... or something else, basically?
2006-07-17 12:20:16 · 17 answers · asked by brucebirdfield 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Please make more than a choice. Explain your opinion.
To Lance E: Faithfully (wilfully) said. But willing it so doesn't make it so. I know that much.
2006-07-17 12:40:09 · update #1
Religion is not the denial of reason, but many of its claims can not be known by the faculties of reason.
It is absolutely escapist in that it alleves believers of their ultimate fear death, by offering eternal life, but it does not deny death of the flesh.
More...Religion is not a denial of hedonistic urges, but attempts, often futilly, to negate them.
2006-07-17 13:46:06 · answer #1 · answered by rlw 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In my view of religion there are two distinct vantage points, though intimatley connected. (1) Where did we come from?
(2) How should we live.
(1) The question "where do we come from" is an unavoidable effect of conciousness. We realize our primo place on earth, and it intrinsically appears that the universe was made for us, after all, we are the only concious animals we know of. We also realize that our mind is a definite separate thing from our body.
We are attached to this "self" and we can not bear the idea of complete death concurrent with physical death. ie: It just can't
be! With no reason only our intuition to support this. So seeing our place in the physical world, and realizing our conciousness various different religions sprang into being to explain the whys and hows of our physical and spiritual world.
(2) This veiw also springs from the nature of conciousness, we realize we are here, and some ways of living must be better than others. We have an innate need to want to find happiness.
2006-07-17 20:55:59 · answer #2 · answered by Peregrinus 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For some people religion is denial of reason, or at least of the rational materialistic view, for others the denial of death. However the most frightening aspect of religion for me, is the denial of responsibility. The religious outlook places responsibility ultimately in the hands of some form of supernatural being.
2006-07-17 19:53:19 · answer #3 · answered by silondan 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's science.
It is the human urge to explain the universe.
It's Where science has its roots.
The mythological and cosmological.
It's a skeleton and dinosaur left over.
We made God to explain the unexplainable--
and we've no more need for it.
So we must kill God, the one who cast us into the shadows
for questioning his authority, to come to knowledge.
We've past that limit.
God is no longer the authority, no longer questionable.
God is as dead as a butterfly in the etymologist's workshop.
Religion is despair, the non-acceptance of the real.
Religion is Descartes' skepticism holding out on all probablilities.
And coming to find Reason incompatible with faith.
Faith is a manifest contradiction, having no human capability
to believe in that which is inconceiveable.
The religious, in effect, believe in their icons and fantasies.
Their anthropomorphisms and the short-cuts to end their despair
Life is difficult. Face it. Look Death in the face.
Religion is the damnation of the living.
Wake up, people.
2006-07-17 19:32:59 · answer #4 · answered by -.- 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe in "or"; I believe in "and". Religion is denial of reason for some; AND religion is denial of death for others. I prefer a different view: religion is just the tool. It can be used to club people, animals, and the planet to death; and it can be a tool to make life more liveable for us all. The former, Religion, killed my spirit. The later, Spirituality, gave it back to me.
2006-07-17 19:33:50 · answer #5 · answered by JAMES L 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hello
Tha Bible has all of the answers if you are willing to beleive the book is inspired. Ask a pointed question and I can probably find an answer to your question. I am not interested in winning an argument,just truth.
Hope I can help. Bill
2006-07-17 19:42:06 · answer #6 · answered by wbyrnes2008 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Religion is a system of beliefs based on a premise that a supernatural force exists and affects the universe.
2006-07-17 19:41:47 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion is simply an easy way out. Its a simple and ignorant definition to all things that happen in life and a way to soften the blow of death.
2006-07-18 00:20:49 · answer #8 · answered by AndrewL 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
a religion should be a personal philosophy that should guid you moraly to do right, ultimiately for the better of survival of all existances of being. those that don't see this try to force others to believe the way they do or ignore that the followers of differing religions are also striving to survive with the rest of us.
2006-07-17 19:37:22 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. It's the denial of ignorant morons who don't believe in God.
2006-07-17 19:23:49 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