What is the point of religion?

Question

There is no God; it's like believing in Santa Claus. I used to believe in God, but my parents wouldn't bring me to church and I don't know anything about the Bible, so I gave up on trying to be religious and decided that I might as well just not believe in God, seeing as going to church is required in religion. I talked to various atheists and they help convinced me there is not God, and the evidence there is none is overwhelming. I converted from Christian to Atheist and it was the best move I ever made. So I believe there was no Jesus, there defnitely is no God. If God was real, the world would be in total peace, he would answer my prayers, and his followers wouldn't be fighting over him.

Answer 1

As a Pagan I believe in polytheism (multiple Gods and Goddesses) and religion to me is what I do to approach my deities which gives me comfort. I always tell atheists when they can create from scratch a plant, tree or flower then they have proof that their are no deities. Until then the jury is out.

Please don't use other people as an excuse for not doing something. You could have gone to church or to a temple or a gathering if you truly wanted too.

If you go to atheists for help they will tell you what they believe and if you go to Christians they will tell you what they believe...long story short, what do you want to believe?

Answer 2

religion comforts people. if something goes wrong, it is "the will of god." it also answers tricky questions like "where did the world come from?" and in hard times, i guess some people find it nice to be able to talk to someone that supposedly has power. kind of like an imaginary friend! hey...that IS kind of cool......

however, the CHURCH is different than RELIGION. the church was created to control the masses, and frighten people into doing things that were convenient for the clergy.

in case you couldn't tell, i am also an atheist. also the best decision i ever made. except now people think i'm the spawn of satan. but you know what? i don't believe in him either, so it's all good. i DO, however, believe in santa claus ;)

Answer 3

u sound like me a few years back. But then i got my head out of my butt and stopped pushing truths to the back of head and came back to reality. Hey... christians can be blunt. :o) Ur choice man... point of religion for most people I think is just to give folks a sense of purpose and direction. It's too late for me to get into all the different religions... Me personally, I'm not religious at all. Religions are causing too many problems these days. I have a "personal" relationship with God. I go to church when I want to and don't when I don't. I answer to no one but God. There is nothing that says you "have to" go to church. Lot's of things are good ideas but not commandments. Converting to athiest from christianity was huge for me. It changed my life in many ways. Deep down... all I wanted was truth and FREEDOM. Freedom is the thing... I didn't find that until I really started living for HIM. So.. good luck with your journey. u obviously haven't made up your mind what you believe yet... which is cool.. I totally admire anyone who uses their mind to find the truth and doesn't just take what they were told. Good luck!

Reply to Mr Phillip up there: If there is a God... woudln't He be so intelligent that none of us could wrap our puny little brains around every aspect of everything? If you wanna think outside the box.. get out of it!

Answer 4

So what are doing on this category? It says "religion & spirituality". Are you just trying to bother people? Sounds kind of warped. Now the next best "move" you should consider is moving over to an appropriate category - maybe entertainment or something nice and shallow.

Answer 5

Let me prove that god is not real:

1) If god exists, then he is all-powerful.
2) If god can create a boulder so big that he can't lift it, then he is not all-powerful because he can't lift the boulder.
3) If got CANNOT create a boulder so big that he can't lift it, then he is not all-powerful because he can't create such a boulder.
4) Since these are the only two possible cases (can or can't create the boulder) and both result in god not being all-powerful, then god is not all-powerful.
5) This is a contradiction with (1), so god does not exist.

...simple proof by contradiction.

Answer 6

The point of religion is a human appeal to a supposed greater intelligence. Some use dieties as scapegoats for bad occurences, others use dieties and their supposed "rewards in the afterlife" as inspiration to be better human beings. I would not go so far as to say there was never a Jesus, but I would say that probably some of his "great works and miracles" were perhaps a bit overworked by people high on opium and in search of leadership. I think there is more substance to Wicca than to Christianity because it is based in the powers of the earth rather than in one all-powerful unseeable force that knows and sees all. I myself am not Wiccan, but I would be if I had a chance to explore it more in depth. Atheism is a religion in and of itself, by the way. Your actual question is "What's the point of god?" Plus, as far as your "the world would be in total peace" theory, according to Christianity, God does not interfere with free will and war is definitely a matter of human free will. He can only influence decisions, not make them for people. God (the influencing power in heaven) made Adam and Eve and told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge or they'd get thrown out of the Garden of Eden and sentenced to horrible consequences. But the snake, the influencing power that was on earth, still convinced Eve to eat the apple and to convince Adam to eat the apple. They ate the fruit even though God told them not to. There is proof within the text of the Bible that God does not interfere with human decisions, that He only influences them. I was raised in a Christian (albeit not a religious) household and was taught to believe in God. Those who say God is the one and only and say that He is the only one who matters in their life and blah blah blah, kiss-up kiss-up kiss-up.... they make me sick. In my mind, they have no spine to form opinions of their own. I know I just offended several people in the world, but whatever. You know, if you would like to e-mail me with this, I'd be happy to continue this conversation. I enjoy conversations that get at "what's the point of...?" [[e-mail] please make the subject "What's the Point of Religion?"]

Answer 7

The point of religion is to give you a fulfillment in life. Also, there is a lot more evidence that support's Jesus' existence than disproves it. Read the Bible! Millions of historians, theologists, and experts agree that Jesus was real.

Answer 8

So deducing from what you just said, you've broken down every moral foundation and gives me a justification to do anything I want. What would the world be like if everyone thought like you???

Answer 9

the intended point and the reality are not the same it failed in the present because as intelligent as it was or it's authors were they couldn't see that far into the future and present day knowledge is not the barbarian mind it was intended for which was successful in helping to deal with up to a point...,let us go back to honesty we are not primitives who need lies to see like children.

Answer 10

If you do not want Him, He will hide His presence from you. Your decision. Not His.
http://www.schneblin.com/studies/pdfs/winnowing_wheat_chaff.pdf

Isaiah 5:24
Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust; Because they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.