a lesser degree Christianity by extension) has brought a lot of good to the world in the form of morals and the judicial systems we employ today (the origins go all the way back to Moses - hell, a good portion of the constitution is based on biblical teachings as well). But again, it's the nut jobs that use it to excuse their insane bullshit, along with the bible thumpers & other zealots who want to convert and force everyone to conform to their ways that make things crappy.

I choose to be agnostic because I don't really ascribe to any particular religion (though personally, Judaism is the only one that really makes sense to me - possibly Buddhism) because as Bill Maher says, they (well most) were invented before Man knew what a germ or an atom was. However, even now there are things we just can't prove concretely and I've had my own personal experiences that lead to believe that there's *something* out there - Karma sure as hell seems real to me at the very least. It might be a little slow on the uptake here & there bit it doesn't miss much


Unfortunately, I doubt we'll ever see a world where people can really be free to believe whatever they want without it directly infringing upon or affecting others in a negative manner.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

Religion is important for a lot of reasons, as you can credit it for being the foundation that the arts, government, math and even science were built upon. Without its oral and written history, none of this stuff would be passed on. Our fiction would also be considerably less interesting without all the religions and mythologies out there.

I think the biggest problem with religion is its human nature to be pretty selective about its interpretation. This also happens with history, scientific findings and other stuff, though.

[Icemage]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

Religion is important for a lot of reasons, as you can credit it for being the foundation that the arts, government, math and even science were built upon. Without its oral and written history, none of this stuff would be passed on. Our fiction would also be considerably less interesting without all the religions and mythologies out there.

I think the biggest problem with religion is its human nature to be pretty selective about its interpretation. This also happens with history, scientific findings and other stuff, though.

Religion may be responsible for the survival of written traditions in the Dark Ages, but let's not forget that religion is also one of the main reasons the Dark Ages happened in the first place, and was one of the primary factors in the Dark Ages lasting as long as they did (i.e. the feudal society and Church both had a vested interest in keeping the vast majority of the population uneducated and subservient). That's not to say atheism isn't just as likely to cause problems; the Communists in Russia burned a great many books when they swept into power during their Communist Revolution.

As for religion promoting civic developments and science, let's also not forget that a lot of the foundations of math, science, philosophy, etc. that were preserved by various religious organizations were first developed by the Greeks and Romans, whose religion (prior to Constantine's conversion to Christianity) was not inimical to scientific and logical pursuit.


Icemage

[Jarre]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

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http://youtu.be/yxYtA3VNf0Q

[Yellow Mage]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

I think I will be at least the fifth person in this thread to point out that the "poll" is a false dichotomy. It's is entirely possible (even plausible!) that the world would be no better or worse off without religion.

I think it's most readily apparent when you look at the "Christians" that readily act so un-Christlike to others. Are they really doing more than hiding their hatred behind a popular banner? Unfortunately (in my opinion), it does little but to associate hatred (and stupidity) with that banner, and ultimately drive people away from it.

I could go on, but I'd likely just be rambling.

[Raydeus]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

*Takes his old stock answer to the subject out of storage*

I think people needs to make a HUGE distinction between Faith and Religion. Faith isn't bad, Religion is.
I think everyone has Faith in something that helps us make sense of the world we live in. Be it Science or a God or something else.

Religion on the other hand is just a business machinery created for the sole purpose of exploiting people's faith and turn it into financial and political power.

TL;DR Religion needs to go, nao.

[Etra]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

...as you can credit it for being the foundation that the arts, government, math and even science were built upon.

Arts, I get you there. But it's hardly a foundation. ...Unless the person is using their art solely for religious purposes. And that's an individualistic example.
Government... Oh geez. That's a good thing, why? "Do as I say, because this piece of paper you had absolutely no input on or will ever have input on says so." "We gon' take yo' land, 'cause our god says neeneer to you."
Math and science? Talking snakes = biology, amirite?

Please.

"I want Jesus to come back and say, 'THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT.'"

I'll stay away from this thread now. (Sorry if my post seems herpderp. Have fever and a bit loopy.)

[Jarre]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

Lets also not forget the people that were killed by religeons because their scientific discoveries didn't meet the religeons idea. Nicholas Copernicus and Galileo Galilei to name a few where any book in the 1600's the manuscript had to be vetted by the church censors before being published and Galileo was charged by the churches inquisition and forced to live under house arrest and serve religeous pennance for an extended length of time and when he died was refused a proper burrial.

[Firewind]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

I didn't give a poll answer because basically I'm a deist.

I believe that there is some form of higher power/being/whatever, but also freely admit to the fact that because we have free will, a deity cannot possibly have control over us, our actions or our decisions otherwise there would be no such thing as free will.

Just putting that statement there. As a History Major I full well know what religion has done for us and what it has done to destroy us. The above paragraph is a statement because that is what I genuinely believe.

[Taskmage]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

I don't believe in free will.

[Mezlo]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

religeons

Is this a lolBrit thing?

[Etra]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

Is this a lolBrit thing?

I rofl'd IRL.

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This is going too smoothly. I may have to put a cookie cap on my previous wager.

I expected more of an inferno going on in here, too.

[Firewind]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

Hey guys if we keep this thread going TM may actually have to eat another hat!

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Religion. Is the world better for it, or without it?

Hush. No more talk of cookies or hats until such a time as this thread naturally derails. You're doing more harm than good by pointing out the count, Fire.