Or don't believe in religion. What do you think is the reason for this?
I bring up the question of how many people believe because they fear mortality.
Discuss.
I will post my opinions in a bit, after some discussion has begun.
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Or don't believe in religion. What do you think is the reason for this?
I bring up the question of how many people believe because they fear mortality.
Discuss.
I will post my opinions in a bit, after some discussion has begun.
for one, anyone who believes in the big bang theory (which i do) has to believe in some kind of higher power (which i do) because how else could something the size of a grain of dust turn into the universe.
Because we feel unhappy in some way so we seek something we can believe in as guideline. And "holy" guidelines are surely better than others, ne ;)
I think people believe/don't because of fear, insecurities.
Sometimes it's nice just knowing that you can blame all bad and thank for good to someone. It's nice knowing someone's watching over, whether it's yourself or your god.
I don't equate religion with God. Religion is something you follow that helps you form an ideology of your own about your values, morals, traditions, etc. God is a question of faith, and faith is something very personal. For me my god is something/one I derive my strength from and I know I'm answerable to at the end of the day. This God may reside inside of me or in someone else or in something else.
I'm of the conviction that Atheism is a religion, and also not religious. Why? Religions make big claims that they can't back up, and that has big, usually bad consequences. Thinking God (gods, what ever) does or does not exist is fine by me, since I can't prove he/she/it does/doesn't, but once you start stating his/her/its existance/non-existance as a fact, that's what I have a problem with.
People being religious because they fear mortality... Mostly, yes.
Strange how you seem to believe god created the big bang when the whole war between science and religion is on the creationist theory...religion says god said 'let their be light' and Adam and Eve banged, and scientists explain how the big bang happened...Quote:
Originally posted by madcrow
for one, anyone who believes in the big bang theory (which i do) has to believe in some kind of higher power (which i do) because how else could something the size of a grain of dust turn into the universe.
Actually, the primeval atom was 100 million light years wide. Hardly the size of a grain of dust ;-). But yes, the question still remains, where did it come from ? :DQuote:
Originally Posted by madcrow
Also, people believe in religion because most are born into it. Today, I feel man has reached an age of practicality that in itself has made religion illogical. However, most people still are bound to it as they are born into it. And you generally believe in your earliest learnings.
MasJ, you can't state the cause of being bound to religion being only socialization...the earliest religion was based on the worship of nature gods due to their fear and respect for the power of the forces of nature. The first worshippers weren't born into it...yes, I have to agree with you about the subsequent followers and the fact that most people are Christians/Muslims/Hindus/Buddhists/Parsis/Jews..etc. because they are born into it, but there's something in the world, either the lack of spirituality or the presence of materialism (whichever it may be) that is going to dictate the natural course of people to look for a higher and stronger power.
I don't believe this is true. I have religious beliefs, however they are different from the ones i grew up being taught.Quote:
Originally Posted by MasJ
I believe my faith is genuine in the fact that it is not based around my mortality.
However I think that a lot of people believe because they are afraid. And the religion is some form of servitude in order to gain the reward of eternal life...which is really really wack. I equate that to the people who sit in church every sunday with no smile on their face, no emotion, and no joy. I am not a church goer myself, but if one believes that it is a necessary part of their faith, then they should go because of what takes place, and that they feel it is a part of their faith...not a price to pay.
I believe there are some postulations in quantam physics which state as to why matter could come from nothing...I don't know that these are true or not, but I wouldn't argue that. I would argue that if evolution is a random process and we developed randomly, than by controlling that process, we should be able to create MUCH superior life than to what we are. However we have not done so...So therefore it only seems logical that something greater created the universe.
i think that god is part of religion because while not all religions have gods, all goda have religions to back them up, and so god and religions are not seperate things, im not sure if atheisim is actually a religion, but if it is thats what i beleive in.
this is possible because if there is a way to destroy matter, then there is a way to create it, i forget if we have discovered how to yet, if i find proof then i will edit this post. but i think that many people hold belief in religions because it provides them with a strong moral structure that is usually easy to follow.Quote:
I believe there are some postulations in quantam physics which state as to why matter could come from nothing
Well a God is a part of some religions, but it doesn't really matter. You could perhaps say that there is a religion which believes in a natural order. Could you not then say that the world was created by/of/in that order?
