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How Important is Religion?
Posted by Solaris2008 • 3/06/09 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: religion
Why Humans Must and Need Religion?
User Comments
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I used to be quite religious, until I slowly began to realize that there was a hole in my being that only Reason could fill-
WHAT IS A RELIGION ? -
I suppose there is a difference b/w being religious and believing in something spiritual/an originating source of Nature. Religion=ritualised works. One might be said to read the newspaper religiously for instance. This however does require a belief of some sort that that which is in the paper represents reality.
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It's not important. At all. -
Most seek religion to gain connections with other people. Sometimes they have questions about life and think religion will answer them. These may or may not be satisfied with what they find, largely depending upon their own depth of questioning and depth of their own thinking.
Without religion, one might lose one's status in a community.
Without religion, one might not be able to hold onto a religious spouse. Religionists know this and play family members against one another for the gain of their respective communions.
Without religion, one might not know how to deal with their own conscience and while needing the affirmation of others, might go completely batty.-
So, its like a reasurrance... security blanket... atheletes lucky sock. yeah that jives
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Organized religion is all about the money. The leaders always self-rationalize. "I'm saving souls" and all that but deep down their consciences know differently
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Join now, and we'll save one extra soul, absolutely free! -
do i get to keep it too? never hurts to have an extra
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Go to File >> Save As and you can make a copy of it.
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That is why I am a non-denominational Christian. I talk about it in my blog.
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Depends on what you think. -
Religion isn't as important as faith or belief.-
True. It is not about religion. It is about having faith. That is more important than religion and it is very important. Without it you become an atheist, agnostic..just a plain God hater.
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God hater? Sounds like someone is lashing out...
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just a plain God hater
Are you a braying jackass or simply imitating one?
How dare you label and name call others? We all have a right to choose to disbelieve. We have rules here at BC and mean spirited personal attacks are not allowed so put a sock in it! -
I believe we need religion in order to live the right role of life. I believe religion helps us to know more of what we want to be; and how our lifestyle will be and our family's as well.
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Yes, it's very important. Religion was to explain unexplainable misfortune such as illness, death, starvation, etc. When there is a problem in life and no one knows why it's happening to them, they tend to seek higher authority. The explanation may not be true, but it gives a sense of comfort and ability to process and accept hardships in life. But now with science and technology, we are growing out of the need for religion. We can now explain what was previously unexplainable and we can build technology to solve our problems.
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Atheism is just as valid a belief system as any of the major established religions.
Agnosticism is not god hating. Agnosticism is a way of thinking that questions issues of faith and religion.
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How do you define faith?
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A belief in something. My faith happens to be in God. But people can believe or have faith in anything....a higher power.
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I do believe in a creative being, but not as is described in the old testement of the bible. I am for practical purposes a Deist
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I have the faith and belief that Religion is important to some but not all. I respect ALL and I mean ALL religions as long as they teach, practice and promote treating everyone equal. -
Religion is important to the religious. It's not important to those who aren't religious. I don't give a fig what your religion is as long as you keep it yourself and don't attempt to impose your belief system on me.
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People don't "need" religion - religion needs people. Ask any atheist and they'll tell you they're just fine without it.
By and large organized religion looks to me like a tool to keep people in their place, looking to death to bring them justice.
They'll spend their lives scrubbing the master's floor on their knees, thinking they'll get some eternal reward for having been a good slave. Without the religion they'd likely turn on the master and take his palace.
If you don't look to the sky and death for justice, you will seek it on earth in the flesh.
Spirituality in its pure form (not religion) is usually a really personal affair. It's about personal knowing and is probably good for a human.
IMO, organized religion is a parasite feeding on the spirit of mankind.-
And I reiterate, that is why I am a non-denominational Christian.
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Yes we need it. There is a big gulf between God and man that man cannot cross. There is nothing that man can do to cross that gulf. St Augustine said that we are restless until we find our rest in God. He is right. People spend millions to get comfort, rest, answers to life etc. This is not new we all know this. We are looking for peace and for answers. This search can come to a conclusion only by understanding the God of the Bible who wants to have a personal relationship with us.
