I'm betting on "no."
A disciplined life has its advantages. Religion is effective in that regard. A dedication to daily prayer for example can help one be prepared to work harder in other challenges requiring will power.
That's my opinion on religion. Blindly following a dogma established by ancient and modern clerics based on their opinion of old books.
For those of you who blindly follow what you believe in your heart, soul and mind to be God, kudos - and I can honestly say I'm a little jealous of some of y'all... not about having a God, about having a god with a name. That's one thing I miss about me when I was AVG-JesusFreaK.
Good times!
You could just see if certain principles of a religion work in your own life. You already do that, as far as I can see.
I can see it in how you treat other people.
I've always been of the opinion that my years serving Jesus were not entirely wasted.
Myth or Man he's portrayed as a reasonably nice fellow. I had worse role models growing up.... always weird when you discover their humanity for the first time.
That's my opinion on religion. Blindly following a dogma established by ancient and modern clerics based on their opinion of old books.
For those of you who blindly follow what you believe in your heart, soul and mind to be God, kudos - and I can honestly say I'm a little jealous of some of y'all... not about having a God, about having a god with a name. That's one thing I miss about me when I was AVG-JesusFreaK.
You could just see if certain principles of a religion work in your own life. You already do that, as far as I can see.
I can see it in how you treat other people.
I've always been of the opinion that my years serving Jesus were not entirely wasted.
Myth or Man he's portrayed as a reasonably nice fellow. I had worse role models growing up.... always weird when you discover their humanity for the first time.
Numerous people/places/etc described in the Bible have already been verified beyond any reasonable doubt as fact. Research it if you don't believe me.
PS and oh btw I am not trying to "preach." The tenets of a religion are something altogether different than the details, facts, or "bits n bytes" about it. This is why I can't help butwhen people nit-pick about this or that detail in the Bible (not saying anyone here is per se; a general comment). The details generally don't matter. The intent, the message, the teachings do.
Jesus has not been proven to have ever existed.
Much of the old testament is history.
A disciplined life has its advantages. Religion is effective in that regard. A dedication to daily prayer for example can help one be prepared to work harder in other challenges requiring will power.
You would be wrong, Historical records prove that a lot of the biblical story is in fact true.
You would be wrong, Historical records prove that a lot of the biblical story is in fact true.
well yea?
You would be wrong, Historical records prove that a lot of the biblical story is in fact true.
Certain places mentioned in the Bible actually exist. That's true.
Really? I suppose rationalizing killing the unbelievers "over there" is some kind of organizing principle, but not one I'd consider particularly constructive ... or cool.
A disciplined life has its advantages. Religion is effective in that regard. A dedication to daily prayer for example can help one be prepared to work harder in other challenges requiring will power.
That's amazing!
You found it!
You found THE thing about religion that is other than opinion!
Religion and common beliefs caused humans to organize with common goals. Warped as it is, religion is one tool that evolution and time are using to carve a Sentient World out of a random living planet.
If earth is our mother, our fathers are time and luck.
Ain't life cool?
Really? I suppose rationalizing killing the unbelievers "over there" is some kind of organizing principle, but not one I'd consider particularly constructive ... or cool.
That's amazing!
You found it!
You found THE thing about religion that is other than opinion!
Religion and common beliefs caused humans to organize with common goals. Warped as it is, religion is one tool that evolution and time are using to carve a Sentient World out of a random living planet.
If earth is our mother, our fathers are time and luck.
Ain't life cool?
I think common language "caused humans to organize with common goals." At least a common language is far more effective. According to the Bible at least, I'm right about that--scared the self-satisfied omnipotence right out of Yahweh; those common-language-speaking-tower-building nut-cases for whom nothing would be impossible.
Yet religion's role in organizing humans shouldn't dismissed--it is historically an effective tool used by those with over-developed senses of entitlement, to subjugate their fellows to the will of some farcical "Supreme" Smurf (whose will coincidentally, is consistent with and the source of the authority to subjugate others).
So it does have that going for it.
And faith? Well, faith is far more than I gave it credit for earlier in this thread, and it is certainly much more that mere opinion.
Faith is really just an exercise in denials of reality. Faith is the conviction of certainty in the of the reality of some thing for which support in evidence and/or valid logic of the contrary has been denied; the persistently obtuse strength of that denial is the "validating" quality of faith.
It is the necessary ingredient of any religion used by authoritarian chuckle-heads to subjugate the wills of superstitious chuckle-heads to their chuckle-headed ends.
Oh yeah. Hi!
Of course not. If it was something other than an opinion it would not be faith. That's what I think the anti-religious folks don't get. 'Knowing' that the Bible is absolute truth, for example, would entirely defeat the purpose.
sounds like the left's view of facts !!
Of course not. If it was something other than an opinion it would not be faith. That's what I think the anti-religious folks don't get. 'Knowing' that the Bible is absolute truth, for example, would entirely defeat the purpose.
What do you mean, Bern? I know people who believe with all their heart, soul & mind that every word of The Bible is Divinely inspired and they're scared that something will come along to cause a question.
I think if it came with a miracle that proved it's connection to the god it describes would be very comforting to followers. Genuine miracle confirmation would also make people like me see The Bible differently - it would have to.
Really? I suppose rationalizing killing the unbelievers "over there" is some kind of organizing principle, but not one I'd consider particularly constructive ... or cool.That's amazing!
You found it!
You found THE thing about religion that is other than opinion!
Religion and common beliefs caused humans to organize with common goals. Warped as it is, religion is one tool that evolution and time are using to carve a Sentient World out of a random living planet.
If earth is our mother, our fathers are time and luck.
Ain't life cool?
I think common language "caused humans to organize with common goals." At least a common language is far more effective. According to the Bible at least, I'm right about that--scared the self-satisfied omnipotence right out of Yahweh; those common-language-speaking-tower-building nut-cases for whom nothing would be impossible.
Yet religion's role in organizing humans shouldn't dismissed--it is historically an effective tool used by those with over-developed senses of entitlement, to subjugate their fellows to the will of some farcical "Supreme" Smurf (whose will coincidentally, is consistent with and the source of the authority to subjugate others).
So it does have that going for it.
And faith? Well, faith is far more than I gave it credit for earlier in this thread, and it is certainly much more that mere opinion.
Faith is really just an exercise in denials of reality. Faith is the conviction of certainty in the of the reality of some thing for which support in evidence and/or valid logic of the contrary has been denied; the persistently obtuse strength of that denial is the "validating" quality of faith.
It is the necessary ingredient of any religion used by authoritarian chuckle-heads to subjugate the wills of superstitious chuckle-heads to their chuckle-headed ends.
Oh yeah. Hi!
I'll bet you $1 that the first group construction project was some sort of alter.
And the 'death by religion' factor is what I meant when I said religion was a warped tool.
But hey... so far we're surviving, eh?
b has ethics.
bbyists who I think are the devil!
