Why does religion go against everything that we are genetically programmed to do?

Question

We are programmed to have sex with many people to ensure that some of our offspring survice.

We are programmed to fight for survival even if it means killing.

We are programmed to do a lot of things that go against religion. Why is that? I believe in God I know He exists I have felt His presence in my life and he has answered my prayers.

I am trying to find the answer to this question because I am trying to understand better.

Is it because it is a life long test? But why would God need to test, he already knows everything right?

Answer 1

Religions doesn't go againts everything that you're genetically programmed. Like Homosexuality, that's againts your genetic program to reproduce.

One last thing, your wife would kill you if you ever cheat on her.

:P

Answer 2

Didn't know we were programed to have sex with many people, I thought that was a human flaw. Of course one fights to survive that is in the human mind automatically and can not be avoided, except by the very few.

Rules and laws apply to very part of our lives and always will. Religion is like a lock on a door, the lock keeps honest people honest and the others just break the lock. In that sense life is a test, but one that can be easily passed.

The sex part though has lead to countless fatherless children, single parenting, daycare, latchkey children, and other things that cause harm to the family system. Today being a single parent is all about the parent not the child. If you think that is a good thing then you have your wish already. Religion teaches that the family group as the basis of all other things and that is righteous and right. In my humble opinion.

Answer 3

God is either Omnipotent or Omniscient. If he is Omniscient then why is he testing us when he already knows the outcome. If he is omnipotent then he can stop the problems. I believe there is a God. He works in his own ways. I also believe that the religion is created by human beings. All the inhibitions we see today are because at certain time our priests failed to meet some of their worldly pleasures or a personal goal and hence they came up with a big "NO! NO!" for that thing. God doesn't mind what we eat or wear or see or do as long as we are not hurting anyone's rights.
The rights of fellow humans are more important then God's. This is one of the basics of Islam. I was born a Muslim but I have my own beliefs and as a result, I embraced anything good from any religion. I also believe that Imam Chris Rock is the best spritual leader of the modern world.

Answer 4

Because it's not against our instincts. One of our instincts is to be able to pick out complex and elaborate patterns in our lives. However, we're able to do this a little too well so that we sometimes find patterns where there are none leading to superstition and the root of most religious beliefs.

Many people believe that they can "feel" their deity/deities by just living, that there is some sort of pattern in the world or something similar that indicates the existance of a higher power. This is, again, our ability to make something out of seemingly nothing, sometimes even when it really *is* nothing.

This usually takes place when the variables are too many or too complex. When presented with a number sequence such as "1 3 5 7 9...", for someone with an average intelligence it would go without saying that the next number is "11". That is a small set of numbers.

Similarly, hunter-gatherers who often find themselves being ambushed by lions could figure out how to tell when there are lions nearby. But that is a small set of variables -- they only need take into account situations where lions are nearby.

More complex problems, such as "the meaning of life", "the existence of a higher power", or various numerological problems even, require us to take ALL of our experience, and all of the universe, into consideration as variables when seeking a pattern. Our brains cannot handle this, our defence is to use subconcious "shortcuts" and see patterns where there really are none.

That's not to say there are no patterns in nature that could be argued to point to the existence of some higher power (the recurrance of the Fibonacci numbers, the Golden Section, and the Golden String are the most popular), it's just that we perceive many more patterns in our lives than there really are.

Answer 5

Programmed? It's more like our up bringing and what we were taught by our parents and those we keep company with.We have choices in life to make right or wrong--God is there to walk us thru this life and guide us to make the right choices. We become as you say programmed when we choose not to listen and do things our own way. God doesn't need to test us, cause your right, he already knows whats gonna happen, but the world and the people and satan test our belief and our faith...which is not the will of God. As far as religion, that too is man made decisions--on what they think God would approve of. If we walk with the Holy Spirit he will direct our path so that we are pleasing to God, and less like the rest of the world. Hope this helps. God Bless..oh and welcome aboard to Yahoo answers--I see your new.

Answer 6

We are not programmed to have sex with many people, we can have many children with one person. You can fight for survival, but your first course of action should be to try talk and be peaceful with those around you. I dont know why God makes us go through the things we do, i do not understand alot about His ways, but i know that He loves all of us and is in control. So when you have many questions for Him, which have no answer. i tell myself i will wait until i get to see Him and ask Him. I look forward to that day, though i think i will be too excited and forget to ask:-)

Answer 7

To answer your question, yes, it's a series of test.
God tests humans not for knowing whether we can handle or not.
God wants to know how far would we go to do what our religion wants us to do. In time, the tests will be a lot more difficult to accomplish. We will need to conquer ourselves.

Why testing then?
God gives us the advantage of being a human with our mind.
God knows we can handle any tests that are given to us.
But God wants to know if we are willing to do so.

Answer 8

First of all you are twisting the thought around, God never intended for us to have sex with many different people, that is fornication & adultry, Now to the part of God is testing us, YES GOD is testing us all, God is a just God & everything has to be tested, & yes God knows the outcome, But in order to be a Just God, Then he has to test everything.

Answer 9

Religion is all about controlling people. Image you are some warlord, and you have conquered a country by force. How do you justify it? God's will, that's how.

Answer 10

Because a lot of the things that we are genetically programmed to do are pretty nasty and harmful, to ourselves and to others.

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