Religion

[[murray]]

Right, I dont see a religion topic in here, but if there is one, feel free to do with this thread as you will, oh admins.

This is probably the biggest area of controversy at the moment in the world, what with all the war on Islamic terrorists etc. Do you/dont you believe in religion. Why/why not?

Any flaming or being an immature idiot will not make you look big or clever, so dont do it.

I will post my views later.

[SemiCircle]

hmm, religion...

religion, as any balanced person will tell you, has good and bad effects. as farr as going to church every sunday, and saying your prayers every night is concerned, it is mostly harmless. it encourages a herd mentality (which is bad), but provides a feeling of comfort and security, that you are safe and that god is watching over you, and all that. it also goes some way to enforcing moral behaviour: if you do a 'bad' thing then you will be punished. (i don't want to go into the whole moral thing in detail; that gets bloody complicated. suffice to say that i think morals are good.)
so, A religion is good. but when two religions come into contact, conflict of one sort or another is inevitable. (obvious examples are ireland, crusades, al quaeda (sp?), pakistan, indian mutiny, holocaust, etc.) obviously this is because they can't agree on who is right: almost all the major religions have no contingency in case of an encounter with another belief structure. i understand that a few, like some strains of buddhism, can accomadate the others by saying that they all believe in the same ultimate power in different aspects or something, which is a bit weak, but not a bad idea as far as avoiding conflict goes.
the most common spark for the conflict is when one religion tries to "convert the infidels," for obvious reasons. the big problem is that they think they're doing it for their own good: if they don't believe in the one true god then they go to hell or wherever, so they try to get them to believe. it'd be far more peaceful around here if they just left it until judgement day, and found out who was right then, rather than fighting about it now and achieving nothing.

[[murray]]

You have a point about religion being good for the sense of a feeling that someone is watching over you, but if something happens to destroy that feeling it can leave a person devastated and questioning everything about their life.

My viewpoint on religion is as follows:

I do not believe in God, in any shape or form. I did, when I was young, because it was being spoonfed to me by my school, something I'm very disappointed that the British education system hasnt filtered out yet. It's very against the whole freedom of choice ethic that we stand for to have religion thrust down ourr necks at the earliest opportunity.

Dont get me wrong, i dont hate religion, or religious people, and I dont hold it against people and judge them on whether or not they believe in God, infact someone I really like is a very religious person, as is one of my best friends, but I'm not happy about what I mentioned above.

[Cookies]

I don't believe in God, at least i don't think i do. I thought that it is a nice idea that there is someone watching over us, and that there is something pure and good in the world, but when i grew up and got to terms with war and violence that sorta wen out of the window.

I remember in R.E when we were doing about god and we had to draw what we thought HE looked like (why isn't god a she??) andi said i didn't believe in god and there were gasping and tutting all around. It is frowned upon to not believe in God , when we are young we are told the story of creation and how things happened, not ever given the chance to debate his existence or to argue about it all. HE exists and that is that basically, it is not until we get a little older and discover that there are awful things in the world and we question his existence.

I believe that absolute beliefs can be very harmful but relative beliefs have many good points that have already been stated.

*phew*

[[murray]]

If I make take a line from Dogma.

"Belief is like a glass, when you're young the glass is small and easy to fill, but as you grow older the glass becomes bigger and the same amount of liquid won't fill it anymore."

Its probably safe to say that 99% of people believed in a form of God when they were young, whereas not nearly as many grow up holding their beliefs now.

I'd put that down to impressionable youth, but it could easily be another reason.

[felixdahousecat]

Religion is the opiate of the masses - Karl Marx or it might have been groucho who said it.

I don't agree with religion, especially the indoctrination that goes on, not just in extremist countries (i.e under bin Laden before he was removed) but here too, it is fed to children from an early age, my dad religious and consequently i was forced to go to church n sing in a church choir. Now i don't believe in god or in any religious dogma as i have found it to be full of hypocrasy, hatred and double standards. Ireland for example where the protestants and catholics have fought each other for years but they are essentially the same thing.

