What do you think of religion: A genuine way of searching for truth or delusion that makes people feel good?

Question

I'm thinking about writing a paper on this topic for a class and just want to know what people think.

Answer 1

Consider this:

Fact: the human race has been around for hundreds of thousands of years.

Fact: the concepts of an afterlife, of gods, spirits, etc. have only been around for a few millenia.

Fact: these concepts were invented and promulgated by ignorant barbarians as an attempt to explain the world around them, before there was a such thing as science or epistemology.

Fact: most of the books of the bible were written by people who were never there, as second- or third-hand accounts decades or even centuries after the events they claim to tell about.

Fact: the books of the bible have been heavily edited over the centuries, with passages or even whole books being re-written or omitted to fit the theological and political climates of the time.

Fact: the books of the bible have also been subject to extensive errors, misinterpretations, and differences of opinion in interpretation as they are translated from one language to another and from that to yet another language.

Knowing all this, how can ANY religion be viewed as anything BUT the invention of men? I know this may not be what you want to hear, and I doubt I'll do much harm to your faith; faith is remarkably impervious to reason.

Answer 2

Sometimes it's good for search for the truth. Heck we all do it some point in our lives, be it young or old. Religion does hold truth. But methinks there's confusion between which ones are real. In my opinion, some sprout out because we want to be different. Somebody always wants to be different. Most have said, "Yes. There is a God." back then, but soon someone came along and said, "I want to be different. There is no God." So now it's like a test to see who is right and who is wrong. Is christianity false, or is Buddah? Are pagans correct? Or are Atheists(2nd time spelled correctly)right? Somewhere down the line, something will come up. I figure somebody has got to be right.

Answer 3

religion can be a genuine way of searching for truth or delusion that makes people feel good. this was what it was thought of when it was conceived, but I genuinely think that is not the way the religions are actually working towards.

there are no of way to achieve the same objective one for the matter of fact is "any act "done with the desire of enlightenment, with soul,heart,mind and intellect should give the truth or delusion that makes people feel good. (as every thing in this universe is god inside god!!!

Answer 4

Joseph Campbell once said (jokingly in an interview) that religion/mythology is "an organization of symboloic images and narratives metaphorical of the possibilities of human experience and fulfillment in a given society at a given time". Religions/Mythologies are 'true' when they are interpreted as metaphors. They were meant to be understood through poetics not literal interpretations. Religions do contain a great deal of wisdom and can definitely help you live a spiritual life if they are read correctly. Freud thought religion was for neurotics who had an inferiority complex (see "Totem and Taboo") but Jung late in his life was asked if he believed in God and he said "I don't believe, I know!"

Answer 5

Both:
We as a human race have always searched for someone or something to guide us, to make our lives less pointless, or to bring some understanding to it so that we don't feel so small and insignificant in this huge universe.
There are innocent and pure minded people who look for answers and a faith they can look up to, but then you have people who have twisted the truths in religion in order to manipulate their people, with the veil of truth to make them feel better.
I would have to say the most un-corrupted religion is Buddhism. I am not religious, but I'm also not atheist, either. I just have more common sense than the average population to believe in fairy tales.

Answer 6

I think religion is many things to many people.
To me, religion, as opposed to faith, is man codifying and censoring the divine. Religion is is any specific system of belief about deity, often involving rituals, a code of ethics, a philosophy of life, its a man-made set of beliefs. It trammels the true search for the divine by limiting it to a faulty system. Religion is a way to control the faith of humanity. More wars, more injustices have been committed in the name of religion than anything else.

Answer 7

i think of that's the latter. A fantasy. As its been mentioned faith is the opium of the human beings. ( like a drug) human beings like to be sheep and prefer to benefit what to do. That way whilst issues do no longer bypass nicely they are able to assert it grew to become into in somebody else's hands. faith is approximately means and administration. money isn't something in many faiths yet means nicely, that could replace the international. It in some techniques is greater valuable than money, faith is so valuable that's been used to instigate conflict, and many different atrocities. i think of that is a captivating subject rely for a paper.

Answer 8

A delusion that make people feel warm and cozy with their humanizing myths. Religion is the opium of the masses!

Answer 9

Hebrews 4:12
The word of God is alive and is sharper than a two edge sword. Meaning, once you start reading the Bible, you'll begin to understand it as truth and really take it to heart. You'll then realize it's genuine and it will have power in your life. God doesn't lie. And yes, it makes you feel good to know where your going.

Answer 10

I would just like to know where efw got the "facts" that he provided. It seems to me that it would take just as much faith to believe in the random selection model of the universe as it would to believe in the model set forth in the Bible. The "fact" is, that none of us were there and all we can do is look at what we can observe now and try to come to the best conclusion that we can.