We "believe" because "we" need an "explanation" of the unexplained.
In year 2005/6 there is going to be a large scale exhibition about science and religion in India and its belived that top scientists from all over the world are gonna take part in it and luckly I might be able to take part in it, but I dont have complete details of it...really looking forward for this...me along with all the big scientists wow....
Any way as far as I am concerned I am very religious minded person. Although I study human body ( biology ) I am still a strong beliver of God or Religion because of the results it has produced for me...Since my early childhood day I was into my religion and followed it and did everything according to it...I do that till now and results speak for itself...Now you ask what results...Well its the "internal happiness" which I am experincing today its way beond the defination of "happiness" something that cannot be explained in words, It's like ever increasing and endless happiness but I can definatly tell you one thing, what I have achived through my spiritual journey so far is way beyond anything one can get in this material world (i.e. money, lust, power, etc.) .....
And by the way since I am a biology student I definatly favour God because there are so may undefined phenomenon going on in our bodies that cannot be explained. For example latest researcher on eye was published recently, it was 28th research conducted on human eye but at the end it scientists concluded that they dont understand exactly how can we see. After studing every cell that is somehow related to eyes it is still unknown that what is the force inside us which makes it possible so see. Finally they said that there is some devine force which makes it all possible...
littlegenius90 the religious guy, eh... I remember you.
Why is it that you assumed that phenomenon not being explainable with today's science is because of some or other divine thingily, rather than today's science not being all that perfect?
And what kind of scientist would have said, ah, "that there is some devine force which makes it all possible"?
A bad scientist.
Next question.
Ok. I was grown up into religion. That is a big reason why I am religous but NOT the only reason. I started to question my beleifs at one time. Then something happened inside of me that I cannot explain.
Many of you say that we have religions to explain the unknown. They say that a God did it and done. Well for some that is true. What I think of Atheism is that you don't understand God. A famous quote is "Human understands God the way a worm understands a human" A worm is a very "simple" life form compared to the human. Its brain is no where near capable of understanding everything about humans. Heck we can't even do it. That is the way it is with God. He is so complex in his actions and ways there is no way we can explain it.
I take Christianity's side for obvious reasons. Evolution takes more faith (that reason being the fact that so much is proved against it, IE: missing link absence, ect) than christianity, so at least that gives light on creationist beliefs. Out of the Creationist religions Christianity is one of the few with so many supported beliefs. The bible is historically accurate (or so I believe, we're studying babylon in history class and it feels like I'm reading the Old Testament), and christianity is also one of the few religions that has extreme consequences in the afterlife. Alot of other creationist beliefs say that you'll come back to life with variables concerning your previous life and ec cetera, but in christianity you either burn in hell forever (extreme bad) or live in eternal bliss in heaven (extreme good). So I choose to look into christianity and the more I read the bible the less doubt I have and the more faith I get (sorry if that sounded to stereotypical, but there's no other way to say it :P )
the idea that creatures naturally evolve, which has been demonstrated multiple times (bacteria, peppered moths, etc.) takes more faith to believe than the idea of some all powerful diety that there is absolutley no evidence of decided to one day snap his fingers and create the entire universe and everything in it? sounds more like the other way around to meQuote:
Originally Posted by Vash Van Gogh
There really isn't any evidence of major evolutions though...
And the existance of a god isn't any stranger than the existance of matter...
Hmm. I like this thread. Nice and clean and no flaming and nonsense of the sort.
That said. I am an atheist. I tend to follw the code of the samurai quite religiously though. Since I prefer honor over anything else, It can apply to me in everyday life at all times. It does not revolve around any supreme being or prophets. It is a way of life, you know?
Why do I belive in this, being as how I'm NOT a samurai? because it's emphasis is on honor, respect, and a sense of servitude. Not so much as "You work for someone" as it is "You say you're going to do it, then do it." I prefer these things in my life...
Enough babble.