However, my girlfreind is a roman catholic and she insisted that our daughter be baptised as one, i didn't agree and this caused some arguements for some time. As it seems that i am not allowed to have my beliefs respected and am supposed to respect hers. Her argument is that it teaches love for other people and morals. Can't we teach these without the use of outmoded beliefs?

[SemiCircle]

may i suggest that this thread be combined with the "omnipotence" thread, as they are on VERY similar topics?

whilst they are still separate, though, i will say this:

mass atheism also has pros and cons. on the pro side, there would be no religious wars. however, without the presence of god watching over us masses, we are faced with a large amount of people who have no fear of retribution. morality goes to pot, and people start to kill each other. or at least, they would if there is no fear of other people, specifically powerful ones. we end up with an oppressive government being neccessary simply to control the people. (something of an extreme case, i know, but to draw a similar example, look at communist russia.)

religion, as marx said, is the opium of the masses. it keeps the idiots in check. atheism is ok for clever people who know how to deal with it, and are sensible enough not to go around thinkning they're gods.


(damn, just read through that, and it doesn't quite read as i intended. ah, well, too much work put in to delete it now...)

[Spoo]

I went to a primary school were every morning asembley we sung hymms and had an extra long hymm practice on thursdays. Religion at this school was taught as fact. Which led many children at that age not to question it. Saying god made the world was like saying 2+2=4 at school. It was something you learnt and were praised for repeating.

This i think is wrong.

I think religion used to the way that morals and values were taught to the masses. Religious teachings are basically a set of guidelines for a good and healthy life. Many of them make perfectly good sense when viewed like that. It's when religion is taken too literally there is problems.

Some people find comfort in their faith and this i envy. I am not religious in a way that is recognised. I have some ideas about some things but no firm beliefs. To be able to have a geniune faith in a greater good sounds blissfull. Some part of us all must wish we could believe.

Religion is a good way of not making us get hugely confused by the whole thing we call life. It answers questions and settles minds. People as beings have a natural desire to understand things and before science relgion could do this.

The ideas i have satesfy some of my curiosity but leave me questioning. This how i like it because i will spen my life wanting to find out and learn more. Who really wants to know the answer to everything?

I wont go into the specifics of what i think because im sure i will be mocked.

I think relgion is a neutral thing affected for good or evil by those who wield it. Good for those that find peace contentment and health through it. Evil for those who seek to gain power control and intimidate others.

Yes im a nut.

[Jolly Pyruvate]

Originally posted by SemiCircle
religion, as marx said, is the opium of the masses. it keeps the idiots in check.
Well, no, what he said was:
"Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people." (http://www3.baylor.edu/~Scott_Moore/texts/Marx_Opium.html)

Myself, I don't trust people whose only brake on acts of violence and hatred toward others is some Magical Sky Pixie. I prefer the reasoned morality of an atheist.

[SemiCircle]

to clarify what i was attempting to do with my second post, i was trying to demonstrate that atheism isn't really a better mass-solution to the problems caused by religion.

what it boils down to is that, as i'm sure deep down most of you are aware, most people out there are idiots, sheep needing to be led. (i sound like a faschist!:eek:!) as i tried to say (but seemed to use the wrong words), the reasoned morality of an atheist is fine. however, if the default setting for a newborn child is 'atheist', then, if that child grows up to be one of those many sheep, then they are unconstrained by any enforced morality, as provided by religion, and instead are confused by the definition of right and wrong. (erk. two consecutive conditional clauses. sorry.) i'm sure you'll agree that knowing what is good and what is bad is vital for someone to be a productive member of society.
better to have a magical sky pixie as a brake than to have no brake at all.

thanks for the clarification on the marx quote, by the way. i shall remember that, and cease to use it incorrectly.

and spooneh, you are no more a nut than me. not really very reassuing, i know, but it's the best i can offer.

[Jolly Pyruvate]

Can you give me an instance of any culture that relied entirely upon enforced morality by religion alone? I'll bet you can't. Telling children that "God said don't do that" is rarely effective. What is effective is following it up with some form of discipline on the part of the parent/guardian/wolves in a cave on Mars. Children fear the concrete reality of spankings more than an abstract concept.

