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What I have a problem with is the deep rooted influence religion has on society and the pressures to conform.
Religion to me should be a deeply personal and very introspective sort of thing not something to be brandished as a political or social tool .
I see far too many people who claim to be Christians for example and have so little compassion and love it makes me weep. |People who are full of hatred and disrespect for others.
I see people who would rather have expensive buildings, holdings and holdings than give it all to the poor and the needy and meet in someone's home or use a community hall. People who preach and point the finger and expect everyone to cow down to their belief system. People who think only they hold the truth.
So yes I do take a lot of comfort that people who may privately believe in God feel churches and organised religion is not all it's cracked up to be.
Yes I do realise there are many lovely, tolerant, sweet and genuinely loving people out there. I also realise most are not. Organised religion to me is just bout appearances and not actions.
Very good post! I especially liked your comment about religion being deeply personal. Truthfully, I don't even like the word, religion. It brings up negative connotations, in my opinon. I prefer the word, spirituality, as I believe it is better suited for those of us who do believe in God, (whichever one).
"Organized religion" really isn't a good thing. In Christian terms, if one looks at Jesus' teachings, spirituality, not religion, is what he wanted to see out of people. He wanted to see love and respect, not hatred and ugliness. But, the people got ahold of his message and twisted into such a mess, that it was lost. Of course, we are speaking collectively, as I know many fine Christian folks, but I have definitely seen the other side, as well.
But, I believe that people are beginning to see his message in the original light again, and I think many of these same people are realizing that being stuffed into those expensive church buildings is not what they want for their life. I know I did, which is one reason why I stopped attending a number of years ago, and I don't miss it in the least. Does that mean that I no longer have an interest in spiritual matters? Absolutely not! In reality, I have spent more time looking at my Creator, and my place in this world, than I ever did while I was "busy" in the church. I also don't have the church pressuring me into poking my nose into other peoples' spiritual beliefs, just to tell them how wrong they are, (which I was never good at, any way. I never really felt it was my place to do so). Like Thomas Jefferson, it doesn't hurt me if my neighbor believes in one god, twenty gods, or no god, so long as they are a decent human being.
I agree. Organised politics also have their fair share of hypocrisy and "finger pointing".
Well I guess it depends which democratic system you follow. There were many ‘primitive’ tribal systems were they had an actual participatory democracy, because the size of the tribe made it possible that everyone could have his say and be heard.
Unfortunately our representative democracy automatically creates the condition that the few rule over the many, but due to our population size it is our only option (unless you prefer a dictatorship).
An there is a reason why people live in tribes, because individually we humans would not be able to survive in the jungle.
Once we discovered (this might be by accident, like penicillin) totalitarian agriculture aka modern agriculture we could live the urban lifestyle that we do now since we did not have to follow our food anymore (which naturally would trek across the continent).
Agriculture allowed us to stay in one place and still feed ourselves.
The downside is that we keep increasing in size, because we are so inventive ( and 'insane' enough) that we are able to keep increasing our food production. Unfortunately the world population follows our continual increase in food production. Many corporations just aren’t able to admit that certainly in this case less is more.
Sometimes it is just a bad thing to be too smart for your own good.
1789-Treaty of Tripoli which was written under the Washington and Adams' administrations:
As the government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian Religion..."
George Washington.... "Although guided by our excellent Constitution in the discharge of official duties, and actuated, through the whole course of my public life, solely by a wish to promote the best interests of our country; yet, without the beneficial interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To HIM, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of HIS special favors". [1797 letter to John Adams]
John Adams... "The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress
I realize we could go on all night with this but the bottom line is that you will believe as you choose, and I will do the same...we won't change each other's minds on the issue so let's just call a truce
I'm not sure why, as an athiest, you would care either way. I may be wrong, but it seems to me it is always the athiests who are trying so hard to disprove a God they supposingly don't even think exists.
I personally have the largest beef with organized religion as a whole. huge systems have corruption and that's pretty much obvious in anything.
I personally think that if there is a god, that he/she/it would be totally different that he/she/it is made out to be. it kind og goes back to organized religion; most of the time god is just used to project the ideas of the church and the people that attend it upon others...
George Washington.... "Although guided by our excellent Constitution in the discharge of official duties, and actuated, through the whole course of my public life, solely by a wish to promote the best interests of our country; yet, without the beneficial interposition of the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, we could not have reached the distinguished situation which we have attained with such unprecedented rapidity. To HIM, therefore, should we bow with gratitude and reverence, and endeavor to merit a continuance of HIS special favors". [1797 letter to John Adams]
John Adams... "The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved by Congress
I realize we could go on all night with this but the bottom line is that you will believe as you choose, and I will do the same...we won't change each other's minds on the issue so let's just call a truce
most of that is just opinion. The founding fathers were also slave owners (many of them) they settled their disputes with a shootout and they were't all in agreement with the ideas of god.
also, their scientific knowledge of the world was much more limmited than it is now.
John Adams... "The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
Have you actually read the letter from which those words were taken? Adams had a very strange view of what constituted the general principles of Christianity.
Yes I do realise there are many lovely, tolerant, sweet and genuinely loving people out there. I also realise most are not. Organised religion to me is just bout appearances and not actions.
Religious people give more of their money, donate more of their blood and volunteer more of their time than secular people.
I refuse to let organized religion ruin my relationship with God much in the same way you refuse to let organized religion cram their ideas down your throat.
Maybe this comes with living in the Northeast, but I've never got the sense that anyone was trying to cram their opinions down my throat at church. People have the freedom to attend whatever church they wish, so I'm not sure how they could even do that to begin with.
Religious people give more of their money, donate more of their blood and volunteer more of their time than secular people.
For one thing, secular people don't feel the need to brag about it nor do they need to do it in the name of secularism. The three celebrities who give more to the unfortunate than anyone else are atheists. Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Bill Gates are all atheists.
For one thing, secular people don't feel the need to brag about it nor do they need to do it in the name of secularism. The three celebrities who give more to the unfortunate than anyone else are atheists. Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, and Bill Gates are all atheists.
It wasn't a boast, it was a defense against someone generalizing the religious as something other than sweet and loving.
The three celebrities who give the most are atheists?! I'm sure there are all kinds of Christian celebrities!
If there is no boasting about such atheist celebrities giving their money away, then how is it that you know that they even give money away, let alone the most of all celebrities?
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I never really felt it was my place to do so). Like Thomas Jefferson, it doesn't hurt me if my neighbor believes in one god, twenty gods, or no god, so long as they are a decent human being.
and 'insane' enough) that we are able to keep increasing our food production. Unfortunately the world population follows our continual increase in food production.
Many corporations just aren’t able to admit that certainly in this case less is more.
I may be wrong, but it seems to me it is always the athiests who are trying so hard to disprove a God they supposingly don't even think exists.
