What's your religion?

[JustInn14]

Originally Posted by oompa loompa

geh.. words couldnt describe how dissapointed i felt when i found out chef was a scientologist

Yeah. Messed up the show a bit, didn't it?



Anyways, What's YOUR Religion?! LOL. I'm still un-religious (I REFUSE TO CALL IT AGNOTI-whatever!)

[BellaD]

I am Roman-Catholic .

[esfir]

i wonder if the person who initially created this thread did so with the underlying expectation that people would inevitably only end up arguing for or against a particular religion, or really believed that people would merely state their respective religious denomination.

[Thentus]

Atheist, religion was a good scapegoat and explanation for phenomenon back than, but I personally think we have a lot more knowledge.

However, I do give the creator of religion HUGE credit for his manipulation and reasoning tactics. This is not sarcastic, you must be genius to come up with all that stuff and be able to convince much of the world, even to this day.

[ChainLegacy]

Originally Posted by Thentus

Atheist, religion was a good scapegoat and explanation for phenomenon back than, but I personally think we have a lot more knowledge.

However, I do give the creator of religion HUGE credit for his manipulation and reasoning tactics. This is not sarcastic, you must be genius to come up with all that stuff and be able to convince much of the world, even to this day.

The "creator of religion" is highly unlikely to have existed. It's more likely religion and spiritualism were a part of human culture as soon as they had evolved the capability of abstract thinking.

I'm agnostic.

[Liddo-kun]

Originally Posted by Thentus

Atheist, religion was a good scapegoat and explanation for phenomenon back than, but I personally think we have a lot more knowledge.

However, I do give the creator of religion HUGE credit for his manipulation and reasoning tactics. This is not sarcastic, you must be genius to come up with all that stuff and be able to convince much of the world, even to this day.

You get a cookie for that.

[Thentus]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

The "creator of religion" is highly unlikely to have existed. It's more likely religion and spiritualism were a part of human culture as soon as they had evolved the capability of abstract thinking.

I will take your word since I have no other explanation and can't use religion as an excuse .

[sikvod00]

Raised as a protestant, currently an atheist.

[NSalmo]

My religion is Islam so I'm muslim

[~Chakra-Chan~]

something about me...I..would someone like me is called atheist...what the mii do I need a god for???

[Dxon]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

The "creator of religion" is highly unlikely to have existed. It's more likely religion and spiritualism were a part of human culture as soon as they had evolved the capability of abstract thinking.

I'm agnostic.

I bet he DID exist. Just take the bible.. HAS to be written by someone!

And then people will say:
"Yeah. By those apostols of Jesus. (or whatever.. His apprentices dammit! )"

That's crap.

Take scientology for an instance..
Some dude wrote a good book and people started this scientology religion thing. I bet that happened with the bible too!

[Vexx]

What ChainLegacy is referencing is a current line of study in neuroscience and psychology that religion (or visions or spiritual belief, etc) may be the end result of natural side effects of brain processing. Its an interesting idea I've seen espoused in several books on the brain but it is speculative - though brain research has shown that stimulating specific zones in the brain can produce results the subjects characterize as religious euphoria and/or visions that include being spoken to. It is often accompanied with whatever religious imagery they're most familiar with.

[Anh_Minh]

The Bible is several stories, collected over the course of centuries, put into writing by several people. Not the work of one guy.

[Thentus]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

The Bible is several stories, collected over the course of centuries, put into writing by several people. Not the work of one guy.

Somebody or a group of people had to START it.

[King Lycan]

Originally Posted by sikvod00

Raised as a protestant, currently an atheist.

lol same here but im agnostic

[Quzor]

Originally Posted by Thentus

Somebody or a group of people had to START it.

Indeed. There names are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The Old Testament is a different story altogether. Being as how that deals with the world before the birth of Jesus, who wrote that I have no idea. However, the New Testament, the literary backbone of Christianity, was written by the apostles and witnesses of Jesus' teachings. The fact that they wrote the stories long after he was dead is another topic of discussion altogether, but they did write it.

