Religion came from long ago when people were confused and curious about the world.. So like today they came up with theory's/stories to try and understand it. These theories were passed on through the ages and eventually written down, and then read and taken as fact by many. Take a look at every religion they all kind of came up around the same time frame. We need to take it all as fiction and a history lesson, but we also have to move on and get with reality.
2007-09-07 06:18:10 · 32 answers · asked by skinnywayne 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'd rather live as if there IS a God, only to find out there isn't, than live as if there isn't, only to find out there is.
2007-09-07 06:21:51 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 9⤊ 6⤋
(I'm more aware of the Christian faith than others, so I'll use that as my source material)
The Bible is an interpretation of history as it stands, quite inaccurate at parts but over-all an interpretation of historical events through a religious perspective. I took a historical class that showed how it connected to the Bible, and it was fascinating. The principal of religion such as the Ten Commandments are guidelines written by a super-power (or what I like to refer to as bureaucratic old men). As time goes religion has been extremely abused by those in control.
A similar instance is the idea of Communism. Not a bad form of government but constantly abused by men like Stalin and Castro. Religion gives too much power to the church and not enough to its people.
To believe in God is not bad, but being religious and not challenging the establishment is stupid.
Religion poses many questions but few answers. Many people take it to be facts. Having to discuss my side of the argument, I put an emphasis on the word "theory". Like Darwin's theory of evolution.
I wouldn't refer to myself as an Atheist or Agnostic, rather a Realist.
2007-09-07 06:37:04 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Similar. My take is that people have never known G-d and likely never will. Each society takes it's experience with the divine and interprets it. Or else the revelation from G-d is limited to what each society can effectively comprehend. Hence we have the Egyptians and Babylonians with their own stories (Horus) concerning a virtuous son of G-d sacrificed for humanity's good. I believe we will only know G-d at the end time. I also believe he will not punish the people with a true heart, regardless of their religion or lack of it on earth.
2007-09-07 06:24:01 · answer #3 · answered by Goethe's Ghostwriter 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, actually I do not agree with you. Take the story in the Bible of the Flood for example. Big, global Flood, after that, people increased in numbers again, Tower of Babel, many people, all live together and now they're building a tower to "celebrate" their oneness, so to speak. What happens? God confuses their language, He breaks the crowd up and people start to move away from each other, grouped together in groups who speak the same language...and so history continues...people move away, increase in number but now you have new groups, new societies (so to speak) and years and years go by...fast forward to today...even today we have tons of people groups and once you learn to speak some of the indigenous peoples' language you'll find that they too have "stories" based on actual events about things that happened to their ancestors and these are passed on from generation to generation...stories that tell of a great flood (Global flood, Noah's ark etc)...so if this was just made up stories, how could it be that different races (I don't want to use this word, because I believe we are all the same race, the human race) or people groups all have basically the same stories even though they've never talked to each other, most of them cannot even read...I'm talking about indigenous people of countries like Australia, Africa and even Native America????
2007-09-07 06:33:57 · answer #4 · answered by Ellie 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I see it a little different.
Man inveted the gods as you describe. Threes creakand groan, grass whispers, streams babble so there must be someone making that 'speach'. The sun moves and does not fall th the ground, so someone is moving it and holding it up.
Religion came about when some men realized that there was an easy life and power to be had by telling people which gods to worship and what those gods wanted people to do.
2007-09-07 06:27:25 · answer #5 · answered by Simon T 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When people make real world decision based on their fictitious god then it is everyone business , religion is for monkeys....most stupid laws have some basis in the religion practiced here in the US , I for one want to abolish all these "blue laws" and anti-abortion Jesus freaks , because their superstitions affect me and the world in a negative way. In the real world Conservative politics alone is a huge threat to this planet and we have Christianity to blame , look we don't walk on our knuckles anymore ,it is time to stop talking with the imaginary friend in the sky and let people live their lives without hell and threats there of making people act so crazy.
2007-09-07 06:35:06 · answer #6 · answered by simonzer0 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, not at all..
In the same spirit.
Why is it that all the great scientific ideas of evolution and big bang and life from nothing all happened millions of years ago and remian un observable today?
Why is it that only after Christ walked the earth, returned to the father and sent his spirit among us that real change and growth happened to mankind?
I mean look at how history tells basically the same story up till the time of Christ then almost out of nowhere we get medicine, increased mobility, new machines and tools.
Look at the gap in technology, medicine, laws and governments from whatever you think our beginnings are and Christ. Then from Christianity till now.
Why is that.
2007-09-07 06:37:56 · answer #7 · answered by drawman03 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No , I don't agree with you. Your underlying definition of religion is scued. You are thinking of "Religion" not religion.
religion is the set of beliefs that we hold in are heart to explain the world around us. The ones with witch we have no direct evidence. I believe in gravity. Yet I have never seen anything but circumstantial evidence that it is there.
Religion is the formalized set of those beliefs into a official state that can be shared by many. Your Religion believes in gravity , but another may not. That is where the fights start. With Religion. If we accepted what was in our hearts and in the hearts of each other we wouldn't be fighting , but Religion doesn't allow that acceptance in most cases.
2007-09-07 06:34:09 · answer #8 · answered by RedBirdofChaos 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Agreed. The strange part is that every religious sect can trace its founder who always turns out to be a non-divine random person with a lot of charisma and they still go on believing.
2007-09-07 06:32:09 · answer #9 · answered by Bob-bob 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Some other people agree with you.
They just aren't me.
Or some of the greatest minds in human history. (Pascal, Newton, Einstein, Ghandi, King, Jefferson, Marx, and others)
But some of the greatest minds in human history do agree with you . (Mao, Madison, Adams, Edison, Stalin, and others)
If agreement makes one right, then you and I are at a stalemate. The question now becomes, "Why ask who agrees with you? Would you believe the same if no one agreed?"
2007-09-07 06:41:39 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, I mean we really need to be rational and think clearly in this day and age. How about we just believe that we evolved over millions of years from nothing and be done with the silly notion that Jesus Christ personally fulfilled 30 specific prophesies concerning his birth, death and resurrection. These prophecies being written 800 - 1,000 years before he existed on earth. You see, to fulfill just 30 prophesies is the same as flipping a coin and have it land "tails" 30 times in a row. The chance of that is 1,000,000,000 to 1. And Jesus fulfilled approximately 300 prophesies.
So you can keep on believing in fairly tales, or enter reality. Jesus is real. He sits at the right hand of God. He has been given authority over all people on this earth. And He holds the keys to Heaven and Hell. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." - John 14:6.
Repent and believe.
2007-09-07 06:27:49 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 4⤋