Children learn right from wrong only from those around them. The fact that the members of their social group may be atheistic does not preclude the ability to pass on ethical teachings.

While the those who are religious may take pride in saying that they are prevented from committing crimes because "God said don't do that", how many of them would truly be moral were it not for the fear of secular punishment? How many Christians and Jews repeatedly break the Eighth Commandment? Do you think they'd continue to lie if the punishment for doing so was a public beating?

The purported brake works only so long as the people in question believes they won't be caught by their fellows. They don't truly believe that harming others is wrong; they refrain only because "God said don't do it" has earthly consequences.

[The Angry Elvis]

Firstly, I can see the point of many that religion can be seen as childish and naive. Compared with pessimistic and cold truths of science, religion does look like a poor excuse for people to lay their hopes and fears upon an omnipotent celestial being. We, and by that I include myself as a Christian, have such a conditioned and distorted view of religion that now the formal Christian chruch has become an elitist and purist sect of distant popery and impersonal formality.
I think the reason which turns many people, such as those in this forum, away from God, is that fact that the Christian church as transformed our view of God into a fairytale. A fairytale where God had seven days to create the universe, and when we die there will be pearly gates for the fortunate and fire and brimstone for the less fortunate. We have no idea as to what God is like. This is only speculation, but God could never be like us. We personify him as to share our likness in physical form. He is outside time and space, so why would he be anything like us. If he was, then surely he would just be a big superman in the sky, holding a tyrannical reign over us, so why worship him?
Take an objective view of God, without the fuzz and fog that society has placed upon this faith, and interpretet through how you feel, not someone else.

[PiesInTheory]

Religion has many purposes. One is definitly to explain the things we can't explain logically. One is to seek fulfillment in life, and comfort when we are troubled. Another is purpose. However, I believe in religion. I think that these things are parts of it, but the truth (hey, my opinion of it anyway) is that there is religion of course because there is God. And it may be misconstrued, yes, but nevertheless what it has become the belief in a higher being is religion in itself.

[[murray]]

Originally posted by PiesInTheory
Religion has many purposes. One is definitly to explain the things we can't explain logically. One is to seek fulfillment in life, and comfort when we are troubled. Another is purpose. However, I believe in religion. I think that these things are parts of it, but the truth (hey, my opinion of it anyway) is that there is religion of course because there is God. And it may be misconstrued, yes, but nevertheless what it has become the belief in a higher being is religion in itself.

It is belived that religion was begun as a means of explaining what, at the time was unexplainable by science, because science pretty much didnt exist.

If you look at the early gods, the Greek, Roman, Egyptian, you will notice that many are planets, or the Sun, because they couldnt be explained as such by scientists at the time.

[Zuckuss]

I don't believe in religion. In my opinion, if there was an omnipotent being, why couldn't it stop any of the worlds horrors from happening. I also believe that this being would find it a waste of thime to create loing things, just to see them spend all their time thanking it for creating them. The idea of religious community is also not something i've seen that doesn't revolve around prayer and what not, so i would rather belong to a community I obtain from where I live work or go to school.

[The Angry Elvis]

Ah but that is only due to the implementation of religion, in this christianity, through the formal, organized groups.
If Christ's word was taken seriously, that "love your neighbour" which is the second and last real commandment, then the world would be a better place. And that is why my christian comunity is alot better than school or work, cos we try to jus love eachother. If this happened in all christianity, then we would all be pacifists n our society woulkd revlove around love. It sounds naive, but i dont care.

[felixdahousecat]

In my opinion, if there was an omnipotent being, why couldn't it stop any of the worlds horrors from happening
2 words - FREE WILL

[PoofBird]

Originally posted by felixdahousecat
2 words - FREE WILL

agreed. If there were such a being, he would not interfere, because the point is for us to make our own choices. We can make the difference ourselves, but don't. Why would we let a God clean up our mess?

and don't confuse Religion with Omnipotent beings.