In fact, recently, there was that whole thing about how they had found a new scroll (of the collection of Dead Sea Scrolls) that contained the gospel according to Judas. It was most likely a hoax, but it was an attempt to include the one apostle who did not contribute to the bible...who was probably not allowed to contribute to the bible, because of his betrayal of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. I'm sure people held grudges then, just as they do now.

[Anh_Minh]

Start what? Collecting stories? It's probably happened since before we even were homo sapiens.

Put it into writing? Even if someone had to be the first, I doubt it started as a single effort. It's more likely that several people in different places with some education and time on their hands wrote their favorite stories. Then, scholars a bit more dedicated than others got serious about compiling it all.

Literacy wasn't then what it is now. Having the Bible written... Sure, it's a landmark of some sort. But it isn't the beginning or the source of the Christian religion.

[Thentus]

In the end though, I consider religion a manipulative tool to basically program everybody to certain morals and beliefs held by those long long ago. People have always been manipulated easily due to complete ignorance of pretty much everything from birth. Enter the Bible and parents/guardians who want their kids to follow religion as well. Well what do the know, almost all of society has some religious association and I believe almost all of society is the majority of people, no? Now that it has taken over the world whether or not you believe in it is just remarkable would be my first reasoning of why humans are creatures of habit. What you already know that? Do you know why? Yup, religion.

Think of what the world would be like if the people way back when held different beliefs. Hmm, I wonder? Not only is it manipulative but it is a safety net. People who truly believe in the morals and beliefs they have learned are more often than not(there I have myself covered) considered "good" people. Heck, even that word "good" was most likely designed by the Bible.

I have never read a Bible, seen it twice so excuse any ignorance I may present.

By the way Anh Minh what is your association?

[Ledgem]

Originally Posted by Thentus

I have never read a Bible, seen it twice so excuse any ignorance I may present.

I haven't read all of it myself, but I went through parts of the "Old Testament" and I've sat through group sessions on the "New Testament." Your post makes it sound like these things are overflowing with mental tricks, but I don't believe it to be the case.

Humans are social creatures, and thus people all want to be a part of something greater. As you say, religion may have initially been a tool for distinction and identification - this is a theory of why many Jewish customs are the way that they are. However, the religions themselves are not necessarily evil in and of themselves. Even if you could abolish all of the major religions, people would likely gravitate toward other beliefs and form cults. As Vexx mentioned, there is an area of the brain that gives a sense of a greater being which suggests that all people will feel spiritually inclined regardless of their knowledge. Additionally, many people feel the need to have something to fall back on; something to work towards, something to explain why all of the variables in life that the mind can't comprehend are the way that they are. Religion fills the needs of those people.

[Thentus]

Originally Posted by Ledgem

I haven't read all of it myself, but I went through parts of the "Old Testament" and I've sat through group sessions on the "New Testament." Your post makes it sound like these things are overflowing with mental tricks, but I don't believe it to be the case.

I do think in a way that makes me think in a way that most things were probably part of some "conspiracy". Not being used solely in a bad context, please note that. However isn't that sort of giving them credit? It takes some thought to come up and make conspiracies, therefore I believe think they must have had intellectual power with some form of older reasoning. Mental tricks have always been there, you just have to uncover them. Straight line thinking is weird to me .

Originally Posted by Ledgem

However, the religions themselves are not necessarily evil in and of themselves.

It depends on what you determine as evil, who knows if even the catalysts of religion would be deemed "evil" and tried to make a sarcastic book. That seems unlikely, but we don't know, just as we have no either whether "probable" or "likely" things are even true at all.

Originally Posted by Ledgem

As Vexx mentioned, there is an area of the brain that gives a sense of a greater being which suggests that all people will feel spiritually inclined regardless of their knowledge. Additionally, many people feel the need to have something to fall back on; something to work towards, something to explain why all of the variables in life that the mind can't comprehend are the way that they are. Religion fills the needs of those people.

I partially agree with this statement and will not cancel everything else I say with a "but". What happened to a sense of adventure and discovery that encourages people to find out what is truly what? If you think of it that way laziness would technically be caused by religion, PARTIALLY. That's right PARTIALLY and NOT fully. However yes, it does fill their needs there is no point in arguing that.