Would the World be Better off Without Religion?

Organized belief systems around transcendental ( and mundane) topics are socially necessary.

"You should die and we should celebrate your death.
MY HONEST OPINION"
That´s such an awful thing to say and think....

usa was founded by an small group of puritans, looking for a new home were their religion could prevail and a bigger group of english people running away from an unstable Europe and a life of deprivations and sacrifices
Australia, on the other hand, was used as a British prison and hundreds of convicts were send to serve their sentence as far from the country as possible, due to the saturation of the penitentiary system facilities of the country.

Argome321 said- "I think religion is one of the most insideous evils ever created"
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Which religion?

Also, many were sent there for minor crimes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_Australia
Visited Australia a couple of times, and have found the people there to be very friendly. I still have a picture of my Sydney Bridge climb to the top. We were all hooked up to a cable system to the top for safety, and we were not allowed to take our cameras with us, but the leader took our picture which we had to purchase. It's a nice picture with the Sydney Opera House in the background. Did the tv tower, Gas Town, Chinatown, the olympic site, the park, and a cruise to Bondi Beach.
On my first visit to Port Douglas, we went to the Iron Bar for drinks. On my second visit to Port Douglas, I asked a clerk in a store where the best bar was in town, and she said, the Iron Bar. I just know how to pick em.
BTW, anyone visiting Sydney should go to the Blue Bar at the Shangri La Hotel for drinks. It has the best view of the Sydney Bridge and the Opera House. Early evening is best, when they light up the bridge and Opera House. And take your camera.

said - "we were not allowed to take our cameras with us, but the leader took our picture which we had to purchase"
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What cheek! Anyway cameras are so small nowadays you could smuggle one in your pocket..

But what you say really is that given a chance you would use force, pain, persecution for your ultimate purpose, which simplifies to 'You are right and others are wrong!" You are better off, fine. I am not. is that okay with you?

Argome321 said- "It is time we grow up as a people and take off the religions shackles that hinder our growth."
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Yay, we don't need organised religion to do our thinking for us; Jesus said he was looking for PALS, nothing more-
"You're my friends if you follow me. I don't call you servants, but I call you friends" (John 15:15)
and people were glad to chum up with him..
"Jesus saved you from the empty way of life handed you by your forefathers" (1 Peter 1:18 )

What an interesting statement! Why Do you think that is Fil?

Are you asking me why we need to make decisions without full certainty either individually or as a group ? To survive what else. Darwinism always favoured risk takers, at least the smart bunch of them...

But more then that, Reality is of such complexity that it deserves devotion, not only abstract respect...rituals are the mundane cultural specific local expression of each society in relation to the world gobsmaking staggering mathemathical elegance. They provide security confort and crystalize behaviour that pays attention to such values. Some of these values are diluted and embebed in more trivial common sense group expressions of these more abstract needs...hence the appeal to the "divine" as a reservoir of hope in the order of the World...

Fil, when you speak it is with great eloquence. I think you may be one of my favorite people to engage with here at A2K.

I believe that hope is essential for life. Without it there is little to no motivation to move forward and grow. Everyone finds hope in something. Whether it's the people we surround ourselves with, The God in heaven, the devil in hell, the President, the Government, or heck... even the Jerry Springer show for some... *gag*

We were created not to be swept away by every wind of doctrine... and that's not speaking of Scripture only... but to find the truth. If we had just been born with it we wouldn't grasp for hope in the dark times of life. There would be no need to.

at the time stealing a load of bread could send a man to prison for ages

Australia is the only country i believe i could feel at home if a had to move out of Spain

Just curious. I have traveled through many countries but never really experienced them, so I know only what I've read about the people of other countries. I've more or less assumed that people are the same everywhere. The only exception were the people of several SE Asian countries who lacked the ability to think subjunctively, they could not ask themselves the question of 'what if' .

What is it that sets the people of Spain, or Australia apart from others?

its not about people but about cultural issues.... i wouldn´t feel confortable living in a muslin country, for example... of course, you can´t judge a book by its cover, but the little i know about the country makes it appealing and somehow wellcoming

Spain is an interesting country if you visit all over the country, because Spain has different influences from several different countries depending on where you visit. Madrid and Barcelona are so different, you wouldn't know you were in the same country. The south of Spain is different from the west of Spain. Even the architecture is different from one major city to the next.

As for Australia, I've only visited the east coast of the country a couple of times. From Port Douglas up north to Melbourne (wine country) in the south.

As you probably know, Australia is greatly influenced by the British. It was a prison colony for criminals from Great Britain. Some were sent there for minor crimes such as being a pauper.

I have spent many days in Sydney, and know it very well, because I have walked for miles in that city. I have also done the Sydney bridge climb on one of my trips there. Did a tour of the Sydney Opera House, the tv tower, Chinatown, and Gas Town. One of the recommendations that I make to travelers to Sydney is to go the the Shangri-La Hotel's Blue Bar to have a drink in the early evening when they light up the Sydney Bridge and the Opera House. It's a million dollar view. It's almost a religious experience.

View from the Blu Bar: http://www.36levelsabove.com.au/blubar/

Architecture is interesting, different terrain can be fascinating, etc. (I built a second home in CO just for the views) but I was asking about the people. My GF walked all the Camino trail routes in Spain and Portugal (several thousand km) but she didn't learn any real distinguishing charastics about the people. I spent a year in S.E. Asia but same story on people (except for that subjunctive defisit).

That's why I asked about the people.

Having asked many about this, I've concluded that unless you want to go for the sights (not a bad reason) or weather, there is no reason to travel to different countries.

People make a lot of noise about 'culture' which momo mentioned but I've come to regard culture as a very peripheral thing, it does not tell you **** about the person underneath, that's why I could care less about it.

Bottom line (IMO) people are the same everywhere in the world.

I can gross generalistic mode give you a difference between Spanish and Portuguese. Portuguese are less frontal more shy and more conservantive then Spanish. Also more shallow and have an inferiority complex regarding Spanish. On the bright side also more laissez faire laissez passe...in sum less histerical and more relaxed. Its a vague mundane generalization and it is worth what is worth...

Interesting!
Give me those Portuguese any day. Hope they get over that complex.

I agree that people all over the world are the same. I have met many people around the world, and call them my friend. I have friends in Africa, Cuba, Moscow, Singapore, Mexico, Cairo, Bhutan, Germany, England, France, and all over the US.

Dang, you forgot me !