Organized Religion is No Longer Needed.

For some time there has been much debate over religion and the radicalized religious extremism in the news. Many of these arguments occur here on ATS and they do get heated.


One will have to eventually realize that his mental capacity is far too simple to ever understand the complexities of life and the universe. It is of great vanity and ignorance for people to claim the know the truth or claim to know more. It is equivalent to placing an ant on a computer circuit board, ask yourself how long you think it would take you and the ant to learn that he is on a man made computer, then ask yourself how long it would take the ant to learn how to build machines capable of reproducing that computer, using it and improving upon it. The answer is relevant to us, we are like the ant. You just have to accept that human speech and intelligence is too impoverished to ever comprehend the nature of things.


+The Bible is NOT a "Revelation" but rather a collection of historical books some of which were written by Prophets (who were Spirit-Mediums of Israel). The books of the Bible have various authors, who were inspired to various degrees, and they are considered inspired books, but are not our Guidebooks for the Age of the Spirit.

For example, the Bible, in the Old Testment, commands the death penalty for the following offenses:
*Adultery (women only)
*Homosexuality (men only)
*Blashemy
*Using God's name is vain (swearing)
*Eating pork
*Eating shell-fish
*Working on a Sabbath day
If the Bible is our "Guidebook" for today, why aren't Christians enforcing these rules and laws?
They have no answer. There is none.

We live in the Age of the Spirit, and Spiritists are those who are guided by the Spirit of Truth . We are not guided by old religions or old Revelations that are no longer relevant for us today.www.angelfire.com...

The Spirit and Muhammad

The Spirit (under the name "Jabreel") appeared to Muhammad in 610 A.D. and taught him the "Qur'an" (Arabic: "Recital"). The purpose was to educate the ignorant Arabs in the Law of God, but, again, after Muhammad died the Muslims rejected any further communication with the Spirit, and Islam, as Christianity had done, became fragmented, and uninspired men re-interpreted the Qur'an according to their own ignorance and superstitions.

Yet, there have been some very holy Muslim men over the centuries that have been in communication with the Spirit of the Truth; such as The Brethren of Purity and the Sufis . Only a small percentage of Muslims have been guided by the Spirit of Truth over the centuries.

Most Muslims today are guided by the Spirit of Error, otherwise known as the "Over-soul". Our egos are all part of the Oversoul. Most Christians are similar guided by the Oversoul (i.e. uninspired men who are religious leaders).

www.angelfire.com...

So organized religion is no longer needed. Atheists and people of all religions should study spiritism. Its the force that science studies and if the two school of thoughts were to merge, mankind would progress in ways unimaginable.


I am quoting this webpage because the author has written pretty much what I was going to write so I will give him the credit.

The Bible As Our Only Guide?

Many Christians will say, "The Bible alone is our only Guide!" Yet, did Jesus say:

"I shall go away, but I shall inspire men to write the Bible, and the Bible shall guide you and be your only guide!"
NO! He said that the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, would guide His disciples. The Bible is simply a "record"; a history of God's dealings with the Jews and Jewish Christians. It was never meant to be a "guidebook".
The New Testament was not written and compiled until about 350 A.D. What guided the Christians before that? Before the New Testament the early Christians were guided by Spirit-Mediums called "Prophets". Jesus' Church included Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers. The Prophets were Mediums between Christian communities and the Spirit of Truth. What happened to them? Why are they not still guiding Christian churches today?

Simple answer. There was a group of Christians who rejected the Christian "prophets" and raised up "bishops" instead, who were not in communication with the Spirit of Truth. These "bishops" later organized into the Catholic Church.

The Bible was never supposed to be the ONLY GUIDE for Christians! The Bible is a collection of "historical books"; not guide-books!

The Spirit-Revelations, on the other hand, are Guidebooks; that is what they are meant for. They are not "history" books like the Bible. They are Guidebooks to guide those who follow the Spirit of Truth.

www.angelfire.com...

The many strawman arguments to go against religion, mainly Christianity is the age of the earth.

From the Spirits Book- Allan Kardec
"16. Those who hold this theory profess to find in it the demonstration of some of the attributes of God. The worlds of the universe being infinitely numerous, God is thus seen to be infinite; vacuum, or nothingness, being nowhere, God is everywhere: God being everywhere, since everything is an integral part of God, He is thus seen to be the intelligent cause of all the phenomena of the universe. What can we oppose to this argument?

"The dictates of reason. Reflect on the assumption in question, and you will have no difficulty in detecting its absurdity."

