It defiantly was not what Jesus nor the any of the apostles taught. So they must have been reading another book.
You probably need to add a few more zeros to that number.. But it seems to me, that your statement that, 'humans need to evolve into a different mind set', is exactly the motivations for all the religions in the world. Someone thought that people needed to change, or behave better, or 'evolve', & they came up with a system to make that happen. ..at least, that is one 'explanation' for the proliferation of religions. So, are you getting ready to start a new philosophy of life, put down a set of rules & guidelines to live by, with a basis in your own philosophical awareness? You think we'd be 'better for it', so why not get things going? Lay out your philosophy, with all the logic & reasons open for examination. Give us reasons to behave better & live in peace with each other. Maybe your 'religion' would be successful & help millions of people! - - - Updated - - - Or perhaps it is government's intrusion into religion.. It seems to me that most dedicated followers of religion are not very political, but are very introspective, & generally harmless. It is the activist types who USE religion for their own agenda. They are in the govt realm, & are manipulators & users of whatever means there is to reach their goal.
First of all, Christians ARE persecuted and murdered in muslim countries as the following story demonstrates: Why Are Christians Disappearing from the Middle East? .. and this video highlights the murder of 200 Christians by Syrian rebels: [video=youtube;J1peNBxZgYw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1peNBxZgYw[/video]
in syria muslims killing muslims and you're saying "muslims kill christians in syria " : ))) funny today S.Arabia is a wahhabi country , so one of the hardest sects but there are many christian , I dont know the net figure but I'm sure more than 1 million , why arabs dont kill them : ))) Be objective , everytime , if you want to respect from muslims : )))
I don't think we need a religion. People should think for themselves. Many answers are found from within. We should not follow what a book or person says without putting much thought into it. I have no rules or guidelines. One could believe in God or not. It makes no difference. I just wish people could see themselves in others. If that could happen then we would probably treat each other better. The problem is we would need a majority of people to think this way for it to work and we just aren't there YET. The reason to behave better is so you will be treated better. Kinda like don't burn your bridges. Aren't we all just looking for happiness?
Your right most people in prison are not in there for religious reasons but that does not mean they are not religious. Remember no one is perfect and God forgives all.
That's pretty much it. I don't want to waste time babbling. No need to cut down a tree to make paper. We'll just put it in stone. lol
Well, there's a lot to be said for brevity. But most religions seem to need lots of pontificating to dull the mind & lull the people into a false sense of reality. I think it was jesus who said, 'All the law & prophets can be summed up in these 2 commands: 1. love god. 2. love your neighbor as yourself.' He was pretty brief, too, & didn't write anything down. ..Neither did muhammad, who was illiterate. But i see a conflict in your new religion already.. you said, 'I don't want to waste time babbling.' This is obviously false, as here you are, babbling away in these forums! So back to the OP.. do you really think religion 'needs' to go? Is it even possible? Can humans agree on a single philosophy? Why should they? Is it possible for people to have varied philosophical views & NOT gather into special interest groups? Isn't that the main thing 'religions' are? I must think you haven't wasted enough time babbling about this topic, i guess...
I think what usfan was hinting at in his first paragraph is this: that without a set of rules, or moral code, established by someone or something greater than ourselves, there is no moral or philosophical meaning or rationality to act in any way that is not directly self-beneficial. Without some belief in an organized higher power and a structured system of morality, one would be stating that, essentially, he is morally relativistic - an extremely untenable position, as the last two posters to debate with me on moral relativism ended with the claim that only MY morals are relative. That's not to say that's your position - you obviously have a code of ethics, and a fairly non-offensive one at that. The point I'm attempting to get across (and I think usfan did as well) is that religion is the institution that attempts to display this concrete moral code. Some of those religions are wrong, yes. Some people that claim those religions use them as an excuse to create conflict. But do we say "all screwdrivers should be banned" because some people use them as tools of murder? Of course not! We use screwdrivers correctly, for their intended purposes, and punish the wrongdoers rather than the instruments used. (As an aside, you may notice that this analogy carries over to the gun control arena quite well).
It's not funny. It's tragic and it's 100% documented to be accurate. In fact, 200 is a conservative estimate. The fact that muslim factions fight each other isn't relevant. You claimed that killing non-believers doesn't occur. I've proven that it does. You need to re-evaluate what your claimed religion teaches.
