Questions about Religion

[sTuPiD-gErBiL]

Originally posted by Reclusion
I find it quite intriguing that many of you believe the Bible to be incorrect, etc. when you haven't even read it. I'm thouroughly impressed by your extreme foresight.

As for the whole "brainwashing" thing, I also find it funny that you gain these notions through peers pounding them incesently into your heads. You can't honestly tell me for one second that you were the first person to ever think that.

Just as a side note, props to people like Gerbz (and others, I just remember seeing his name) who put a well-organized and defended beliefs. While I don't agree with all, they're respected...

Yeah, I'm done.

theology has sort of been an obsession for me. i was a catholic-turned-atheist for several years before i had a really cool professor in a humanities class in my first semester of college. since then, i got hooked and started reading stuff like the bible, the qu'ran, stuff on i ching philosophy, buddhism, hinduism, shamanism, wicca, etc. i even own the satanic bible by anton levey. although, my particular angle of focus is how spirituality can be put to psychological and medicinal application.

sorry i rambled. i just enjoy it that much.

[Bioture]

Originally posted by sTuPiD-gErBiL
i was a catholic-turned-atheist
sorry i rambled. i just enjoy it that much.

omg i'm a christian turned athiest! some interesting things i've deducted about religion:

Do you want to be;
1. saved (Christianity)
2. cured (Islam)
3. cleansed (Buddhism)

-In Christian folklore their god is said to be a kind, forgiving and loving god who deeply loves his flock of children, the human souls he created, yet he has no qualms about letting them suffer horribly and subjecting them to the most horrific punishment imaginable by sending them to hell for trivial 'sins' like not believing in his existence.

-The term "god fearing" puzzles me. If God is good why fear him? Good people don't frighten me, only megalomaniacal dictators and insanely violent criminals do.

-God made smallpox, science eradicated smallpox.

-God made man in his image. Orthodontists fix Gods' mistakes in making man(woman - for the most part).

-Religious systems are subject to Darwinian evolutionary principles. A breakaway cult forms, it might die, it might survive, it might even prosper and grow into a religion from which other breakaway cults will form. The major religions all have major subdivisions, minor subdivisions and offshoots. All religions began as cults. There is a family tree of religions. Some religions die (become extinct). Some religions are more flexible than others, they evolve quicker.

- People believe in soul so they can believe in their own immortality. My soul will go on to live forever? what a deal!! lets just hope it dosent go to hell.

.....FINALLY.....

- Jesus was a product of artificial insemination. God artificially inseminated Mary.

[sTuPiD-gErBiL]

Originally posted by Bioture
-In Christian folklore their god is said to be a kind, forgiving and loving god who deeply loves his flock of children, the human souls he created, yet he has no qualms about letting them suffer horribly and subjecting them to the most horrific punishment imaginable by sending them to hell for trivial 'sins' like not believing in his existence.

in the Old Testament of the bible, the Hebrew god was described as a very jealous and vengeful god. once the New Testament came about, god suddenly became the kind and forgiving rendition that we all hear about now.

-The term "god fearing" puzzles me. If God is good why fear him? Good people don't frighten me, only megalomaniacal dictators and insanely violent criminals do.

the phrase "god fearing" also references the Old Testament.

-God made smallpox, science eradicated smallpox.

-God made man in his image. Orthodontists fix Gods' mistakes in making man(woman - for the most part).

one could also argue that human susceptibility to certain diseases/disorders/physical flaws could be a product of evolution (or devolution, in our case)... because of human dependency on tools, our health and physical prowess have dwindled considerably in exchange for intelligence. and yes, religion and evolution CAN co-exist in theory.

btw.. i hope the orthodontist thing referred to teeth

-Religious systems are subject to Darwinian evolutionary principles. A breakaway cult forms, it might die, it might survive, it might even prosper and grow into a religion from which other breakaway cults will form. The major religions all have major subdivisions, minor subdivisions and offshoots. All religions began as cults. There is a family tree of religions. Some religions die (become extinct). Some religions are more flexible than others, they evolve quicker.

some religions were created to provide moral reinforcement for keeping their people under control, and others were created to designate a source of income or to allow certain restrictions to be lifted (example: the anglican faith was created so that henry viii could be able to divorce his wife). i don't place much faith in organized religions. i believe that each person's spirituality should be a very personal thing and should be a result of their experiences and intuition instead of letting other people tell them what to believe.

