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I'm not sure. I personally don't believe in God but sometimes wish I did. I just can't fathom the thought of not being anything when I die. I also wish I sometimes believed in God because I would feel more comfort when a loved one died. I would believe that someday I would be reunited with that person again. I think it's good to have faith in something, but I don't like religion as a whole. I think it makes people very judgmental and hateful towards others.
just because the Christian myth may not be a truth or the mythologies of any other religions for that matter, does NOT mean that there is no after-life, and it does NOT mean that you don't have a soul.
Without religion, people will lack a source of objective morals set to the stone. Religion gives people hard, defined rules that are to be followed. With the lack of religion, the moral order can change in that things that obviously aren't moral can be considered moral.
It is this fact Atheists fail to see when making their assumption that the world will be better off without religion.
Without religion, people will lack a source of objective morals set to the stone. Religion gives people hard, defined rules that are to be followed. With the lack of religion, the moral order can change in that things that obviously aren't moral can be considered moral.
It is this fact Atheists fail to see when making their assumption that the world will be better off without religion.
give an example of this.
because I don't think that I require any set of religious dogma to tell me that rape, murder, theft, and dishonesty are immoral.
what are we really talking about here? gay stuff?
*edit*
furthermore, I think that the reason most atheists believe the world would be better without religion is because of the way that religion divides people. it gives people a justification to hate and feel superior to others. "everyone but me and people that believe in the same superstition are going to burn forever...and meanwhile, they're also savages and abominations..." and equally important if not more so, is the way religion is perceived to hold back the advancement of civilization. the key to our future is in the scientific, which is at odds with the religious. if half the people on the planet believe in the religious rather than the scientific, that does not bode well for our civilization. science (or common sense) might tell us that we live on a planet of finite resources and 7 billion people is too much. religion might tell us, if you're going to get your carrot wet, you'd best be making a baby. and don't you dare use a contraceptive, sinner.
and then there is the Puritan slant to some of our laws. like how in some places you cant buy a bottle of wine on Sunday before a certain time. is marijuana really any worse than alcohol for our society? and is paying a prostitute for sex any more immoral than paying someone to mow your lawn? if so, why? because the s.s.s...sex?
Without religion, people will lack a source of objective morals set to the stone. Religion gives people hard, defined rules that are to be followed. With the lack of religion, the moral order can change in that things that obviously aren't moral can be considered moral.
It is this fact Atheists fail to see when making their assumption that the world will be better off without religion.
Fact? it's so ironic that people make an argument based on supposed facts, when it's exactly the existence of those facts which are the basis for the discussion in the first place.
You might as well have said "because god".
More crimes have been committed in the name of religion than for any other reason. Is that the changing moral order you speak of?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Linson
give an example of this.
because I don't think that I require any set of religious dogma to tell me that rape, murder, theft, and dishonesty are immoral.
what are we really talking about here? gay stuff?
*edit*
furthermore, I think that the reason most atheists believe the world would be better without religion is because of the way that religion divides people. it gives people a justification to hate and feel superior to others. "everyone but me and people that believe in the same superstition are going to burn forever...and meanwhile, they're also savages and abominations..." and equally important if not more so, is the way religion is perceived to hold back the advancement of civilization. the key to our future is in the scientific, which is at odds with the religious. if half the people on the planet believe in the religious rather than the scientific, that does not bode well for our civilization. science (or common sense) might tell us that we live on a planet of finite resources and 7 billion people is too much. religion might tell us, if you're going to get your carrot wet, you'd best be making a baby. and don't you dare use a contraceptive, sinner.
and then there is the Puritan slant to some of our laws. like how in some places you cant buy a bottle of wine on Sunday before a certain time. is marijuana really any worse than alcohol for our society? and is paying a prostitute for sex any more immoral than paying someone to mow your lawn? if so, why? because the s.s.s...sex?
Medicine in particular was held back for centuries because of the supposed violation of god's work.
I think it may be rough going at first, but would be better in the long run.
Religion isn't the problem. What is is the fact that some religions are intolerant of others views or simply not accepting of those that don't believe. Seperation of religion from politics is needed.
Religion isn't the problem. What is is the fact that some religions are intolerant of others views or simply not accepting of those that don't believe. Seperation of religion from politics is needed.
Killing people isn't a problem. The death caused by the killing is the problem. That's pretty much exactly what you just said.
Killing people isn't a problem. The death caused by the killing is the problem. That's pretty much exactly what you just said.
Not the same thing at all! Death is death. Religion is a personal belief that dictates how each individual lives their life! Containing your belief to dictate how you conduct your own life. However inflicting beliefs you have on others is the problem.
It's more like the person that wants to die but takes others that want to live with them. If you want to check out I hope that you wouldn't, but ultimately it's your choice.
Generally the countries that have tried no religion such as Soviet Union, China, N. Korea, Laos have sucked royally so no religion seems a huge failure. The middle east was the world leader in technology, science, economics prior to Islam but have sucked since then so that religion doesn't work well. Europe was a backwater prior to Christianity so that seems to have greatly advanced that part of the world beyond the rest of the world. Hinduism seems to have held India back. Buddhism seems to have been more neutral in its effect.
Generally the countries that have tried no religion such as Soviet Union, China, N. Korea, Laos have sucked royally so no religion seems a huge failure. The middle east was the world leader in technology, science, economics prior to Islam but have sucked since then so that religion doesn't work well. Europe was a backwater prior to Christianity so that seems to have greatly advanced that part of the world beyond the rest of the world. Hinduism seems to have held India back. Buddhism seems to have been more neutral in its effect.
The issue is that a country can shut down religion, but can't stop faith. In effect it doesn't do anything but repress the believers, and repression seldom has a good outcome.
I think a better thread topic would have been "Would the world be better off or worse if gods had never been invented?" Maybe invented isn't the best word. Or maybe it is.
Not the same thing at all! Death is death. Religion is a personal belief that dictates how each individual lives their life! Containing your belief to dictate how you conduct your own life. However inflicting beliefs you have on others is the problem.
It's more like the person that wants to die but takes others that want to live with them. If you want to check out I hope that you wouldn't, but ultimately it's your choice.
You said religion wasn't the problem. The sentence immediately following that statement said religion caused the problem through it's intolerance. Therefore religion is the problem. Just because you break it down to try and pass it off as something else doesn't mean it's not the religion.
Religion is derived from books. In those books are very detailed instructions on how to be bigoted, sexist, and hate anyone who doesn't hold your specific view of religion. I can pull the verses from the Torah, Quran, and Bible if need be.
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