Religion is an instituition of personal spiritual believes combined with social bonding, rituals and hierarchics.

Some religions do not consider God to be omnipotent, or do not Consider god to be a being.
some religions do not have a god.

[[murray]]

Originally posted by PoofBird
agreed. If there were such a being, he would not interfere, because the point is for us to make our own choices. We can make the difference ourselves, but don't. Why would we let a God clean up our mess?

and don't confuse Religion with Omnipotent beings.

Religion is an instituition of personal spiritual believes combined with social bonding, rituals and hierarchics.

Some religions do not consider God to be omnipotent, or do not Consider god to be a being.
some religions do not have a god.

Confucianism, par exemple.

[KualaLumpur1997]

Officially I'm catholic, but I don't practice any religion. I see sense in THE TRUTH - the theories that the Illuminati are secretly running the world, and so forth. Religions are ways of deceiving people by making them fear a divine being and the ways that they may be punished if they do not following the said being's code. With people in this state, the Illuminati gain more and more control. It's all spelt out in Animal Farm - not just about Communism (equality) but all forms of totalitarianism. Simplified - religion=totalitarianism.

[The Angry Elvis]

Hmmm. That depends what religion you're talking about. If you follow what Jesus said, only two laws were given. Love God, and love humanity. That's it. No "code" in which to enslave the populace under the facade of relgious prerogative. So in fact, this kind of religion would be more inclined to anarchy, there being no one ruler but God, who is not on Earth, so there can be no Earthly ruler. Therefore, everyone live's in accordance with those two laws and everyone, in theory, should life perfectly well, without an Earthly leader.
To answer your point about punishment, one of Jesus' main points about sin is forgiveness. If you sin, you are forgiven. Punishment does not come in to it. If God punished an athiest for his sins, then surely that would take away his ability to choose whether he sins or not, that being whether we follow God or not.
Therefore, Christians should live their lives in an attempt to worship God through acts of kindness, voluntarily, to the rest of humanity, without the threat of punsihment or retribution if they sin, so therefore are not under s totalitarian religion. So therefore Orwell could never have been against it.

[KualaLumpur1997]

Valid enough, if you're a practising Christain, but there is substantial proof that Christ did not exist. Firstly, secular accounts of a man named Jesus Christ written during perceived life (4BCE to 29CE) tally an unimpressive 40-something lines of text. Only four authors/historians of the time of his life are said to have mentioned him, and all have been dismissed by scholars. All the gospels contradict each other with intimate details of the life of Jesus. Jesus' life, co-incidentally or otherwise, is very similar to that of Horus of Egypt. Both were born in humble surroundings, both supposedly had virgin mothers, both had infancies under a tyrant who sought the blood of babies, both used parables, both were transfigured infront of their followers, both were crucified by the state, both were resurrected.

If however, you confused religion with faith, then I have nothing to say - having faith, in my opinion, is acting rather sheep-like, especially if your faith coincides with that of several million (or in some cases several billion) others.

[Rhaeven]

It strikes me as totally possible that Jesus did exist. Son of God is one thing but existing is another. Just a bunch of scholars saying 'nah' and saying 'look at these records we got' doesn't mean a whole lot.

Now, I'm a pagan, but I think if Jesus was son of God or not, he had some bloody good ideas. 'Love God, love humanity' How can you go wrong, huh?

People always assume that the reasoning behind religion is just as a shield, as an explanation or from fear. Now I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but I have nothing to shield myself from. I am a total believer in all things scientific and I study physics in college because I want to understand the 'rules' that govern the physical universe, but no science has disproven the existance of the celestial energies I believe exist that I like to call gods/goddesses. Also, my religion gives me no reason to fear anything. I am not promised anything at the end of my life if I am 'good', and the only punishment I shall recieve if I am 'evil' will come to me in life, and not in death. So I have nothing to fear from the gods I revere.

I do not feel subservient to these entities. Call me totally insane if that's what you think, but I have spoken to them during ritual and dream, as thousands of other have, and if anything they're friendly.

