Is it foolish to dismiss religion as just superstition?

a reply to: Murgatroid

Because you are right and everyone else is wrong I guess

a reply to: intrptr

I don't think you do
You have a surface understanding that doesn't align with every faith
You are like that whale on the other page, just parroting what you have heard
That doesn't mean you understand

a reply to: Krahzeef_Ukhar

I still don't see a massive difference between thinking ghosts used to do stuff and thinking ghosts still do stuff.

Oh, me neither. Seen some too.

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: intrptr

I don't think you do
You have a surface understanding that doesn't align with every faith
You are like that whale on the other page, just parroting what you have heard
That doesn't mean you understand

I was raised in white middle class hell, forced to go to church every sunday till I was 14.

I know the dogma.

a reply to: Krahzeef_Ukhar

Religion isn't a superstition, it's an institution but it's the deities they worship that causes the problems.

Faith is good, Blind Faith is not. I for one don't believe in SETI since they search in radio waves, since there billions of stellar objects that emit radio waves, but in their blind faith they believe the can find a signal. However I do believe that if we look to the other spectrum's we might find a signal.

Maybe religious folk are looking for god in all the wrong places.

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

So you disapprove of SETI's methods but surely you approve of their motivation.
Whoever finds an alien transmission in the future would no doubt thank SETI for inspiring them.

Also aren't radio waves the cheapest on the spectrum to produce? (I'm not sure why I think that).

But yes, the deities are part of the problem.
We need to seek better and they need to hide less.

Since this thread was started, it was reported a preacher was arrested for hiring a hit-man to kill his wife. He's now awaiting to be tried for murder. Talk about following wolves!

How many other preachers and priests have been involved in murder, pedophilia, cheating on their wives and soliciting prostitutes? How many of them live in mansions, drive around in Cadillacs, own boats etc....? These preachers and priests are no better than you or I. Some of them are worse, yet we're supposed to look to them for guidance? Some people who wave the flag as being so devoted to their religion can sometimes be some of the meanest and abusive people you know!

Many Catholic churches are built like castles with marble alters, gold chalices, and ornate, detailed decorative elements. This isn't what Jesus Christ was all about! Yet this lavish awww inspiring place of worship is contradicting exactly that.

Women are not perceived holy enough to become priests. Have you ever seen a female bishop, cardinal or pope?

Hypocrisy much?

a reply to: Krahzeef_Ukhar

Man and woman f*cks around-- becomes monkey and pig. God who is still man, turns monkey and fish into man again. And a bunch of other apes and aquatic newbies. God is an option in the system of evolution that turns degenerated mass into proper idiocy.

originally posted by: intrptr

originally posted by: Raggedyman
a reply to: intrptr

I don't think you do
You have a surface understanding that doesn't align with every faith
You are like that whale on the other page, just parroting what you have heard
That doesn't mean you understand

I was raised in white middle class hell, forced to go to church every sunday till I was 14.

I know the dogma.

Sorry to hear that, nobody deserves that
Unfortunately you learned nothing but church was a poor e perience with horrible people. Sorta like life
You still don’t under though, you just think you do

Name me three Christian dogmas, if you think you know

a reply to: Krahzeef_Ukhar

Whether god is manmade, or whether man is godmade isn't a trivial question. But is it possible to accept the wisdom of religion whilst dismissing it's metaphysics. Are atheists getting too caught up with the truth of religion and missing the value?

In my experience, 'my experience', religious people have been the biggest assholes i've come across, then again, I haven't met half the planet yet to assume everyone is one. Why would athiest get caught up in religion and why would you assume atheists would assum religion is one of truth?

To me, the do-rights and thou shalts of Religion is mere 'Common Sense'. Something most of the common day world has forgotten. Nothing to do with being religious at all.

Religion is a barrel of riddles. Most of them never had punch lines, oops I meant answers.

Religion is for evil people who don't know right from wrong.. Who want to teach others their self serving definitions of right and wrong.

Christianity is a mystery school, and most participants never even get a participation ribbon.

Religion predates literacy and science,and the For Dummies series.

a reply to: Raggedyman

1) Jesus is God.

2 ) Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

3) There are a hundred more, but most importantly just believe all of them. Doubt is the devil, if you doubt you will go to a nonexistent place called Eternal Hell.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: Raggedyman

1) Jesus is God.

OK?

2 ) Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

Err. He died BECAUSE of your sins. The use of «for» instead of «because» is a perfect example of apologetic mistranslation of idiomatic poetry.

3) There are a hundred more, but most importantly just believe all of them. Doubt is the devil, if you doubt you will go to a nonexistent place called Eternal Hell.

I'll paraphrase a Norwegian theologist named Bjørn Eidsvåg, or just about-- translation mine; «If they say you shall not have doubts, then don't believe it is truth.» Blind faith is blind.

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Err. He died BECAUSE of your sins. The use of «for» instead of «because» is a perfect example of apologetic mistranslation of idiomatic poetry.

He died because of his "Sins" as defined by the authority of his time. They would as quickly kill him today too.

He was an activist and a dissident. The "Temple" of his day sought to kill him to shut him up. He threatened the authority of the church to control peoples minds.

The hand me down dogma about dying for everyone or because of everyone is distraction.

a reply to: intrptr

Jesus was innocent of high treason, but the people cried «Crucify! Crucify!» and Pilate sentenced Jesus for high treason instead of simple theft (of the donkey or the pair pair of them) and for (violently) resisting arrest as well as some other minor crimes (lashing for theft instead of death penalty for high treason) in fear of a revolt. Jesus himself says through his angel, «Behold, I come as a thief!» It appears you need to get dressed and stay awake

Short answer "no"

Long answer "no it isn't"

a reply to: Utnapisjtim

Jesus was innocent of high treason, but the people cried «Crucify! Crucify!»

Okay, I thought the tale goes they cried Barabus, Barabus.

Indeed Jesus had committed no crime, his accusers were lying.

I don't really know, I wasn't there (either). But that kind of persecution makes the most sense, to me.

Lynch mobs, witch hunts, false accusations, all for telling the truth.

No, just dismiss it. A ginormous waste of time.

originally posted by: Krahzeef_Ukhar
Are atheists getting too caught up with the truth of religion

Truth in religion. There is no truth in religion. There is also no truth in assuming that people who reject religion are atheists.

I reject religion. The Pope has yet to make marriage a personal decision for his subordinates. The sexual repression has led to much abuse that if the Pope were to follow the Bible would not have occurred.

Look at most of the people following religion. Oral Roberts claimed that Jesus threatened to remove him from the earth unless his viewers sent in 8 million dollars. David Koresh, Jim Jones, Warren Jeffs. The Mormons using threats of violence to keep their followers in a false deluded theology. Most of the people I involved in organized religion are very opinionated and likely to attack without any provocation simply because a person is interested trying to find out what various religions teach. They tend to be abusive psychologically towards others and even towards members of their own family. The couple who chained their children to the bed in California recently were Christians.

And yet Jesus was Jewish and said of his own religion that "Salvation comes from the Jews". If it comes from the Jews according to Jesus' authority, Christians cannot be saved. The word Christian did not occur in the Bible til long after Jesus died, and it was a word that He never used to describe his religion.

And I have never met a hostile or deceptive Jew.

a reply to: Krahzeef_Ukhar

The Bible and God are very real