To beleivers, unbeleivers, converts and apostates.?

Question

What are the advantages and disadvantages of religious beleif, community, or lack odf belief and alternative community, according to your experience in life?
Have you gained comfort from faith, or security, or community and brotherhood? What about atheinsm ad apostacy? How does your life compare to the one yu may have lead before? What are the pros and cons? Do you feel that anything is missing, or could be better, or is all just fine?

Answer 1

I was brought up in faith and did believe, for some years. It was, indeed, a nice time: someone to turn to, someone who cares, who forgives, who judges, who, altogether, loves you and decides for you. It was great: any problem could find a solution in God. If not, there was still God. It is, definitely a great help, and, even if I do not believe anymore, I sometimes envy those who do: unfortunately, faith is not something you can decide: it is, as Pascal put it, a gamble and a jump.
So, yes, I sometimes miss it.
On the other hand, this help, this support, seems to me more and more dangerous: I have been living, recently, for some years, in a very religious African country and I can't stop myself from thinking that yes, religion is the people's opium. I understand you might need support when everyone around you is dying from aids, when you lost your baby to malaria. But this support has another poisonous hand: why should I seek treatment? God will help me. Why should I try and change my country: God (and the donors..) will do it. My baby has got a fever: let me go to Church and pray... Why should I wear a condom? I am a good christian, I go to church every Sunday, and, besides, the bishop said it's not a good thing to do.
This is, unfortunately, the way it is.
So yes, faith is a great help, but it would be better if it opened people's eyes instead of blinding them.

Answer 2

Believing in God gives you the feeling that somebody is watching over you and is caring for you even when no one on Earth is. People pray to God and believe that their prayers will come true because God cares about them. When they are in bad situations, they think God will save them and not let any harm come to them. If something bad does happen, they believe it's okay because God wanted it to and it happened for a good reason. I understand this compleatly and even though I am an atheist I sometimes envy the feeling of comfort religious people get when they look to God for support.

However, I was brought up to believe in reason and I'm sorry to say that no matter what I will always know that the universe was created by the big bang and humans have evolved from chimps and when I die I will not go to heaven or hell. That especially is chilling because sometimes I feel that those who do believe they will go on to another life when they die will because they believe and I will not because I don't.

From when I was a baby up until when I was about 10 or 11, my family attended a Unitarian Church. I was a bit young to understand really what God was about and all the controversey that surrounded the issue, and I didn't really appreciate the community that we were apart of. Looking back now, part of me is sorry that we left because it truely was a community that cared about our family and the good and bad things that happened to us.

It's really a personal decision whether to believe in God or not, but no matter what you choose, you will find caring people all around you.

Answer 3

Looking at things on a very basic level, I see that everyone needs to believe in something. Even if the only thing they can believe in is that all organized belief systems are wrong, bad, or harmful.

The primary benefit of believing in the same thing others believe in is that it increases the odds that you will be accepted and treated well by those around you. Gives you a chance to feel connected, and may possibly validate your existence.

The primary disadvantage of following a particular faith, is it allows others (namely the leaders of your faith) to exert control over you, your thoughts, and your actions.

Answer 4

The advantage of religious beliefs is possibly a spiritual comfort blanket.
The disadvantages are the dangers to free thought and will.
There are problems with religions which are intolerant to other ways of life. IE discriminative of homosexuality in men and women, class (castes) and the position of women in society.
The advantage of non-belief is the possibility to self reflect upon ones own problems without resorting to a dependency upon the notion of an omnipresent being, leading to a form of self reliance and lack of the dangers of mental suffering which dissolution can bring.
the disadvantage is one needs to be ones own island which is not easy to achieve.
I believe, that the answers lie within our own minds uncluttered by the mnemonic debris of life.
one can see Siddhartha or Jesus as spiritual teachers and role models, but salvation is our own look out, for our own insights.

Answer 5

Most religious belief seems somewhat silly to me. However, I know people that take comfort from it. But I think that is outweighed by the social evil that is done in the name of the major religions. Therefore, on balance, religion is evil.

Answer 6

I am not a very religious person so when I asked Christ for help one day and feel sincerely in my heart that he helped me I was taken aback. I was raised Catholic but for me church was hell. The reason why is my mother forced me to go often cursing me and physically striking me when I would protest. When I was young I wanted to go to church but my mother and father would not let me. I had to beg to go and when my father took me he had a bad attitude the entire time. So I was pissed when my mother started going to church and forcing us to go when her god, my dad, left. She found that she needed something in her life and since my dad was gone she went for the church. This entire ordeal made me bitter with religion. But when Jesus answered me there was no longer a question in my mind that he is real. I still am having a hard time being a religious person because I feel that the organized religions have gotten away from Christ. I have found great comfort in Jesus, not necessarily religion.

Answer 7

in my beliefs i would commonly be refered to as an atheist. this is because I reject the notion of any religion, or the possiblity of their being a God with a central point of emotion and thought. i believe god to be existence itself. in my beliefs i feel fulfilled and comforted in knowing that I am in control of myself within the laws of existence. i do not belief in the powers of good and evil, though i do realize they do exist to others and can be made apparent through their own actions. i must admit that believe is a powerful thing and that if enough people believe the same thing it does appear to exist. but through my resaerch of the mainstream religions, christianity, islam, judaism, buddism, hinduism, and their origins i have little faith in any religions preaching their books as truths. sometimes i do wish i could just believe for it would be nice to feel that heaven is close and god's love for me, no matter how bad this life gets, will always be strong. but this vision is tooo perfect. if i were to go to heaven and everything was always good i would be so bored. its the bad things in life contrasted mith the good taht make us feel so alive. through my understandings of life i realize what is my choice and what is not. from this understanding i don't allow things to get me down. sure bad things happen but as soon as they do they are done so i just deal with the consequences and move on, not looking back. so as a believer, for which i feel i am as i am open to believe anything, i feel my system is amazing and i couldn't be more content.

Answer 8

Belief ! to the strong without mercy its a hindrance to the weak without morals its a hindrance , For people who are opposite it can be a blessing , For myself i feel great kinship to the human race but being made strong by lifes hardships, i have never needed a believe to survive . having to fend for myself , i have always got by in the total belief in myself

Answer 9

religion... (a true believer!)
u value people and there dignity and urselves... u treat every individual equal regardless of race or ethnicity... u wudnt lie, be a hyprocrite, fornicate, steal, back-bite etc...
and yes this is comfort for me... actually its much more... although i live in a community who duesnt understand it and swear and abuse me (mainly spoilt teenagers and afew un-educated adults!).. it still brings peace... it makers me feel sorry for people like them since they've eitha been bought up segregated to people nt like them or want to fit in with people like that thinking it gives them some sort of power and respect.
people are too scared for others to be different to themselves and this is what lets everyone down...

i actually do blame the media for a hell of alot!

Answer 10

Since my childhood, to know the meaning of life was more important than anything, therefore I searched about it in differents books, religion, etc. Thanks to my perseverance and by the grace of Srila prabhupada I feel very affortunate to have found the answer for it.