The Pantheistic theory makes of God a material being, who, though endowed with a supreme intelligence, would only be on a larger scale what we are on a smaller one. But, as matter is incessantly undergoing transformation, God, if this theory were true, would have no stability. He would be subject to all the vicissitudes, and even to all the needs, of humanity He would lack one of the essential attributes of the Divinity, namely, unchangeableness. The properties of matter cannot be attributed to God without degrading our idea of the Divinity and all the subtleties of sophistry fail to solve the problem of His essential nature. We do not know what God is; but we know that it is impossible that He should not be and the theory just stated is in contradiction with His most essential attributes. It confounds the Creator with the creation, precisely as though we should consider an ingenious machine to be an integral portion of the mechanician who invented it.
The intelligence of God is revealed in His works, as is that of a painter in his picture; but the works of God are no more God Himself than the picture is the artist who conceived and painted it."

- Continued................

"The inferiority of the human faculties renders it impossible for man to comprehend the essential nature of God. In the infancy of the race, man often confounds the Creator with the creature, and attributes to the former the imperfections of the latter. But, in proportion as his moral sense becomes developed, man's thought penetrates more deeply into the nature of things, and he is able to form to himself a juster and more rational idea of the Divine Being, although his idea of that Being must always be imperfect and incomplete." - Allan Kardec

It is unwise to insist upon a literal interpretation of figurative statements of which the inaccuracy may, at any moment, be rendered evident by the progress of scientific discovery; but the fundamental propositions of religion, so far from having anything to fear from the discoveries of science, are strengthened and ennobled by being brought into harmony with those discoveries. And it is only when the religious sentiment shall have been enlightened by its union with scientific truth that religious belief, thus rendered invulnerable to the attacks of skepticism, will take the place of skepticism in the minds and hearts of men.

You see, atheists have it partially right when they attack organized religion. Religious people should not act religious, pretend they are something better because they do rituals that they don't really understand or believe themselves. Its about bettering yourself, being the best you can be not about choosing a side like it were a hockey or football team.


St Augustine mentioned what is important in the next piece. It applies to all peoples.

"The truly virtuous man is he who practices the law of justice, love, and charity, in its greatest purity. If he interrogates his conscience in regard to the acts accomplished by him, he will ask himself whether he has done nothing wrong, whether he has done all the good in his power, whether no one has cause to complain of him, and whether he has done to others all that he would wish others to do to him. Being filled with the sentiment of charity and kindness for all, he does good for its own sake, without hope of reward, and sacrifices his own interest to justice.
He is kind, benevolent, humane, for all, because he sees a brother in every man, whatever his race or his belief.

If God has given him power and riches, he considers them as A TRUST confided to him for the general good; he is not vain of them, for he knows that God, who has given them to him, can take them from him. If the constitution of society has made other men dependent on him, he treats them with kindness and benevolence, as being his equals in the sight of God; he uses his authority to raise them morally, and not to crush them by his pride.

He is indulgent for the weaknesses of others, knowing that he too needs indulgence, and remembering the words of Christ, "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone."

He is not vindictive, but remembers only benefits; following the example of Jesus, he forgives all offences, for he knows that he will only obtain forgiveness in proportion as he has forgiven.

He respects the rights of others, as established by the law of nature, as scrupulously as he desires those rights to be respected in his own case." - St Augustine.

The science does not debunk spiritism but they will help to understand each other if the two schools would acknowledge the need for the union. The human race needs help now more than ever. It starts with you.

Just as Fight Club was no longer needed when Jack killed you, Tyler.

But we aren't all there yet. As long as there are young souls on Earth, Fight Clubs of all flavors will sprout up.

👣

People laugh and say " The bible says that the earth is only 6000 years old". The Bible also tells us that the world was created in six days, and fixes the epoch of this creation at about 4000 years before the Christian era. Previously to that period the earth did not exist. At that period it was produced out of nothing. Such is the formal declaration of the sacred text, yet science, positive, inexorable steps in with proof to the contrary.

The history of the formation of the globe is written in indestructible characters in the worlds of fossils, proving beyond the possibility of denial that the six days of the creation are successive periods, each of which may have been of millions of ages. This is not a mere matter of statement or of opinion. It is a fact as incontestably certain as is the motion of the earth, and one that theology itself can no longer refuse to admit, although this admission furnishes another example of the errors into which we are led by attributing literal truth to language which is often of a figurative nature.

Are we therefore to conclude that the Bible is a mere tissue of errors? No; but we must admit that men have erred in their method of interpreting it. - Kardec.

a reply to: Shadow Herder

I totally agree with your premise.

Religion is no longer needed to control masses of people. There are other perfectly viable options.

originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: Shadow Herder

I totally agree with your premise.

Religion is no longer needed to control masses of people. There are other perfectly viable options.

People are so far from the truth they cling on to beliefs without really believing them or practicing. They think that if they declare a position that they are a part of that position while in reality they are in opposition to position they claim to represent.

a reply to: Shadow Herder

dble post

I don't follow someone who claims to know the truth especially when it comes to religion.

But to put things in perspective, how much of the worlds population is a practicing something or believer And are trouble makers?