Me, I follow religion because I say to myself 'These Gods are the essence of all that exists. Without them there is nothing. This deserves a bit of respect and awe, ya?'

No fear, no wish for safety. I just know that to me, it is right.

What can be bad about that?

[crzycookie]

I dont believe in religion, but i guess it does, give people a sense of direction in life, there is someone who is there looking after them and guiding them , and they are always there for comfort.

well i understand that, but y try and brainwash others!! OMG OMG my school, we have a half hour chapel service every morning...... zzzzz............. saturday morining, hymn practice......... sunday, an hour long service, it just wastes ur time! u can do better stuff! i mean come on! and sometimes we get boring preachers, who r worse and they jus ramble on and on and on and on and on about the same thing!

so yea basically i dont c the point of religion.

(after all that rambling)

[Hydralisk]

I don't care. If you see christ himself walkin down the road, you tell him to come see me. but till then..... nah, Ill sit on the fence

[squealpiggy]

I don't agree with religion, especially the indoctrination that goes on, not just in extremist countries (i.e under bin Laden before he was removed)

Uh... Bin Laden was never running any country so he couldn't have been "removed".

OK so Religion, it gets a lot of stick. A lot of people believe that religion starts a lot of trouble, but those people haven't really thought things through. Religion hasn't started any major conflict in world history. Let's look at some examples:

Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland there are two definite and seperate classes. the land and factories etc are primarily owned by "loyalist" protestants. The majority of the lower class positions are filled by Catholics. It is more to do with social issues than with whether you believe the pope is the head of the church. Religion however does add fuel to the fire.

The Crusades
Yes of course it was all about taking Christianity to the Godless Masses in Asia. Er... but how come they chose Asia with it's massive wealth and trade routes? Why not go to Africa with it's unmaterialistic tribespeople and polytheism? The Crusades was about wealth, not religion.

The Holocaust
Were millions of Jews slaughtered because Hitler was pissed off about them "killing Christ"? Or was it that Hitler needed a handy scapegoat to target for Germany's economic problems and it just so happened that Jewish businesses were exempt from the Treaty of Versailles sanctions and were not only doing rather well out of German deprivation, but were also very easily recognisable because of their clothing and customs? Millions of Jews died because Hitler needed a "solution" that would get the majority in Germany to support him in his megalomaniac aims.

Religion never starts conflict. Conflicts start because leaders want something. Religion is a tool for getting the ordinary people to agree to die for you.

I agree with most people when they say that in the main religion (and religion rather than faith is what is in question) doesn't cause any problems. But there are some people who only derive hope from religion, and that is where the problems start. Religions are a tool for helping people to live. When people have nothing else to live for you get Inquisitions and suicide bombing.

[PoofBird]

Originally posted by squealpiggy
The Crusades
Yes of course it was all about taking Christianity to the Godless Masses in Asia. Er... but how come they chose Asia with it's massive wealth and trade routes? Why not go to Africa with it's unmaterialistic tribespeople and polytheism? The Crusades was about wealth, not religion.


I agree with your points, but...

the reason the pope didn't go to africa, was also that they weren't living in holy cities. (Jerusalem is considered holy by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike)

[Destrukto]

Originally posted by PoofBird
I agree with your points, but...

the reason the pope didn't go to africa, was also that they weren't living in holy cities. (Jerusalem is considered holy by Christians, Jews and Muslims alike)

No...

Both Jews and Muslims have definite nono's in their religion that forbid them to worship objects...
Maybe the laymen sometimes go wrong but officialy they may not do it...
Christians at the time were very much into relics though, which brought prestige to the one owning them...

The fact that Saint Josef had three heads and forty hands gves you something to think about though :D

And yes, I think squealpiggy hit the nail on its head there...

[PoofBird]

When I say holy I don't mean they should worship it.

It is a 'very important' city to both Jews and Muslims, and they both want to worship at that place, the right to live their and some of them (more political than religious) want to own the place.

