The people on this question seemed like they would not even want to live without their religious binky comforting them. Am I the only one that finds this level of dependence to be similar to a drug-addict?
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/?qid=20060624141501AApFH1f&r=w
2006-06-24 10:27:46 · 19 answers · asked by bc_munkee 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I_am9: Does religion make you a better person? Tell me why the majority of inmates in oiur prisons are religious.
2006-06-24 10:32:37 · update #1
koko: So I am a fool for believing in myself and my power? I can guarantee you that it has taken me much further than faith ever could.
2006-06-24 10:37:35 · update #2
B True: Why do you feel sorry for my family? Is it the nice life I provide for them? Is it the amount of love I give them every day? or is it the fact that you have no idea who I am, or how I live. My family is very well taken care of. This is done through my hard work, and not just putting my faith in God that everything will be OK. Keep my family out of this @sshole.
2006-06-24 10:47:04 · update #3
Karl Marx correctly observed over 100 years ago that religion is the opium of the masses.
It is an addiction, same as any other addiction. And anyone who attempts to separate the addict from his drug will be met with violence (in words or deeds).
2006-06-24 10:30:26 · answer #1 · answered by Left the building 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many people do use God and religion like a drug. Many people trade drug and alcohol addiction for God addiction. Those people will always be addicted to something. I would rather them be addicted to religion than drugs. Drug addiction can result in violence and crime to support the addiction. Supporting their addiction to religion only harms them. I don't know of many cases of people burglarizing homes to pay their tithes.
In some cases, I think there are people who don't want to take responsibility for their own lives, so they have to believe in a God who is in charge of everything. The "decider" if you will... If it's all in God's hands they don't have to take responsibility for it. These people often think without God there is no morality. Perhaps because if they didn't have a very old book to tell them right from wrong, they would be complete heathens. Who knows.
Most people use their religion to enrich their lives in one way or another. It isn't so much a NEED but something they enjoy.
2006-06-24 19:11:38 · answer #2 · answered by Dustin Lochart 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
God and religion are 2 different things. There are people out there that think that if they go to church every single time the doors are open and they are a good person that will get them to heaven. Depending on God is not similar to a drug addict at all. You are a fool if you do not depend on God. Your power alone can not help you in tough situations. And anyone who believes it does, does not know God.
2006-06-24 17:33:41 · answer #3 · answered by koko 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just like you those who use God and religion like a drug are demonstrating that at the core of the human condition is the desire for relationship.To debunk the way in which others work this out in their life testifies to the fact that they at least are pursuing avenues which satisfy this core need. For those to whom this pursuit would mean that personal hygeine must finally be included as a daily ritual, personal slamming the faith of others is an intellectual pursuit they have no choice but to participate in due to the lack of a higher rung on their ladder of self importance.
Reason is a step of faith in the direction in which evidence points.
Faith is the reason for steps in the direction of that evidence.
Faith is Trust. If you trust your reason then you have reason to trust...that is faith.
2006-06-24 17:34:19 · answer #4 · answered by messenger 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
without any commentary on the legitimacy of religion, of course it makes many people happier, safer, etc. it makes their problems seem smaller and gives them a feeling of objectivity; this life, they think, doesn't really affect anything, isn't really too important, etc. they think god is bigger than any problem they could have.
but that does imply something about religion's raison d'être.
edit:
i hope i didn't mistakenly imply that there are no side effects. i'm sure some people have said that, but if i did, i certainly didn't mean to.
i'll continue the analogy [alcohol is technically a drug, and many people are alcoholics, so it works].
religion isn't inherently bad, but it can get that way. if someone is religious, and they keep it to themselves, and they're accepting of everyone, that's fine.
but some people drink too much [fundamentalists], and they drive drunk, thinking that they know where they're going [heaven] and thinking they know exactly how to get there [assaulting gay people, screaming outside abortion clinics, etc.], and they end up killing innocent pedestrians on the way.
2006-06-24 17:36:23 · answer #5 · answered by alguien 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely! There are only positive side-effects though and you don't have to worry about OD.
Even too much of God is not enough!!!
I used to be addicted to other things and I have no problem admitting that I'm addicted to God.
2006-06-24 17:39:54 · answer #6 · answered by tabs 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, youre not the only one who has equated religious belief with drug addiction.
THEY however do not see it as an addiction, and I promise you they are not going to take this suggestion kindly. Prepare yourself for a lot of angry folks.
2006-06-24 17:32:06 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
my addiction to GOD has never landed me in jail...for doing cruel..and illegal things... it has never caused me to stick a needle in my arm..or to look at my neighbors with pure jealous and hate. it has never caused me to sell my body for drugs.. or made me give my daughter to a drug dealer for some crack. ,my addiction for GOD.. has kept me on the right path... it has given me the strength to over come so many obstacles.. such as death of loved ones.. lost jobs.. and every other stumbling block placed before people who declare that they believe in and honor GOD. so if GOD and religion is an addiction than i am truly hooked.
2006-06-24 17:35:50 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
someone was fired up for (insert gods name)
they wanted to be fired up for something
so they got fired up for (insert gods name)
and being fired up released endorphines
im fired up for discovering new things - like how thin is the atmosphere of the moon,
anyhow
so yes, its a dependence on endorphins - all chemical, nothing more
religion was introduced 6000 years ago into the fertile crescent by the land lords to keep the farming laborers working so they could be free to j/o
2006-06-24 17:30:22 · answer #9 · answered by pope 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No ... I agree...Faith can ease pain. You just cannot believe that things can stay this bad and pretty soon things get better and you believe it is God making it better. Thats Faith.
2006-06-24 17:31:52 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