ts743 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'm not religious myself, but I see no harm in religion. Most faiths teach a decent set of rules for living and there's no doubt it has made better people out of many. It is, however, the descriptive factor in many a case of violence, war or terrorism - but that's the media for you, coupled with a collective fear of anything that's different. Unfortunately, you can not explain the world away with fact or logic, no matter how hard you try. The reality is, most of the universe we perceive and exist in remains unexplained, and I suspect it will always remain that way. While this is true, nobody can dismiss anybody's faith or spiritual beliefs. For me, there's a distinct line between organised religion and having a spiritual belief or viewpoint. Some people and their beliefs I would describe as nuts, but it's not for me to judge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 As stated by Bender from Futurama.. I don't say OMG anymore, since i'm not religious I say OYG.. oh, your, god! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I see no harm in religion. Most faiths teach a decent set of rules for living You should perhaps read a couple of holy books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts743 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I see no harm in religion. Most faiths teach a decent set of rules for living You should perhaps read a couple of holy books. Have done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Coming to this fairly late, My mother raised me as Cof E and when I was a kid read the Kids bible cover to cover - you know the one - Christ with blonde hair - so really the writing was on the wall then ( no pun intended!) As a novel the bible is a pretty good read with all sorts going on from people being turned into pillars of salt to a boat beiong filled with all the animals in the world ( conveniently forgetting 75% not discovered at this time) I was then confirmed into the church at the tender age of 7 not really knowing why and then went to a church school with assembly and hymm singing every day exept Mondays. The school was pretty good in exploring other beliefs and the similarities between Christiany and Islam with the prophets Christ/Mohammed then throw in Orthodox/New Age religions - only thing missing was the occult so did a fair bit of reading up on that too, before deciding that none of them were believable. I can remember Jasper Carrott once stating, of all the religions of the world - one of them has to be right ? Hope its the mormons........Wahey !!! I have always been drawn to religious humour so Dave Allen/Father Ted etc but for me religion has lost its way and many people look to something to fill their lives and the church/mosque/synagogue are more than happy to jump in. I worked in Papua New Guinea for 4 years and trust me the locals get exposed to all of them - The missionaries telling them they are all sinners but before the arrival of the missionaries they had a religion based on honouring their ancestors so why now are they sinners ? They also think they can do what they like during the week because on the holy day you get forgiven no worries. I don't castigate or argue with people over religion, if they get what they want from it then thats OK with me and the support network by people that become friends because they met at church/mosque etc very good and most will help without religion as they do it because they are decent human beings. I have no time for people looking to boost their own egos or power by using whatever diety as excuse to carry out barbaric or politically motivated actions. Sometimes people just don't get on with each other - accept that don't use religion as excuse and stay the f*ck away from each other if its that bad. I had an experience with Jehovahs Witnesses in PNG, they were at the front counter with pampletes and I tried to sneak a peek to see which god we were hosting - one of them noticed and asked if I would like one, I politley declined and said I was a Jedi by religion. They looked puzzled and asked what were my beliefs. I stated that Jedis believed there was an invisible force in the universe that surround all of us and is used for good, however there is also a dark side to the force which isnt so pleasant. They looked curious and then asked were there any books on this - so I replied " yes there are but you would enjoy the movies more...." Pesonally I would class myself as strong agnostic so fundamantally I cannot know whether a deity exists or not, and neither can you - but if I ever had to select a mainstream religion under pressure would probably go Buddhist as thats a guide to living your life rather than praying for it to happen. Jedi's do get cool swords though : Edited November 12, 2014 by Mudman 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Don't shoot me, I did a search for the subject and found these rather amusing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I see no harm in religion. Most faiths teach a decent set of rules for living You should perhaps read a couple of holy books. Have done Did you just skip all the parts about rape, murder, hate, oppression of women, etc etc? Well I suppose that's what priests and the like do, which is why most religious people hardly follow the 'rules' of their religion at all. The religious cherry pick what they want to hear. As vile as religious extremist are, they are often the ones actually doing what their holy book tells them to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts743 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Let me re-iterate... Most faiths teach a decent set of rules for living As you've just stated yourself, most preachers do not teach murder, hate, oppression of women etc - would you rather they did? You're keen to single out extremism and focus on the negative, and this is fine, there is a bad side to everything, it is what creates a balance. I largely find discussion on this subject a bit of a waste of time, which is why I kept it short and sweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 find this quite bizarre really as id say 90% of people who go out to feed the homeless or travel abroad for those in need due to nature disaster tend to be rather religious people, you dont tend to get people from GSK handing out food to the homeless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 find this quite bizarre really as id say 90% of people who go out to feed the homeless or travel abroad for those in need due to nature disaster tend to be rather religious people, you dont tend to get people from GSK handing out food to the homeless I always chuck a few quid towards homeless people. im not religious in the slightest.. most religious people pray for food and to help those less fortunate. you might aswel go ask your cat to set up a homeless shelter. same outcome. nothing would happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Let me re-iterate... Most faiths teach a decent set of rules for living As you've just stated yourself, most preachers do not teach murder, hate, oppression of women etc - would you rather they did? You're keen to single out extremism and focus on the negative, and this is fine, there is a bad side to everything, it is what creates a balance. I largely find discussion on this subject a bit of a waste of time, which is why I kept it short and sweet I'm not saying that no good at all comes from religion, I just don't agree with your original comment that there is no harm in religion. Very far from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kieran O'Quick Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Science and Belief shouldn't be compared. They are asking completely different questions. Any half-decent scientist is humble enough to not try to answer the BIG questions. People keep referring to a silly 2000 year old book and denigrating it. They then go on to say that life should just be about emapthy, respect for fellow man and not being in fear of heaven and hell. Aaaagh! That was Jesus's whole bloody point - heaven is in You, not in the church, not in the next life. Don't screw others over just because they're a different tribe. Forgive. Don't be dicks etc. We've had 2000 years of churches corrupting the message I'll grant you but you can't knock his philosophy because of that. Edited November 12, 2014 by Kieran O'Quick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts743 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 You are correct actually, in the literal sense. In relative terms, I see no harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts743 Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'm not saying that no good at all comes from religion, I just don't agree with your original comment that there is no harm in religion. Very far from it. You are correct actually, in the literal sense. In relative terms, I see no harm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Do you give a few quid to all homeless people like some religious folk set up and run out there own time and pocket a soup kitchen for all homeless people Tbh bradders you might as well be religious the way your broadcasting you anti religious outlook There's a diffrence between I'm not religious it's not for me And religious people are a bunch of thick f***s believing in story's and hope people are idiots All I know is when I belived Santa the Easter bunny and tooth fairy was real my life and the world around me was a lot happier place Edited November 12, 2014 by StevoD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane Brede Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I'm not religious in any way but think that there is good and bad in all of us,each to their own whether it is religion/sexual preference/colour etc. The biggest problem we have now days is those that use religion and self importance to bully others into their way of thinking and the belief that what makes someone more important than anyone else is what they have in material or money worth and not the person inside. The few people that I do class as friends come from various religions and range from the poor to the well off but all have become my friends because of what kind of person they are not what they believe or what they have and all keep their personnel views out of our friendship unless asked for an opinion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 I always chuck a few quid towards homeless people. im not religious in the slightest.. most religious people pray for food and to help those less fortunate. you might aswel go ask your cat to set up a homeless shelter. same outcome. nothing would happen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Do you give a few quid to all homeless people like some religious folk set up and run out there own time and pocket a soup kitchen for all homeless people Tbh bradders you might as well be religious the way your broadcasting you anti religious outlook There's a diffrence between I'm not religious it's not for me And religious people are a bunch of thick f***s believing in story's and hope people are idiots All I know is when I belived Santa the Easter bunny and tooth fairy was real my life and the world around me was a lot happier place None religious people do good things too. It doesn't take religious belief to be charitable. Your figure 90% of people helping after natural disasters etc is clearly plucked out of thin air, unless you can evidence it? “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.†― Steven Weinberg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudman Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.†― Steven Weinberg What a load of rubbish so if a good person does bad it automatically religion based so when someone cheats on a partner because she has lost love for them its religion fault so when someone robs someone become they have no money and want to feed there family its religion fault so when someone murders someone because he was driving to fast its religion fault or do you think all that stuff isnt bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 “With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.†― Steven Weinberg What a load of rubbish so if a good person does bad it automatically religion based so when someone cheats on a partner because she has lost love for them its religion fault so when someone robs someone become they have no money and want to feed there family its religion fault so when someone murders someone because he was driving to fast its religion fault or do you think all that stuff isnt bad Not a particularly good people then are they (well the last one is just a poor example). Besides I think you've misunderstood the quote. Think more along the lines of, denying your child medical care because you believe god will save them. Don't take it quite so literally. Ooh that sounded like religion then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 So your saying all religious people are denying children medical attention Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB-) Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 You know full well that's not what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevoD Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Right so because a hand full of them do it your going to tar all religion as 'evil' just because a handfull of people in group do something they don't represent they entire group A lot of people on here think I'm a prick and a **** doesn't mean all members of the forum are therefore pricks and ****s Untill you meet every religious person and see what they do you cannot say that religion is the cause of evil actions Edited November 12, 2014 by StevoD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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