Whats the problem with religion?

Question

I am for the most part agnostic. I neither belive nor disbelieve any religion. Yet I have seen no proof in god or the existance of jesus and I don't really feel that the bible may be completely true. As far as I know, the bible could be just a collection of fictional stories and quotes. I do believe of the idea of a higher power that may or may not have created human life. I do have a problem when religious people state their religion to me and other agnostic people and we are fine with their beliefs and don't really care, but when an athiest or someone religously neutral states our beliefs to religious people, they become offended by it and look down on us. Why? I personally don't care what people believe in I just don't want them pushing their beliefs on me and I don't want them thinking it's bad that I don't believe in the ideas they do. As far as I am concerned no one is right. Please help.

Answer 1

Wow.

I completely and absolutely agree with you.

It is rare for me to find opinions on religion that are not strongly biased or pushy - as you have put it so well - and I find it most refreshing to see that some people really make sense out there.

My hat goes off to you my friend. You know what, you really do not have a thing to worry about. I believe that you, me, and many others out there actually make the most sense in saying that no one is right about religion.

How do we really know which is the right god or the right belief or faith? It's all exactly that; faith, beliefs. Nothing else.

No proof. So leave those extremists and those fanatics that try to push their beliefs onto you. They are weak. When someone feels the need to push something so hard, it is because they are not strong enough to believe it themselves. They think it will enhance the power of their faith if more people also believe it. Ridiculous.

You have actually taught me something. I did not know the term "agnostic" until now. I always knew there was a word for my outlook on religion but couldn't put the finger on it. You have helped me define a part of myself.

Thank you very much and again, I do not believe that you need any help. Simply leave those ignorant people and laugh it off.

Answer 2

Libertarian economics professor Murray Rothbard was an agnostic. He also wrote that Jesus was in fact a real person.
I have a friend who is an atheist.

I look at agnostics as the perfect counterbalance to hypocritcal, dishonest commentary about the bible.


Pushing religious beliefs on you is an act of oppression
committed by people who cannot quote biblical passages correctly. Unfortunately, many of them believe their minister and didn't bother to check any thing.

If an atheist is misrepresenting you, or is offened by you, that's their problem. If someone religious is offended by you, that's their problem.

I don't have the proof of the existence of Jesus that you'd like to see. Modern bibles, and 90 percent of bible commentary is worthless.

Even if you're not sure about how true the bible is, I hope you'll still read parts of it once in a while. Psalms, Ecclesiastes of the old testament, and the new testament book of Luke might help. I recommend the old king james bible.

It's not bad that you rejected the explanations offered to you. Because of that you're in a better position than most people to find the truth of things. You'll be better at studying than the bible college graduate as a result of it.

Being agnostic is not evil. It might cure absolutist atheists and absolutist dogmatics of their arrogance.
Your questions might have more to offer me than their answers do.

Answer 3

Religion, i think is very personal. I have been struggling with my life and questioning about it also. No one can push you to believe on their beliefs. They are some people that are fanatics and cant tolerate other ideas. There are others, that only want to share their beliefs and maybe give you a little hope on something. I have my beliefs, even though I can clearly say that I am on doubt, not of existence of God, but on how religion itself works. If you don't believe, you just don't. It's okay to just listen for a while, and share opinions, if you get annoyed or feel uncomfortable, just tell the religious person, you don't want to hear more about it, and you respect his opinion, everyone should be respected, even you.

Answer 4

You seem to be a rational individual so I'll give you some Biblical facts that hopefully will picque your interest in researching this.
4000 years ago, all through the course of the Bible, the Messiah was predicted to come on a specific time. In that period, 300 prophets throughout the Middle East and Asia minor, all came up with similar facts about "Jesus". They all had predicted the date of his birth, the fact that he was the Son of God, that who his family lineage & parents would be from the beginning to the end, they predicted his birthplace, how long he would minister to the world, of his capture and crucifixion (which by the way wasn't even a method of death used by the Romans until the days of Jesus), and of his resurrection. Here you have all these prophets who kept writings from these different areas stretching through this period of time and all of them had the same prophecies. If you like math, then the odds of all that happening is 1 to the 17th power. I'm not asking you to change your belief system. As for religion, more wars have been fought over it in history--look at Iraq, Palestine, India, Pakistan, Somolia, Uganda, Greece, Turkey, etc. It goes on and on. The true God has little to do with "religion". God is God and goes way beyond religion as we know it. I'd just say believe what you want and let the chips fall where they may. But, there is a God. The major problem with not knowing "God" is unbelief.

Answer 5

Sorry but being an agnostic is a cop-out. There is no such things as a god. Religion is a fantasy. You will make your life a whole lot easier if you get off the fence and "dig" into archeology and the sciences. It is here where all your answers lie, all your solutions.

