My humble opinion on religion

@Whoever,

Whoever wrote:

I agree that we need a belief system that is scientific.

Antonym? :bigsmile:

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@MITech,

MITech wrote:

Is a form of control a bad thing though? Look at where it has led us. For example a christian follows the ten commandments. Thats a good thing. The only sad thing about all of this is that the only reason why we follow the ten commandments is that if we don't we have this idea that we will go to hell. I do also believe that religion is a waste of time.Yah there is definitely a god watching our every move.( sarc.) Why would god send us to hell anyways, after all he loves us doesn't he. In my opinion the people who made the bible were either delusional/psychotic or they overdosed on alcohol.

A form of control is only necessary if people need to be controlled, or led. People only need to be controlled or led if their own will or faith can not guide them. Technically speaking, only the weak, undecided people require leadership.

Hell is a concept that, as far as I know, only Roman Catholics believe in. Roman Catholicism is not the only denomination of Christianity, nor is it the purest. You ask the question as to why God would send us to hell is he loves us. Well, the 'love' that God feels for us is not simply the love that humans feel for one another, it is much more than that. For example, it is unlikely that you would give somebody chance after chance after chance even after they commited the most atrocious deeds.
Anyway, I do not believe in Hell, because I see no reason to. As far as I'm concerned, it's just something made up to scare people into being good, which is both immoral and injust.

1 Reply

@Joshy phil,

Joshy wrote:

A form of control is only necessary if people need to be controlled, or led. People only need to be controlled or led if their own will or faith can not guide them. Technically speaking, only the weak, undecided people require leadership.

Hell is a concept that, as far as I know, only Roman Catholics believe in. Roman Catholicism is not the only denomination of Christianity, nor is it the purest. You ask the question as to why God would send us to hell is he loves us. Well, the 'love' that God feels for us is not simply the love that humans feel for one another, it is much more than that. For example, it is unlikely that you would give somebody chance after chance after chance even after they commited the most atrocious deeds.
Anyway, I do not believe in Hell, because I see no reason to. As far as I'm concerned, it's just something made up to scare people into being good, which is both immoral and injust.

A good many protestant denominations believe that Hell literally exists also. I was raised Pentecost and they certainly believe it.

As for God's love, I have it this way. I have four kids. There is nothing that any of them could do that would cause me to kill them, let alone send them to some place to be burned and tortured. Now, I'm just a man, not capable of any more love than any other man. But if God, my creator, doesn't love me at least that much, then he's not my father and he's not my God.

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@Richard60,

[quote=Richard60]I have come to the conclusion that religion is not something that is useful or meaningful to me. Put simply- religion is a pointless waste of time and energy.[/quote]I have read your "opinion" with amusement, it is a straightforward and honest [let us forget whether it is a humble or an arrogant opinion - philosophy is not interested in these niceties].

However, if you put your reasoning in logical form you will see that it can be easily refuted. This is a typical mistake great majority of people who confess to be a non-believer usually do. Consequently, a non-believer without good reasoning may end up accepting another religion which seemingly satisfies all their original objections.

Philosophy without good reasoning may be called polemic, journalism, literature etc but philosophy. Therefore, I encourage you to find a better reasoning to be able to refute religious claims [you are nearly there but it needs a little bit of logical rewriting].
[quote=Richard60]I do believe in a life-force that all plants and animals are sharing.[/quote]Richard, you are using quasi-religious language ["life-force] presumably non-material being and different from notional beings? I wonder how did you come to this conclusion? Again, I would like to see your ideas in simple logical form.

Regards,

1 Reply

@democritus,

demotricus-
by 'life-force', I mean the thread that seems to be going through all living things. For instance, some animals keep a baby warm and possibly fed - (this was just in the news). Dogs enjoy people's company. Cats enjoy getting you to use your skills with a can opener. Plants do better when they are given attention (was on Mythbusters).
Yet none of the above examples seem to scream- religion. I don't even think that a 'real' force (Star Wars..LOL) would even imply religion.
.... but then it does all get back to the premier problem of human discourse- 'are we on the same page ?' ... do we use the exact same definitions real or implied, when we talk (or write) ? THAT is doubtful.
To me religion is a set of man made rules and regulations with the intent of guiding and even controlling thought and actions... oh, and a neat social club, complete with leaders and followers.