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Because it is a natural requirement of every human being to have belief on the true religion.And it is a universal truth.We see many signs in the world around us that prove that humans came on this planet with a purpose.And that is we are being tested by Our Creator.It is a natural feeling found in humans that they get pleasure when they worship their true Creator.Those having belief on true religion think that their life is not just earning wealth,eating,sleeping,fulfiling desires and then getting old and waiting for death.They know that one day they are going to die and they will be questioned about their first life that they spent on earth.Every one of us has to search the true religion and then has to have belief on that religion and pass his daily life accordingly.When it is a proven fact that their is One who created us,then it is apparent that he did not create us in vain.We must have belief on the true religion for we know their is a punishment for those who do not follow and have no belief in the Creator's religion.-
I agree. We need religion for salvation plain and simple if you have no faith you have no hope and after death all you're going to end up with (if you're lucky) is death but most religions agree you'll end up with TORTURE IN HELL! (Don't listen to the ones without a faith who say they're fine because that is for the blink of an eye that we are here on Earth). (Check out Christianity if you're looking and if you do that don't just go to Church, read the Bible, I recommend Luke [New Testament]).
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I repeat: Religion is important to the religious. It's not important to those who aren't religious. I don't give a fig what your religion is as long as you keep it yourself and don't attempt to impose your belief system on me.
I believe in freedom from religion. That means that I wish to be free from enduring the kind of abuse grounded in ignorance, fear, guilt and threats that your comment contains.
A belief is not an idea held by the mind; it is an idea that holds the mind. We don't see things as they are; we see things as we are.
What I do experience is that when I meditate and all the things associated with my "self" like greed, anger, hate, etc. dissolve is that there is no self; there is no distinct being that is separate from the universal stream of pure consciousness -- quiet joy, peace, love ie. god.
And that's what I experienced on two occasions when I was technically thought to be dead. I experienced unity via the universal stream of pure consciousness with all there is. I also knew that this current life of mine in this body and on this earthly plane was not finished, and that I have lived previous lives and would live many more lives, until I become fully enlightened and one with god (the universal stream of pure consciousness) in all planes of existence.
Neither male nor female, neither good nor bad, neither light nor darkness but containing all there is and situate everywhere: the universal stream of consciousness flowing through all is god. Hence, god is found in everyone and in everything; god just keeps on is-ing.
The choice of a belief system or the choice not to have one is a personal choice. What makes me angry is those Christians who attempt to brainwash me with their personal choice. And none are more annoying than those who use online forum threads to evangelize.
(1) In face-to-face everyday life, how many people do you know who would walk into a room of total strangers and spout scripture at them?
(2) In face-to-face everyday life how many people do you know who would walk into a room of total strangers and immediately begin to proselytize and evangelize?
(3) In face-to-face everyday life, how many people do you know who would walk into a room of total strangers and claim to have a relationship with a dead person, and to be experiencing that dead person's intervention into their lives, without someone in that room intervening and suggesting they ought to waste no time seeking professional help?
(4) In face-to-face everyday life, how many people do you know who would walk into a room of total strangers and utter death threats by lecturing that a loving god will send all unbelievers to burn in eternal hell fires?
(5) Why would any mature adult purporting to be joy-filled believer, who under an obligation to witness and become a winsome winner of souls for their god behave like that in online forums?
All over the net people enter online forums ie. rooms full of total strangers and show a lack of restraint by spouting scripture, proselytizing and evangelizing. We all have the right to challenge that behavior. Regardless of which belief system one ascribes to or in the event that they ascribe to no belief system at all, manifesting such behaviors in a room full of total strangers is disrespectful, insulting and inflammatory.
I believe that the minority of bible pounding Christians who have behaved like this are living examples of why many people the world over have turned away from "freedom of religion" and toward "freedom from religion".
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, then walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” -- Brennan Manning
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I don't imposed my belief on you. I don't even have one. Which article did you get this? This is very long explanation. :-)
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If you don't have a belief system then why are you advising others to do this:
I agree. We need religion for salvation plain and simple if you have no faith you have no hope and after death all you're going to end up with (if you're lucky) is death but most religions agree you'll end up with TORTURE IN HELL! (Don't listen to the ones without a faith who say they're fine because that is for the blink of an eye that we are here on Earth). (Check out Christianity if you're looking and if you do that don't just go to Church, read the Bible, I recommend Luke [New Testament]).