Stories in the bible have their roots as stories on stone tablets written by fairly advanced civilizations. These stories were later rewritten and exagerated as religion to control people. These are facts and like I said, the answers are out there and easy to find for anyone interested in looking.

Answer 6

Religious people do generally have a harder time accepting areligious people than vice-versa.

I think this mainly stems from their beliefs (I'll explain later), but it also has to do with the fact that they are in the majority, at least in the US. Many religious people don't know any atheists or agnostics (or don't know that they do) and so they really don't know how to react when they meet you. Plus, being in the majority, and spending almost all of your time among like-minded people, can have a tendency to produce a kind of arrogance or groupthink, like Bush and the evangelicals in the US. It's easy for them to look down on you because 1) you don't accept their "truth"; and 2) they are in power and you are not - which they sometimes mistakenly think means you have no religious rights.

Most religious people's beliefs are based on faith. Faith is not subject to logical discussion or consideration of evidence, so they don't have to think about their beliefs anymore. In fact, many get so deeply conditioned in their religion that they cannot even conceive of what you mean when you say you are agnostic or atheist. Some will honestly think that you are lying: "Surely everyone believes in god," they will say, "He just likes attention from being different."

Religious people are usually not critical thinkers; however, I know MANY very smart theists. I believe that most of them are only theists because they have failed to consider the evidence, for one reason or another. Many intentionally avoid thinking about the evidence (or lack thereof) out of fear, or because they are happy the way they are. If the real truth means a major life change, or is scary to them, then they'd rather avoid it.

Atheists and agnostics, on the other hand, usually think critically and have belief systems which are based on evidence. Most of us are completely willing to discuss or consider any new ideas that might change our minds about the existence of gods one way or the other. This openness and objectivity is a critical trait for scientists, which is why so many scientists are atheists. Because we function as a minority in a society dominated by theists, we are used to being highly tolerant of them.

Answer 7

I've been in the same situation as you, but for myself, the best approach has to have been trying to understand why people think and believe the things in which they do. It's important to broaden your understanding, because you are not perfectly right, no one is.

I think the problem with religion is that a lot of people are in there to propagate a lot of theories so that people can be brainwashed, and join their group, so that their numbers look massively influential. Sounds like communism...Then again, half the believers may not even know half of what their religion is about, but preach one aspect of it, and it gives them comfort, so they may well be part of another religion. Religion is like politics.You get a lot of martyrs and fundamentalists who strictly believe in certain values and principles and will argue against anything that opposes their beliefs. That's why they impose their beliefs on you. Frankly, some think they are trying to help you see the light. Some try to save you from 'hell'. Others do it because it's their duty. Some truly believe in what they preach. It's touchy.

Answer 8

Actually there is quite a bit of substantial evidence there was in fact a person named Jesus who existed and was considered a profit. However then the question becomes was he in fact the son of a god or just a nice guy with good ideas about equality and loving thy neighbor.

As far as the bible goes most scientists are in agreement that almost every story can be traced back to similar events and situations but are mostly intended to guide and teach not to be taken as fact.

Overall the bible was originally written as a guide to ones life and has since been turned into the foundation of a faith and has been changed by numerous political figures and kings throughout history to adjust to their whims and desires. Many chapters being removed completely.

Overall I believe Jesus did exist but if studied you would realize he was actually not a profit and did not portray himself to be, he simply wanted to bring a very torn and corrupt country together and to preach acceptance of everyone regardless of class sex or differences. He was a great man.

I am not Christian I am not of any religion I believe in many things and aspire to many things. Jesus and the bible are very good things, however many things carried out in their honor or names are not.

Answer 9

There are always going to be people who look down on you for something or other. If you feel like debating with others, then go for it. If you would rather not, then shut the door or walk away. If you can't get away, just tell them nicely that they need to respect your desires to not be accosted.

You say you don't want them thinking it's bad for you to not believe the way they do. That's not gonna happen ever. That's like asking for everybody to not hate gays, or liberals. People hate, especially fanatical people.

Answer 10

Religion is not from God, it's from man. God is not limited by rules and laws, and religion upsets Him because it's confusing and tearing His people away from Him. God is ALIVE! Even today, the deaf hear, the blind see, devil's are cast out, the dead are raised, and there are manifestations from heaven. He's big, almighty, beyond our comprehension. And the most amazing thing is that He loves us. If you're not sure about Jesus, just ask Him to reveal Himself to you. What do you have to lose? Just pray, ask Him into your heart, ask Him to forgive you your sins, and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. The bible is credible, everything recorded is being archeoligically discovered. Read it, starting with the new testament, and research it. It's worth a try, isn't it? And if you seek Him with your heart, you will find Him. He promises it in His word!