[squealpiggy]

But the whole Israel-Palestine thing is about land and culture, not religion. Israelis want a land to call their own (as a nation Israel hasn't long had it's own country) and the Palestinian leaders want to claim back that land (it previously "belonged" to them) and will go to extreme lengths to get it back, including deliberatey exacerbating the poverty and misery of their people in order to recruit "holy warriors" to attack Israel. A classic case of leaders using religion to make people happy to die for them.

[Shiny_macShine]

i think all religious people should really think out there beliefs, i mean really sit down and try and question everything if in the end they know there beliefs to be true then thats fine at least they can't be really considered religious "sheep" after the knowledge they've gained. if they change there views then this is just my opinion they have freed their minds. The thing you should believe in above all other things is yourself

[squealpiggy]

I don't believe in myself, as I don't exist.

[HempMonkeyJwk]

it is true that religion does help.

But its a short lived solution to mankinds problems.

Like an insect molting out of its previous shell religion after religion has passed away. No one can think that the sun is pushed across the sky by a scarab beetle anymore if they had even basic scientific teachings.

One religion dictates that on the Sabbath (7th day) one must face east, and do a ritual twoards the city of meca. And start when the sun sets and the stars come out.
Its VERY clear that this is what must be done, its not symbolic.

Now, lets take a low earth orbit (geo-syncronas (sp?)).

A 'day' lasts 90 minutes. Sabbath happens every 10.5 hours. There is no up or down. let alone North/south/east/west. The sun sets in about 10 seconds and the stars are 'out' 100% of the time.

The 'prophet' didnt forsee the act of the human race getting into space!

The religion has hit a plateo on which it can serve the human race as a tool.

Christainty is just like this, except its boundries are more abstract and harder to reach. But it is the same. The only true way of thinking that will be 'free' and allow the human race to succed indefinatly, is a 'relgion' that doest have a god, and has clear defined directions on what is moral and what is imoral. Such a 'relgion' would not have a God.

Ever wondered why christans have a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of stem cell research? its not the stuff they say. The REAL reason is because they fear that one day a scientist would be able to create (simple) life inside a lab.

no soul

no soul completely fucks up any concept of a God

[squealpiggy]

Originally posted by HempMonkeyJwk
it is true that religion does help.

But its a short lived solution to mankinds problems.

Like an insect molting out of its previous shell religion after religion has passed away. No one can think that the sun is pushed across the sky by a scarab beetle anymore if they had even basic scientific teachings.

One religion dictates that on the Sabbath (7th day) one must face east, and do a ritual twoards the city of meca. And start when the sun sets and the stars come out.
Its VERY clear that this is what must be done, its not symbolic.

Now, lets take a low earth orbit (geo-syncronas (sp?)).

A 'day' lasts 90 minutes. Sabbath happens every 10.5 hours. There is no up or down. let alone North/south/east/west. The sun sets in about 10 seconds and the stars are 'out' 100% of the time.

The 'prophet' didnt forsee the act of the human race getting into space!

The religion has hit a plateo on which it can serve the human race as a tool.

Christainty is just like this, except its boundries are more abstract and harder to reach. But it is the same. The only true way of thinking that will be 'free' and allow the human race to succed indefinatly, is a 'relgion' that doest have a god, and has clear defined directions on what is moral and what is imoral. Such a 'relgion' would not have a God.

Ever wondered why christans have a knee-jerk reaction to the idea of stem cell research? its not the stuff they say. The REAL reason is because they fear that one day a scientist would be able to create (simple) life inside a lab.

no soul

no soul completely fucks up any concept of a God

Read Michael Marshal-Smith's Spares for a concept of the existance of a soul for cloned humans. Science fiction has much to teach science "fact".

Besides which, who's to say that Stem Cell research is not part of "God's" master plan?

[Destrukto]

Originally posted by HempMonkeyJwk
One religion dictates that on the Sabbath (7th day) one must face east, and do a ritual twoards the city of meca. And start when the sun sets and the stars come out.
Its VERY clear that this is what must be done, its not symbolic.

You seem to be mixing Judism and Islam there...
Rituals per se don't have meaning, but provide a focal point and create rhythm, something which has proven again and again to be something humans need in life...

