I said, religion, good god now, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing....

originally posted by: MarsIsRed
Hey raggedyman, do you even know what a difference of opinion is?

I don't believe in any gods. You clearly do. Which gods do you believe in, and which do you reject? Tell us why...

I thought this was about religion, I hate religion as much as anyone else out there

Confusion in this thread, after the opening post is no surprise let's be honest

Now go back and retread what I wrote, think about it

I don't hate atheists, I hate their religion, now I am aware not all atheists are religios,

kinda simple if you read what I said

I am never shocked by people's inability to think and reason

a reply to: Cycleiron

I cannot argue against your logic but I have had experiences that have convinced me that there is something behind the curtain of our material world. Perhaps there is a way to break through that curtain to ascertain a greater truth. But to see that greater truth we will need a mind open to all possibilities.

originally posted by: Cycleiron
Now for one thing how can there be so many branches of it? If the bible is considered to be the absolute truth then surely ALL followers of it should have the same beliefs.....

First and foremost let me say that I'm NOT a christian, although I'll be speaking from a christian perspective simply because it is the religion in which I am most familiar.

Not a very strong assumption, believers are, after all, only human...and humans sometimes just don't get along with each other. Just because a group of people are professed "christians" does not mean they will agree on every little thing, even astrophysicists don't agree on every little thing....in fact, you'd be hardpressed to find ANY group of people who will agree on everything within their "field".

Why on Earth are people so willing to accept things that supposedly happened thousands of years ago without question but if Fred who lives down the street and works at the local Newsagents were to come out with now ( god speaking to him and burning bushes etc ) they would have him carted off to the nearest psychiatric hospital....

People are willing to accept that those things actually happened because they live the words that Christ Jesus told them to live...and in many circumstances it changed their lives. For those who blindly follow, not seeing the reality of Christ Jesus in their lives, I cannot speak for. Testimonies are plentiful, look up a few and see how living the words found in those ancient stories has helped millions of people transform their lives....whether you believe it or not, it's really quite remarkable.

For anyone who argues that it's impossible for the Universe to spontaneously come into being so there must have been a god, then where did god come from???

3 things you need to remember.
1st. The universe and time itself can be scientifically shown to have a beginning.
2nd. It's unreasonable to assume something could begin to exist without a cause.
And 3rd. God, is posited as the creator of all things, including time. That means that to place God within the realm of time, or requiring him/her/it to have a beginning, would be illogical.

With all the suffering and misery that takes place on this Planet, what use is god?

Who created the suffering and misery? Did God come down and rape women? Did he teach man how to craft weapons to kill each other? Did he oppress the free and force them to do his will? Man is the cause of all the suffering and misery that takes place on this planet....If he is there, i'm sure he has a purpose, just as everything has a purpose, even mosquitoes.

Either it is powerless to do anything or just doesn't give a #, it's of course irrelevant either way as such a being would clearly not be deserving of any worship so as the title says , religion, what is it good for?!!

I pose it as this. Either YOU are powerless to do anything, or YOU just don't give a #. Therefore I ask, what are YOU good for?

You might find it difficult to find any academically gifted scholar who has difficulties identifying the functional benefits that religions provide society. Stop looking at religion as an ancient text that people blindly follow, and examine religion in a social and cultural context. If you examine it thoroughly and honestly, you will find that religion is an important social institution that contributes to social cohesion and helps maintain social order. Again, look up some of those testimonies, you'd be surprised how religion has helped millions of people worldwide for centuries....regardless of whether it is true or not...

A2D

Sometimes... you learn that "TRUST" is a gift of immense power. You should think about that for a while.
It's not as easy as it sounds. But... GOD deserves something. And if nothing at all... at least your TRUST. It's Sacred. It's Holy. And it's Right.

Also... if he thought to interfere in the affairs of mortals... the lineage of our time would have never come to fruition. You would not exist! Cleverness is not necessary. You just need to learn that first...

" If god can apparently come from nothingness ( Otherwise some one or something must have created him/it? Which would surely actually make them god and where did they come from etc.....) then why couldn't the Universe have done so?!"


Look at the Hadron collider, we are only now peering into the universe, and only a speck of it. It is theorized that there are at least ten dimensions, try to comprehend that.

My opinion, to try to understand the origins of God is futile. It is taught there was no origin, God is infinite. A concept we can scarcely comprehend, just as difficult as the mentioned dimensions beyond the forth. Religion is a boundary which it has been taboo to go beyond, a safeguard as it were against pure anarchy. Granted it's influence has been largely ignored in modern times, but it was sufficient to dissuade abhorrent behavior in the past. Being from Great Britain you of all people should know of the religious divisions, as some were founded by your own ancestors. Occidental man also has a far different understanding of religion. Much different than the Eastern religions. There we have a plethora of gods to deal with, hence, many concepts. One reoccurring theme ....... social and behavioral boundaries.

What is religion good for ? I believe I have given examples as to their usefulness. Our worlds greatest and gifted minds have struggled with just such a question as yours, seeking answers to the Unified Field Theory. In the end our limited intelligence precludes any true comprehension.

a reply to: PanPiper

I clearly stated in my op that yes I am an Atheist but as another poster pointed out, all that means is I am NOT a Theist so don't believe in a god/gods.
However I think being a Atheist will mean different things to different people, just like having belief in a god should ( if you truly believe then being part of an organisation shouldn't really be necessary should it? ) Personally I find the idea of having Atheist "Churches" rather ridiculous, perhaps the idea behind it is to in someway lampoon religion but I couldn't say for sure?
Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure that belief in a higher power and the thought of going on to some wonderful afterlife may well bring many people great comfort and although I disagree I actually have no problem with that at all. And of course there are a great many good things done everyday day through various religions organisations that probably help many 1000's.
But not all religions people are good and not all non-religious people are bad. The decision to do the right thing or not is down to each individual and should never be done out of fear of the punishment or indeed for the rewards that a supernatural being may meet out to them either now or after they die.... ( Which was the case for a very long time. ) Also surely the idea that none believers will be dealt with by their god when they die should be enough should it not? And any punishment should be reserved for said being only, I'm of course thinking more on the lines of Islamic extremists here who go around blowing up the "Infidels" for not believing the same as they do.
Just to be clear, although I don't believe in an all powerful supernatural being I accept that many people do and find it helps them in someway. However belief in a god does not require religion. It should be a personal thing for each individual and if that has come about from living their life and making the decision for themselves then fine. But it should NEVER be the result of having it forced upon them as an impressionable child!
So the real point is that organised religion from that point of view is completely unnecessary.

a reply to: Cycleiron


Atheism

Star trek

Christian Values

I think you can put two and two together