How many atheists?

a reply to: Shadow Herder

"Sometime, somewhere, you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it."

Buddha

originally posted by: Shadow Herder
Its the force that science studies and if the two school of thoughts were to merge, mankind would progress in ways unimaginable.

The Force?

as-in THE Force?

Which scientists are studying this? Could you go into more detail?

and could you define 'spirit', 'spirituality' and 'spiritual' because they're all incredibly vague.

originally posted by: Shadow Herder
Its about bettering yourself, being the best you can be not about choosing a side like it were a hockey or football team.

Pfff wrong, all you have to do is believe in Jesus. Outside of that you can do whatever the hell you want, didn'tcha know?

originally posted by: Shadow Herder

For example, the Bible, in the Old Testment, commands the death penalty for the following offenses:
*Adultery (women only)
*Homosexuality (men only)
*Blashemy
*Using God's name is vain (swearing)
*Eating pork
*Eating shell-fish
*Working on a Sabbath day
If the Bible is our "Guidebook" for today, why aren't Christians enforcing these rules and laws?
They have no answer. There is none.

Jesus (and thus Christianity) rebuked these teachings:

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
(John 8:3-11)

In other words, just lest ye be judged.

and above all commands you must love God with all your heart mind and soul, and love your neighbor as your self (Mark 12:29-31). This pretty much covers it all: don't do things to others you would not have done to yourself, and seek integration with God.

As you mentioned later in your post, even Jesus claims all you need is the inner spirit for Spiritual Integration with the kingdom of Heaven, but Jesus came for the lost, the people who wanted to know what the truth was. The gospels are like an answer sheet to all of life's questions, I use it like a guess-and-check method with my internal spirit. When the gospel and my spiritual intuition match, I know I am on to something True.

Organized religion was never needed, the Word of God was transmitted through Jesus to help us.

originally posted by: Shadow Herder

People are so far from the truth they cling on to beliefs without really believing them or practicing. They think that if they declare a position that they are a part of that position while in reality they are in opposition to position they claim to represent.

EXACTLY. A true Christian by definition would be able to perform miracles and healing, if you see some "Christian" who is abrasively spreading his poor biblical interpretation, this is just a hypocrite:

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." (Matthew 23:13)

You get enough of these hypocrites and eventually the monstrous catholic church is formed.

a reply to: cooperton

You know that story wasn't added until nearly 1000 years after the supposed event?

Biblical scholars are nearly all agreed that the Story of the Adulteress (also known as the Pericope Adulterae or the Pericope de Adultera) usually printed in Bibles as John 7:53-8:11 is a later addition to the Gospel. On this page I present some extended quotations from scholarly works that explain the reasons for this judgment. On another page I give an extract from one of the few scholarly defenders of the passage. To give my own opinion, it seems clear to me that the story does not belong in the Bible.
www.bible-researcher.com...

But there's also this:

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Heaven and earth have NOT passed, as far as I can't tell.

originally posted by: windword

Heaven and earth have NOT passed, as far as I can't tell.

Don't be too sure. Heaven and Earth pass away at the end of every astrological age, and are born again into a new age. Some astrologers say we passed from Pisces to Aquarius in 2012. I say we passed in 2010, during the winter solstice lunar eclipse.

👣

a reply to: BlueMule

I think the new age started on 11-11-11. I couldn't fall asleep until the night of the 14th.

a reply to: Shadow Herder

Organized religions are needed, even as much as my ideology breaks from the Catholic Church, they happen to be the largest humanitarian organization in the world.

The source of values must be preserved as long as a Religion presents itself as just and is unflawed and tolerant at its core.

For instance Islam is radical at its basic tenant, it preaches intolerance and mentions nothing of love.

Therefore some organized religions we do not need any longer, or they must be updated.

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

IFRC is the world’s largest humanitarian network, reaching 150 million people in 189 National Societies. Their vast volunteering network of 13 million allows them to tackle issues in four main areas: disaster response, disaster preparedness, health and community care and promote humanitarian values of social inclusion and peace.

I am glad to see the crescent incorporated... we are taking over!



Red Cross of course in "red"

I wonder what the Humanist and the First Church of Atheism has to offer?

a reply to: AinElohim

Humanists & atheists lack empathy, sympathy, & morals in general. Helping others isn't even in their nature.

Look, I can spew senseless drivel also!

originally posted by: Eunuchorn
a reply to: AinElohim

Humanists & atheists lack empathy, sympathy, & morals in general. Helping others isn't even in their nature.

Look, I can spew senseless drivel also!

that's nice and all... they just don't seem to remember where they got this decency humm.

there's already a monopoly I am truly sorry.

a reply to: AinElohim

Ah yes, Christianity, the single & ultimate tool in egalitarianism.

a reply to: Eunuchorn

I'd rather call it Christendom...

what is your native language and government?