Praying towards Mecca of course is a means of creating a groupfeeling.
Groups have to have rituals otherwise they would cease to exist.
The Prophet as a very successful manager obviously realised this and introduced this practice...

Once people get into space they will have to adapt it of course...
If they keep the intention of the ritual, I'm sure it will adapt...

If they don't then you are right, it will disappear...

[squealpiggy]

Oh and in Geo-Synchronos orbit a day lasts 24 hours the same as it does on earth.

[HempMonkeyJwk]

duh, you are right. I have my orbits confused. I ment to say it was 'NOT' geo-sync. i.e. you went around the world in 90 minutes

[squealpiggy]

Originally posted by HempMonkeyJwk
duh, you are right. I have my orbits confused. I ment to say it was 'NOT' geo-sync. i.e. you went around the world in 90 minutes

But then you would simply be going around the world in 90 minutes, it wouldn't be a "day". I think I know what you are getting at though, you have to pray to mecca five times daily or something, at specific times, but there are five timezones in Nothe America alone! When do you pray exactly?

[HempMonkeyJwk]

basically saying that relgion is 'ok' because its an opioum for the masses is not acceptable

because in the long run its going to hit you hard.


really hard

[squealpiggy]

Originally posted by HempMonkeyJwk
basically saying that relgion is 'ok' because its an opioum for the masses is not acceptable

because in the long run its going to hit you hard.


really hard

I think that "opium for the masses" means that it's not a good thing. I don't see how religion will hit anyone hard though, I mean at the end of the day it's ess of an influence now than at any other point in civilisation.

[Vivi]

check this out, and laugh plz. God rocks, but this is a said claim.

http://www.theonion.com/onion3317/associatechrist.html

[squealpiggy]

You've posted that thre times. Either you are trying to play a trick on the gullible or you think that the Onion is a news site for real. They once ran a story headlined "Porn Star Women of America Demand to be Fucked Harder". It's a joke site! "Area man swears that he's never going to drink again". That's the kind of thing they specialise in!

[HempMonkeyJwk]

he could stick it as his signature, perhaps inculde some amsuing quote. you know how it is

[Luche]

My religion is football :D does that count for nethin?

[squealpiggy]

I've heard people say that football is a matter of life and death but it isn't. It's much more important than that.

[crzycookie]

HAHAHAHA nice one. i like it. well in that case, my religion is wakeboarding then.

summer is gone.

am depressed

[squealpiggy]

go snowboarding. It's better.

[crzycookie]

never tried that. there is no snow where i live man

[squealpiggy]

No snow in Hong Kong? Damn, I'm cancelling my skiing trip there!

Snowboarding is awesome!

[PoofBird]

Have you guys heard of the words: "on topic"?

[squealpiggy]

It was snowboarding when I had my first experience with God...

;)

You're right, back on topic...

OK here's a question, has anyone ever heard of a violent buddhist? Buddhism has to be the most nonviolent non-oppressive religion in the world.

[HempMonkeyJwk]

buddism is about the Pursuit and Preservation of Truth, and the Pursuit and Preservation of Life. Unfortunatly it doesnt pursue or preserve excellence. Infact, its rather stagnations. But atleast its two out of 3 steps in the right direction.

[squealpiggy]

Well it depends on the type of buddhism and the definition of excellence. Zen buddhism was certainly an influence on the Samurai who definitely had an ethos of pursuing excellence.

[dave the pieman]

do all peeps on this board i didn't know thos board was here so sorry for any mix up

[spazmonkey]

Somthing which really bus me is when people "mistake" the diference between Paganism and Satanism. They are nothing alike for a start the pagan pentagram has five points and the main point allways faces upwards , its sounds like im having a rant lol im just sick and tired of narrow minded people who think they know everything but seriously dont, most people who do critizise a religion know nothing of what in entails ...

[spazmonkey]

lol i didnt mean "bus" i meant bug excuse terrible spelling:D

[piemanmoo]

don't bump old threads, and don't double post.