LoL : ))) I said there are muslims with christian friends , there are muslims in christian countries , there are christians in muslim countries and they live together . Before the war they were living together in Syria but today its war zone and people killing each other , also muslims to muslims , while the case if you say with a general style so as to leave all muslims under suspicion "muslims kills christians" , I say this is so FUNNY : ))) I'm getting bored of having to deal children , please ...
The problem is not religion, the problem is human beings. We have this bad tendency to see the world in terms of "us versus them" and we use that to justify our actions. We demonize other cultures and make them appear less than human, to make it easier for us to murder them or steal from them. And one of the biggest components of culture is religion, so it makes an easy target, but skin color and nationality are also targeted frequently. Hitler didn't kill the Jews because of religion, he killed them because they were different and he needed scapegoats to gain power. The fights between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland is not so much about religion, but about sovereignty. England controlled Northern Ireland, much is the displeasure of the Irish, and since the English were usually Protestant, the Irish Catholics naturally started hating everyone who was Protestant. And what about the Middle East. That's an easy one. The whole fight is about oil and the wealth and power it brings. The west needs oil and the Arabs are tired of the west messing with their politics to try to gain control over their oil so the natural result is that both sides are trying to make it about religion since that way, they can justify their actions. Would these wars still happen if their was no religion? Of course, those involved would just had chosen another attribute to exploit, like race, language, political views, economic status, sexual orientation, nationality, gender, hair color, nose size, eye color, penis size, shape of head... well you get the point.
Yes I'm babbling my point of view but in reality it is short and simple. Maybe saying that religion needs to go isn't the right way to say it. How about religion is not needed. Is it possible? Hopefully someday in the future. Yes I think we could have different views without gathering in a group. I know people who do not agree with me on more than one thing and we are still friends. Can we believe in one philosophy? Not anytime in the near future.
Charles I agree with some of this and I don't think we should ban religion, ever. My daughter is talking about getting my grand daughter to church. I'm ok with that because when kids are young the church mostly trying to teach them right from wrong. But at the same time a parent can do the same thing. If I was going to do this thread over I probably would have worded it "Religion is not needed" A higher power from keeping you from doing wrong can be Mom and Dad. - - - Updated - - - Charles I agree with some of this and I don't think we should ban religion, ever. My daughter is talking about getting my grand daughter to church. I'm ok with that because when kids are young the church mostly trying to teach them right from wrong. But at the same time a parent can do the same thing. If I was going to do this thread over I probably would have worded it "Religion is not needed" A higher power from keeping you from doing wrong can be Mom and Dad.
I believe that "God is Love" and, therefore, so is Jesus. I don't think that our environment fits us perfectly - I think that, resultant of our multitude of misdeeds, our environment and our bodies are broken, forever headed for decay. The love and grace of God, and His Truth, are what maintains this sinful world despite how it despises Him. But I do believe this firmly: Respect for truth comes close to being the basis for all morality.
I am glad to hear that you don't believe legal action should be taken. Honest question: Since you do apparently believe in a God, do you think that the infallible Creator would be just as happy with a God-hating parentage of children that is otherwise morally responsible, or a God-fearing (read: God-loving) parentage of children that is also morally responsible?
Hard question for me because I don't believe in hell. Not sure about heaven but do believe in an afterlife. I know nothing about God, I just hope he/she is fair minded. Now would he/she be happy? No. I have met non believers But I have never met anyone who hated God.
When I say I know nothing about God I mean I only know what the bible says, but to me that does not make it so.
I have. In fact, many people will say so. Furthermore, those of other religions who hate those who follow God are, vicariously, hating God himself - and I promise that there are many who loudly proclaim their hatred for Christians. However, hatred does not have to be an active feeling. Despising the truth that God provides - in other words, rejection of God - is ultimately considered both foolish and hateful by Him.
Excellently and concisely put. I doubt you'll get much resistance to your post since there's really nothing of sufficient ambiguity for one to argue with.
I have met people who don't like Christians, but not God. I'm not suggesting that there are no people who don't like God I just never met one. Rejecting God is hateful, please give examples of rejecting God. Is not knowing if there is a God or not considered rejecting him and hateful?