BTW, I just got back from holiday and will try to catch-up over the next day or two.
I certainly like you folks.. really makes the old brain cells get to cranking. And yes, I am listening, too.
There was a remark about why don't we just be free and steal and take and fornicate (ok, I slid that in..) since that is probably what we would all love to do anyway...?? Take the easier road at the expense of everyone else. Well... YEAH !! I'd sign up for it, but won't because I don't relish the idea of being shot.. or worse, being incarcerated. Rules are probably a good thing, although they do need to be tested and fixed, often. Even the ten commandmants are pretty decent as rules, though poorly interpreted.

Wow, this sort of thinking can go on forever.

Back soon,

1 Reply

@Whoever,

Hi,
Try - Naturalism_Org
.. they seem to have a grip on something interesting....

R

0 Replies

@Richard60,

Richard60 wrote:

demotricus-
by 'life-force', I mean the thread that seems to be going through all living things.

Richard, you seem to be asking two questions:

a- What is the scientific definition of "living"?

Professor Steven Rose in The New Penguin English Dictionary writes: " The characteristic of living organisms include the capacity to maintain a constant internal environment, to respond to and transform their external environment, to grow and develop, and to self-replicate, producing more or less identical copies of themselves. Living beings are thermodynamically open, driving energy from their environment in order to sustain and transform themselves, a process known as autopoiesis, or self-creation".

b-How living come about?

I think molecular biologists are probably the best people to answer these questions. My rudimentary knowledge is:

During the history of the universe [and our planet earth] the change [by mutation] of molecular structures of the basic ingredients of inanimate chemicals [substance] have created animate substance [living organism]. And from the most basic animate form/substance [again with mutation and evolution combine with constantly changing external conditions] we come to where we are today.

I am not aware of any animate substance created by human beings yet.

Regards,
democritus

1 Reply

@democritus,

Joshy wrote:

Hell is a concept that, as far as I know, only Roman Catholics believe in. Roman Catholicism is not the only denomination of Christianity, nor is it the purest. You ask the question as to why God would send us to hell is he loves us. Well, the 'love' that God feels for us is not simply the love that humans feel for one another, it is much more than that. For example, it is unlikely that you would give somebody chance after chance after chance even after they commited the most atrocious deeds.
Anyway, I do not believe in Hell, because I see no reason to. As far as I'm concerned, it's just something made up to scare people into being good, which is both immoral and injust.

Hell is common to almost all Christian denominations, and some analogous concept can be found in almost all faith traditions of the world. You are on the right track when you say that God's love is not the same as the love humans feel, but, I think, for the wrong reason. God is beyond our understanding, and so the words we use to describe God are pointing to the truth, but not the truth. To say "God loves you" is not accurate, but as close to what is true (rather, what we think to be true) as we can formulate with language and express.

Talk of God sending people to Hell doesn't make much sense to me. A few different words are translated as "Hell", and neither match the popular imagery of Hell (Dante's depiction, for example). Sheol is translated throughout the Old Testament as "Hell", but this is terribly misleading - Sheol is the place where the dead gather, where all of the dead gather, including the righteous. Gehenna appears in the New Testament and was literally a garbage dumb outside Jerusalem. Some suggest that Gehenna refers to the judgment of the nation of Israel and is not applied to unrepentant souls. However, even if we take Gehenna, as I do, to be relevant to unrepentant souls, it is then simply a metaphor for what it is like to live sinfully without repentance.

Hell, the Lake of Fire, comes from Revelations, not from the Old Testament or from the teachings of Jesus. The Lake of Fire only comes into play when Jesus comes to Earth the second time and judges the living and the dead. Thus, Hell is not used (for humans) until the Second Coming of Christ, and not before this event.

So, Hell was not something made up just to scare people; that came much later with popular literature, ignorant churchmen and cruel parents. Hell is intended, however, to create some degree of fear. Jesus uses Gehenna, a place that would have been well known by his listeners not to mention the last place any listener would want to spend time, in order to solidify this point: that to live sinfully and without conscience for one's sin is to live a nasty, horrible life. Your life is shaped by the way you live it.

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My humble opinion on religion

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