I dont belive never have reasons:Quote:
Originally Posted by Xaenn
1: i dont like the idea that we have to worship a being that is ment to be greater then us
2: ive been through pain in my life and i real got through it myself
3: i think there are to many religions
This is what i belive:
1: respect women
2: no man can judge me
3: things happen for a reason
4: respect yourself
5: live life how you want to live it its no one else's
as for mortality no i do not fear death we all die one day the only real fear about death i have is that i cant be there for the people i care for.
Eh. If you're a normal person, you should be afraid of death.
Edit:
Hrm... I don't mean to sound like I'm flaming you or anything like that, The Watcher, just discussing...Quote:
Originally Posted by The Watcher
The first 4 things, I like. No argument there. Last 3 things I have no problem with. But, "no man can judge me"... I've seen "don't judge me, you don't even know me" or some such in your signature before, and haven't bothered saying anything about it, but oh well. I ask, why not?
i dont fear death either, in fact if i were to die right now it wouldnt be that bad, and with atheisim there is no after life or anything, and so when ever you die, what ever happens, happens, i do however fear the extreme pain that happens when all the vitals of you body, atp, and such, stop being replenished......
well i dont its not like we can live forever trust me i used to but once you go through losing someone thas close to you things change.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziegfried
You are right normal people fear death but im not that normal
this is a quote that i like:
Quote:
Sunny days wouldn't be special, if it wasn't for rain
Joy wouldn't feel so good, if it wasn't for pain
Death gotta be easy, 'cause life is hard
It'll leave you physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred
no by all means ask anything and it was don't judge me, you don't even know me.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ziegfried
okay its hard to explain there are very few people that really know how i think how i feel and my deepest secret's i dont try and hide them but i really dont want to many people to get to know me that closely, cos i belive that if you can share your emotions with another person then it something special and it shows that you turely trust them.
any question? i hope i explained it all right
Hmm... Alright then. I'm a bit of an opposite there, actually. If there's something you don't know about me, that's because you haven't asked me about it yet. Whoever you are.
Death is not to be feared, though I admit trepidation at the path there. I am curious about what lies beyond, primarily. One of many great unknowns in our world, wouldn't you all say? :)
I don't believe in gods or their absence, but recognize that there is no proof either way, and only rationalizations by people who are either disillusioned by science's inability to answer every fundamental question they have at that moment, or so disillusioned by the world that they refuse to believe that any intelligent being could allow such things.
For example, evolution versus creationism. Creation has absolutely no proof in its favour, and to draw a quote from Feynmen as he originally applied to a different theory, "It's so ridiculous it can't even be proven false!" Evolution, by contrast, was taken as the extension of natural selection, which has been demonstrated repeatedly in nature (for instance those examples ganandorf stated already) to a larger scale, that the accumulation of changes via natural selection over time would lead eventually to a new species. While certainly not observed yet in nature, there is not necessarily anything proving it false (The absence of conclusive proof is not the presence of disproof, your comment to the contrary, Vash), and circumstantial evidence can be used to "prove" it as at least partially correct. Now, I believe the Theory of Evolution, as it stands, is incomplete and ultimately too flawed to be a valid scientific fact, but I am far more inclined to believe it than Creationism (Six days to create, a day to rest, and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden birthing all of humanity - admittedly the inbreeding implied in the last would explain much stupidity in the world, though ;)).
I think Hell doesn't exist... There is an Astral Plane, yes, but it's not Heaven nor Hell... In a way, I do believe we all have a soul, but I try not to be swayed by any kind of religion... What I think is right is what is know is right and no preacher's gonna change my mind about it...
Also, there is a God, and she's damn sexy, she is... :wacko:
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Watcher
You say you're not afraid of death, but if you could live forever you would wouldn't you? So that means you love life, and once you love something you dont want to lose it. Thats my thing, I would like to live forever, because its sad to think that the awesomeness that is liefe would come to an end. Its not that I fear death, but that I love life.
