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I have been pondering this question for quite some time now, and came up with an extensive list of contributions that science has given to mankind. Everything from medicine, computers, drugs, and the list goes on.... In contrast, when I tally up the contributions which religion has given to mankind, the list is short to none. Now, I know that some will say that love, peace, brotherhood, etc., are all contributions of religion, but I would not agree. I would attribute such intangibles to the creator/God/good karma, or whomever, but not any particular religion. When I look at the contributions of religion, I see more negative than positive contributions, such as:
1. Division between family members, nationalities and other religious people and groups.
2. Murder/Death and destruction, such as the Inquisition, and other mass killings "In the name of God".
3. Human failure, guilt and self condemnation for not living up to Gods standards that (man) wrote in religious books.
4. Individuals living hypocritical, double-standard lifestyles simply because they fail to live up to the writtings in the Bible and other religious books
5. The creation of cults and suicidal groups such as Davidian, Jim Jones and others.
Now, I give religion some credit and am fully aware that religions, particularly Christianity, gives to the poor, and attempts to better society, but what I am saying is that OVERALL, I find it difficult to come up with any long list of positive contributions to mankind religion has given.
Last edited by dorado0359; 07-03-2008 at 07:35 PM..
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Location: The world, where will fate take me this time?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dorado0359
I have been pondering this question for quite some time now, and came up with an extensive list of contributions that science has given to mankind. Everything from medicine, computers, drugs, and the list goes on.... In contrast, when I tally up the contributions which religion has given to mankind, the list is short to none. Now, I know that some will say that love, peace, brotherhood, etc., are all contributions of religion, but I would not agree. I would attribute such intangibles to the creator/God/good karma, or whomever, but not any particular religion. When I look at the contributions of religion, I see more negative than positive contributions, such as:
1. Division between family members, nationalities and other religious people and groups.
2. Murder/Death and destruction, such as the Inquisition, and other mass killings "In the name of God".
3. Human failure, guilt and self condemnation for not living up to Gods standards that (man) wrote in religious books.
4. Individuals living hypocritical, double-standard lifestyles simply because they fail to live up to the writtings in the Bible and other religious books
5. The creation of cults and suicidal groups such as Davidian, Jim Jones and others.
Now, I give religion some credit and am fully aware that religions, particularly Christianity, gives to the poor, and attempts to better society, but what I am saying is that OVERALL, I find it difficult to come up with any long list of positive contributions to mankind religion has given.
IMHO Dorado, what you are describing here is more Fanatism than religion, unfortunately most western religions were used as a tool for control and manipulation rather than a mean for freedom of negative mental states such as nervousness, fears, depressions, etc.
Now to answer your question, what has religion given? I'll speak of Dharmic religions
1 Yoga, the sacred science of Soul union, which has helped mankind have a real experience of God, ended the suffering, fears, depresions, stress, anxiety and boredom of many human beings, improving their health, stamina, reflexes, coordination, strenght, mind control and elasticity.
2 Life wisdom and release from suffering, Dharmic religions make you aware of natural laws such as Karma, this makes life a lot easier because then you can be aware of it and stop attracting negative things for you, you can also be succesful and prosperous on whatever activity you choose by generating good karma, these phillosophies also tell you that you shouldn't feel bad for not being perfect, but rather to focus that energy to better yourself as humanly possible
3 love, peace, brotherhood, and happiness Dharmic religions have given us people like Buddha, or Gandhi who were real examples of non violence, tolerance, respect, these teachings have also generated lots of tolerant, peace loving human beings.
4 Scientific thought, Sciences like mathematics, physics, phillosophy and psychology were developed in their most early stages by people from these religions, Just check this articles in wikipedia, and look for the contributions of Hinduism and Jainism to scientific thought.
Now finally I won't say that Dharmic religions are perfect, because we human beings aren't perfect, fanatism, ignorance and misinterpretations lead to things like the caste system in India, but Science has been Dogmatic too, this has hindered it's progress until a generation of scientists is replaced by a younger one with less dogma and prejudices or attachment to theories that have been replaced by new findings, science has also created some of the most destructive weapons in the world, but this doesn't mean that science is bad, the same with religion
wow lots of negative stuff bout somekinda bad religion, but lots of good science stuff.
good religion, like me own, teaches self improvement, self development, focus, ethics.health.
it has helped me a lot.
very few losers in the church.
not especially family oriented often referred to as the most eastern of the western religions.
no, i disagree science and religion have a role.
but i gota tell you somethin funny
2 weeks ago i got really sick. nobody from my church came over, nobody. best friend did not come either.
2 atheist friends i got came over and took care of me for 2 days.
aint that a kick in the head?
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