Is it possible to live a life without a "Religion" (agnostics, priest)
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It is possible to live life without religion, but it is impossible to live life without faith. People who are deeply depressed live life without faith or hope, but they mostly won't last long.
I'm not deeply depressed, I have just come to terms with the fact life is pointless and when i die i am dead. the end, no heaven/reincarnation etc. So i just live. Well mostly i supose i just exist, adrenaline makes me feel alive tho. So my life will be fufilled by scaring the sh*t out of myself basicly
Racket, extreme sports are good for that phase in life.
yeah cheers. i want to go sky diving. And I would love to be an F1 driver but apparently Im too late as most start at about 8 in go-karting championships
I've been reading this and it's an interesting subject and I would like to offer my opinion to your question as to whether it is possible to live life without a Religion? I would say yes it is possible, however I would also say it is impossible to live without a belief, now this may seem strange and especially to those who are atheists, but even an atheist has a belief, and his belief is that there is no God and in my opinion that constitutes a belief not a religion. Just something to think about.
All humans posit "faith" in ideas they cannot empirically prove. Empiricism is but one system of perception. Empiricism alone can only take one so far. Rationalism can only take one so far. Further, empiricism and rationalism are colored by the preconceptions one has bought into. The idea of honest "objectivity" is a complete myth.
One cannot live without a worldview, without a "religion"--even those who vociferously and emotively argue that they are not "religious". They assuredly are.
At the core of every system by which man lives stand a set of unproven, empirically-un-provable assumptions that permit the system to move forward.
These assumptions are clung to by faith.
How is it that some hold that chance + huge chunks of time + "matter" (that somehow just existed...) = you and me, is an enormous, gigantic assumption that requires blind faith of a most daunting, and "religious" quality.
Many traditional religion can be "Religion" but also political ideology like Marxism can be "Religion".
I agree with GCSTroop that your definition of religion is off the mark. Religion is generally recognized as a belief in a god of some kind and involves various supernatural beliefs, depending on the religion. In that sense I live everyday without religion and my philosophical and ethical viewpoints would fall into the category of humanism. Marxism or any political or social ideology is not religion. Your definition of the word religion is just too broad.
Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sisyphus89
What I meant by "Religion" is any ideology or dogma which guides the life of individual beyond the day to day struggle for the survival.
Many traditional religion can be "Religion" but also political ideology like Marxism can be "Religion".
I guess these days fighting against global warming might be "Religion" for many people.
I know many people just live the life without the reflection but people with power and money usually have enough resources and freedom for the reflection on life. I cannot see how after reflection on the life people can accept the hard and cold reality without any hope for finding meaning in their lives.
So my question to you all is if it is possible to live a life without a "Religion".
Imho it is possible, but at least in my case, it would make life pretty dull and boring, too "real"
Religion at least to me is what adds that magic to life, that makes it beautiful and interesting, then I stop thinking about this life as reality, and taking it too seriously, I just know that I'm living the dreams of God, and I let it flow, I let him take me wherever he wants, and I stay tuned by thinking in him, and having him in my heart, trying to do good, think good, act good, feel good, speak good and love unconditionally.
I'm human and I have human limitations and ego just like everybody else, but God's perfect and God's unlimited so I just let him lead my life, that way nothing can go wrong, even if I make small mistakes, they will be forgiven and will be part of those tiny imperfections in life that make it perfect.
For me at least, life without religion would be possible, but very sad and depressing, full of insecurities, struggles, evil and dangers, without any higher power to help me overcome them
Religion in this case for me would be the bond with God and my gurus, without that bond, that friendship, that love, my life would be empty
All humans posit "faith" in ideas they cannot empirically prove. Empiricism is but one system of perception. Empiricism alone can only take one so far. Rationalism can only take one so far. Further, empiricism and rationalism are colored by the preconceptions one has bought into. The idea of honest "objectivity" is a complete myth.
One cannot live without a worldview, without a "religion"--even those who vociferously and emotively argue that they are not "religious". They assuredly are.
At the core of every system by which man lives stand a set of unproven, empirically-un-provable assumptions that permit the system to move forward.
How is it that some hold that chance + huge chunks of time + "matter" (that somehow just existed...) = you and me, is an enormous, gigantic assumption that requires blind faith of a most daunting, and "religious" quality.
these ideas are absolutly not "clung to" they are simply the most rational explination suported by the evidence at hand, when the evidence changes so will the ideas. without this mind set we would all still be sitting around naked worshiping fire. come to think of it that sounds like fun weekend
Lack of religon seems to work for Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. Of course we all have hopes, principles, morals, etc. No need for any of these things to have any supernatural quality. I try to become a better person every day. I don't have to judge myself against a mythical heroic figure to determine what that is- I create the measurement myself- be kind to others (particularly wife/children), make community a better place, learn as much about humanity/the universe as I can without going beserk, etc. Most of the time I do not meet my own standards, but i'm happy. If I ever get depressed (which I almost never do) I go to the beach for a walk, go surfing, go for a jog, go skiing, read a good book etc. Next thing I know, I'm in a good mood. Avoiding self-absorption and/or feeling like a victim is the key.
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People who are deeply depressed live life without faith or hope, but they mostly won't last long.
