2008-08-04, 18:45 | Link #1241 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
|
I don't know if I would go quite that far (though I fully admit that your statement is probably true, I am also willing to consider that there is room for debate), but I will say that religion is the perfect way of spreading a socities "moral values" (who would question the words of a God or God's spokesperson ?).
|
2008-08-04, 18:53 | Link #1242 | |
Gregory House
IT Support
|
Quote:
Of course, maintaining some basic rules of decorum ("don't be a prick") is useful for any ruler to maintain the populace under control, and thus I believe religion as we know it was born.
__________________
|
|
2008-08-04, 19:34 | Link #1243 | |
is this so?
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gradius Home World
|
Quote:
Don't single out atheism as cause of being a killer, there will always be killers coming from each belief group/religion.
__________________
|
|
2008-08-04, 19:37 | Link #1244 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
|
Don't worry, I was being somewhat facetious in my post (case and point Hitler's Germany...or really any dictator lead country that tosses aside 'universal' moral values). That being said, I still think that Religion is the ultimate carrier for "moral" memes (even Hammurabi's Code was dedicated to either Marduk or Shamash).
Last edited by james0246; 2008-08-04 at 22:33. |
2008-08-04, 22:30 | Link #1246 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Trinidad.....anyone get me out of here !
|
Love and peace does not need terming and separation especially if it's into groups or clans. It's one love and one peace. If they are different kinds then we would need to treat each specific group of clan that way. Does anyone see the controversy ?
|
2008-08-04, 23:20 | Link #1247 |
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 32
|
I don't think morals in general would really exist today if it were not for religion. It is because of the morals being put in place by people in authority (Which are based usually on the religions that they follow) that people follow them. Without government your morals go down the drain. Though I dislike the book Lord of the Flies, it shows this quite well. Religion and government set natural order for people, it gave people a reason to not commit evil acts.
So I guess you could say it is society that enforces these morals upon people, but it is religion that sets the guidelines for many of these morals in society.
__________________
|
2008-08-05, 01:05 | Link #1249 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: East Cupcake
|
Unless I misunderstood what you meant in the in-bold text, you are wrong in your assumption. Something like 85-90% of people in the world have a religion or at least believe in God/Gods/Higher Being. So, most people are not Atheists.
|
2008-08-05, 03:31 | Link #1250 |
Nani ?
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Emerald Forest ( yes its a real place. )
|
Pure philosophy, but I would say the opposite is true when it comes to religion and morality. We do not have morals because we have religion, we have religion because we have morals. Due to the difficulty of explaining why something is "right" and why something is "wrong" by making and spreading a religion with those morals infused into its teachings making it easier to convey to the masses. The concept of God was made up in our own image.
My last post touches on this a bit in a different form of detail. http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost...&postcount=331 |
2008-08-05, 07:05 | Link #1251 | ||
Silent Warrior
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Netherlands
Age: 38
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
2008-08-05, 10:13 | Link #1252 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: England
Age: 34
|
Quote:
I'm an athiest, but it is not as though I would go out with a butchers knife when I'm bored and go around mass murdering and decapitating people, just because I know I will not be punished by Gods hand for it. Regardless, I still do sometimes have beliefs about God, I'm not sure if that is because I have grown up around Christians and Catholics on my fathers side of the family, but still..they are there. I have my own beliefs and do not feel the need to follow others. |
|
2008-08-05, 12:03 | Link #1253 | |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
|
Quote:
__________________
|
|
2008-08-05, 13:20 | Link #1254 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: England
Age: 34
|
Quote:
You will have to exuse me, I am not so strong in the 'religion' department so I wouldn't know. This specific christian though was extremely ....picky shall I say? That is even if he was a christian, and not some stupid liar trying to get some attention and looking for trouble. ¬_¬ |
|
2008-08-05, 13:28 | Link #1255 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Trinidad.....anyone get me out of here !
|
Religion could be a conspiracy for all we know for who knows what purpose. To control means to have power over something and if peace is the main concept of religion then why do they need other people to follow their religion ? Through this you get no peace of mind but constant desire. The way people think shows routine and an aim and therefore if you as a person is interacting with another person and you find out they think in pattern or a specific way then they are not genuine their thoughts are not genuine. How can we really express ourselves if we are so fake all of the time ? Where is the true religion they speak of if it limited and bounded by method ? Let us ask how can my religion evolve if I my mind isn't open minded to other views ? Where is all of this taking me when I am only trying the same thing over and over ? If you do not like the outcome of things the same method will only result in the same thing happening again.
|
2008-08-05, 13:33 | Link #1256 | |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
|
Quote:
Because, you know, they aren't all bad. But I guess some of the non-religious have their own routines to follow too. |
|
2008-08-05, 15:19 | Link #1257 |
hate yourself with style~
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: GARmany -> H[ö]alle
Age: 37
|
Atheist -> but I don't minde people for their religion. As long as they don't offend me and try to convince me with their ideals and so on I don't really care.
Everyone has his opinion and thats good - we all should be so tolerant to accept different ways of thinking.
__________________
|
2008-08-05, 20:30 | Link #1258 | ||
is this so?
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gradius Home World
|
Quote:
Don't worry, I won't ask. Would like to comment further but what I would say would almost surely get me into another debate with the catholics here. Would rather watch Shugo Chara than debate. ^^ Quote:
Grown up in a catholic family (father and mother's side), and enrolled in catholic schools. The catholic teachings just didn't get into my being, just saw it as some sort of fandom (I generally view Catholics as admirers of God and Jesus). I will only feel the need to follow others if it will be a benefit, I see no benefits in following a religion.
__________________
|
||
2008-08-05, 21:43 | Link #1259 | |
廉頗
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Massachusetts
Age: 34
|
Quote:
|
|
2008-08-05, 21:48 | Link #1260 | |||
Banned
|
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Well, I can't claim to speak for the whole world either, but I can speak of my observations of a third world country, Pakistan. Majority of people are religious (although many are not), even if they do not engage in debates or deep philosophical musings on religion. Does that make their belief habitual, or superficial? I can see why some might think so, but it isn't that straightforward. It's more that one is brought up to take religion for granted, a constant, something to not be questioned or analyzed too deeply. As long as one knows religion well enough to know what's right and what's wrong......then why spend time fishing further? Like you say, there are other exigencies in life. Yet people will still identify deeply with Islam. For instance, people will get emotional in the name of Islam and injustices committed against other Muslims worldwide. In times of family crisis, you'll see family members spending more time in prayer and contemplation. When a great disaster strikes, religion and "It was Allah's will" is what people hold on to. Speaking for myself, I'd actually agree with your views. I can't imagine holding a religious view without deep introspection and careful consideration. Yet I see the sincerity and faith of many people who have not gone through such an intellectual search. How they can be serenely confident in crisis, and generous in philanthrophy (although of course, many atheists are as well). As such, I can't bring myself to say that such faith is superficial or on the surface. I do respect your opinions, which have a consistency of logic behind them. Just explaining my own viewpoint too . Last edited by Amirali; 2008-08-05 at 22:18. |
|||
Tags |
not a debate, philosophy, religion |
|
|