And if you are not evangelizing for the purpose of converting others to Christianity then why did you post this thread, and then post comments in it that only reflect Christian a dogma and doctrine? -
Which article did you get this? This is very long explanation.
The words are my own words. They did not come from an article written by someone else. I wrote as many words as I thought were required to express what I believe in based on my personal experience, and my opinions which are also based on my personal experience.
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Religion lends a little strength to the poor, weak, and beaten down. In turn, religion often saps potential from the brilliant. As society moves onward to a better tomorrow, religion recedes (but never quite goes away).
How important is religion? An amount inversely proportional to one's independence.-
No wonder. I got confused with your comments Voododkobra. Because you don't have religion. "By their fruit you shall know them." So, if you don't have religion what are you believe in? I am sure is not God, Jesus Christ or any Christian belief. Lucifer doesn't belief all of this. He was the opposite of all God's plan. Are you in the opposite side? I hope not. God is merciful.
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@solaris2008
Above you have said: I don't imposed my belief on you. I don't even have one.
Now you have also said: I am sure is not God, Jesus Christ or any Christian belief. Lucifer doesn't belief all of this. He was the opposite of all God's plan. Are you in the opposite side? I hope not. God is merciful.
Once again I ask how you can possibly maintain the position that you do not even have a belief system, given that you have again replied by making references to Christian scripture, dogma and doctrine? -
[So, if you don't have religion what are you believe in? I am sure is not God, Jesus Christ or any Christian belief. Lucifer doesn't belief all of this. He was the opposite of all God's plan. Are you in the opposite side? I hope not. God is merciful.]
I don't even believe Lucifer exists. The fact that you're mentally associating me with a mythological entity of evil (which is a personal attack) shows that you are not interested in rational discourse.
You're creating a false dichotomy! "You're either with us or against us." In reality, there are infinitely many places to stand.
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People are calling for a religion junction for all these religious threads. I disagree... I think all these religious threads need to be combined to ONE thread. Because only the title is different, the arguments are exactly the same. -
I agree with you ernestlobo.
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To answer your question: how important is religion? I have to quote a Christian friend of mine who recently visited me. She said that since I accepted Islam, my life went from a lot of drama and difficulty to being filled with peace. I've been a practicing muslim for 14 years and I thank God that I have been blessed to find love, beauty, faith and peace in my life. The outer structure of religion - the mosque, church, temple, the rituals, the clothes are meaningless without faith, a profound spirtual connection, a desire to study good examples, find good companions and the fortitude to act on what you believe in. My religion is a great source of joy for me. I honestly feel that it is the greatest gift I have. I recently have been writing about it on my blog, with a lot of emotion. Religion moves me deeply. -
Timethief, I do consider myself a Christian while agreeing 100% with everything you've said. Perhaps I define myself as a Christian because the door I used to open my own awareness was Jesus. You are right on the button when you say we don't see things as they are we see things as we are. That truly is our only frame of reference.This may sound crazy but I love people for the flaws in them. It's the one thing they honestly own. In general, I mistrust the virtues. Those are usually something assumed or forced on them by circumstances. I definitely feel that "wholeness" of God (for lack of a better word) you describe when I meditate. The real Christian, or any spiritually grounded person, walks into a room full of strangers and should......
A) make an honest attempt not to pre-judge anyone
B) keep opinions to themselves. "your shoes untied" is OK, that's a statement of fact.But is "Are you saved?" a good idea? Not so much.
C) be patient, understanding and respectful
In my experience, the loudest and most grating professed Christians are posers. So are the loudest and most grating professed believers in any organized religion. I address how I got where I'm at spiritually and what I, as a Christian, think about what true Christianity is in my blog. Not promotion, mind you, there are only three posts and it's certainly not designed to produce income but if interested please visit. From a Christian you may find some surprising statements, even God forbid, some actual agreement!-
@pbahleda
I apologize for taking so long to return to this thread. I just discovered your comment and want to thank you so much for expressing your understanding. -
Michael, is that you?
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It's important to feel you're live and have brain, what that live just sleep,eat,work,..ect. without think by religion!
If any body don't have religion he can do any thing passing on his mind like who's don't have brain.-
ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US!
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"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise, every expanded prospect."--James Madison
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