So if hadnt been born in a religious family Id probably be a very religious person by now, that way I could ease my concience thinking that there is an afterlife (which may be or may not be, I dont know). But since my family always taught me about God and stuff I started following that religion when I was younger, but it seems that isnt for me. I must admit I suffered a lot because of it. I was always thinking that I was a sinner and a bad christian, which always kept me down. But now life is so good, I just do as I please (Im still a good person) and dont have to give explanations to anyone.You see its really bad to feel guilty. So from what I think religion is good for some people (not all of us) because it makes them feel good and secure. My advice is: dont follow some religion because of the thought that youre going to hell if you dont, that only brings sadness, believe me. Im very sure that if the Bible said that sinners just die and dont go to hell there wouldnt be so many religious people. Anyway thats my opinion, thats what we call here in america "freedom of speech".
Yeah i would love to live forever but i know that it will never happen i think it was Uncle Evil i was talkin to this about.Quote:
Originally Posted by Themikemachine
im not afraid of death becuase i know it will come get me when my time is up and i have to make the most of the time i have becuase i never know when it will stop
As a friend of mine told me: "If life were eternal it just wouldnt be as meaningful when something happens, because you could do it a thousand times more". So its actually good that our time here is limited because that gives our every second an incredible value.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Watcher
I live life with the very strong belief that the only person you can count on for anything is yourself. I don't think there is a messiah, or a chosen one, or any of that (for lack of a better word) shit. Once someone comes up with some solid evidence that a god does in fact exist, then I might be all turned around on the matter. Still won't go to church though...
I'm a firm believer in the big bang theory. Its beleived that there was another 2 or so universes before our own, cause we think that eventually, the universe is going to collapse...eventually...Once something gets compressed, it heats up, which explains the explosion and all that...We discussed this somewhere else as well, I'm too tanked to explain it right now. Go and find that thread we talked about it in, then come back. :P
I read no one elses posts. Why? Because I'm not really interested in the topic. I'm just going to post my opinion and then leave.
Basically, I think that it's something about wanting to believe that there's more to life than just living on it for 80 rotations around a very bright ball of light and ceasing to exist. People seemed to be caught up in the fact that there has to be more to "life" beyond death. It's just outside of our capability to imagine what <i>nothing</i> feelings like. No existance, no perception; nothing.
I'm not too religious. I believe in God, and I follow the Bible in what I believe is the right way, but I don't really debate on the subject, nor do I defend His name against non-believers, 'cause everyone can believe whatever they want.
Your friend is full of shit, or just stupid. How do those seconds matter to anyone or anything else in the universe? Yeah, they don't. It gives your life (questionable) value to you, but nothing else.Quote:
Originally Posted by Themikemachine
Theres a lot of debates these days around here...I mean I have no real opinion on this topic so I'll jus say this: Interesting...
I'm rather afraid of expressing my thoughts on why people follow a religion. I'm extremely likely to offend any believer so I'll keep that to myself to save some trouble.
I can tell you why I'm atheist though: religions sound like a load of bollocks to me. Damn, I probably offended everyone. :wacko: My apologies.
Fucking hell Im caned. The only thing I believe right now is the feeling of genral nausea coupled with the knowledge tha I did not bone the chick I spent the whole night chatting up. The slut. Still, had she not have known that I had a girlfriend I might have been sexually relieved right now..but the truth tells a different, slightly more fraustrated story. Bitch.
EDITED due to spastic grammar. Deal with it, and recognise.
lol, I know this is off topic but Clive rules...Quote:
Originally Posted by Clive
The thing is, said girl works right around the corner from me, and guess what...she's working exactly the same hours as me tomorrow. Which presents me with a bit of a dilemma. One which, right now, I cannot rightly answer...the inabilty to think with anything other than my phallus is proving somewhat difficult at this moment in time. In all seriousness, I just wish I was content with what Ive got. But the simple truth is, Im not. And I havent the slightest clue what to do about it.
Thread Hijackage...heheh...
I wouldn't want to live forever. I know if I was to live forever I would live quite differently. If your life was outlasting all others...it would just be horrendous. You'd be an old man (woman) with nobody. Or maybe you would be young. Yet you would be wise from all of your time and be surrounded by fools. You would never be able to escape the fate, and would be eternally condemned to watch the fools on Earth continue to make the same mistakes, and continually hate and kill eachother. I think that being condemned to live eternally on Earth would be hell.