- People believe in soul so they can believe in their own immortality. My soul will go on to live forever? what a deal!! lets just hope it dosent go to hell.

i've found a more realistic and satisfying explanation of immortality in gaian and shamanistic spirituality. those believe that when you die, your essence basically returns to the earth with the essences of all other people, animals, plants, and other forms of life.

kinda like imagine that earth is a giant lake and that the souls/essences of every life form is a cup of water. when they die, the cup of water gets emptied into the lake where it mixes and blend with the other essences. eventually, a new cup of water is drawn from the lake which will have characteristics of several different old essences to create new life, whether it be another human or a reincarnation.

i find that theory much easier to believe than the christian interpretation of heaven and hell.

- Jesus was a product of artificial insemination. God artificially inseminated Mary.

some atheist historians/philosophers write off the immaculate conception as a cover-up theory. the time frame that mary/jesus/joseph/etc walked the earth was also a time of harsh laws. any woman caught cheating on her husband or selling her body could be punished by death. i've read that people theorize that mary conjured up the immaculate conception idea to protect her from being put to death for sleeping around.

it's interesting reading material, but i don't really agree with that theory at all.

edit: shit... i suck at using quote/color code.

[Louis XV]

Originally posted by Jesus Quintana:
What's this day of rest shit? What's this bullshit? I don't fuckin' care! It don't matter to Jesus. But you're not foolin' me, man. You might fool the fucks in the league office, but you don't fool Jesus. This bush league psyche-out stuff. Laughable, man -- ha ha! I was gonna fuck you in the ass Saturday. I fuck you in the ass next Wednesday instead. Wooo! You got a date Wednesday, baby!

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

Originally posted by Jesus Quintana:
That's right man, nobody fucks with the Jesus.

[TelC@t]

Who is better in bed? Jesus or Allah??

[CrvenBan]

Originally posted by TelC@t
Who is better in bed? Jesus or Allah??

You mean Jesus or Muhammad (S.A.W.)

[Bioture]

muhammed would own jesus' skinny jewish ass.

[Qbe]

Originally posted by adam
NO
YES
NO
NO
NO



Anything related to organized religions are just companies and cults in disguise. Join a church and be brain washed, or sit down by your bed and say a prayer to who ever you believe in.. to me that's spiritualality. Christianity wants money. Catholicism (spelling) wants power.

i mean dont get me wrong, to each their own.. but like, my friends friend (who i guess is my friend now) lives in a house full of mormans. he has a mother, a father, and 14 siblings. they are seriously scarey. I sware they are forming a cult. THey sit in their living room for 2 hours every day and read from the bible, talk to each other, some other things. Now, that isnt just being a "family", i mean, im all for family get togethers, but what they do in there is just scarey. Not to mention they wont let me even be in the house while tey do it. "it's family time, please leave"

heh, i think satan is channeling his powers through their father tho. He gives me these scarey looks.. omg

i just think forcing religion on your children is seriously wrong. parents should influence, not force. i mean, ruling with an iron hand and using fear to keep people in line is like, bad :/.

YOU WILL GO TO HELL IF YOU DONT BELIEVE IN GOD
OMFG YOU MASTERBATE, GOD IS KILLING A KITTEN WTF.

(i've racked up quite a kitten kill count)

Only religion I truely believe in, even tho I could never live the way they do is Bhudism. (spelling again)

I vacationed at a temple for a week. read alot of books about it, trying to decide where I fit in the scheme of things. Went skinny dipping with them (no I didnt get naked :P).. dunno, they are just so peaceful and accepting. THey accept all forms of religion.. unlike almost every other religion out there. ACTUALLY, i saw a religion that worshiped a guys hampster. Had quite a following. Basically he went through the bible and wrote new things in.

heh, props to you for taking the class.. i couldnt.. i got kicked out of my bible class in 7th grade for telling my teacher animals have souls (in a more direct manner)

:P

good luck, hope you ace the class. (tell them I'm a heathen and i'm going to hell, but f33r my answers)

oh and worship my cat or you will go to hell.

Thank God, adam has seen the light.

[TajaUk]

Originally posted by Reclusion
I find it quite intriguing that many of you believe the Bible to be incorrect, etc. when you haven't even read it. I'm thouroughly impressed by your extreme foresight.

As for the whole "brainwashing" thing, I also find it funny that you gain these notions through peers pounding them incesently into your heads. You can't honestly tell me for one second that you were the first person to ever think that.

I was raised in a catholic irish family, i went to schools where i was taught by nuns and forced to read the bible daily. I went to church 3-4 times a week upto the age of 16.

I guess i aint one of those people who just spouts off loads of bollocks about something i know little about.

To me the bible is fiction, pure and simple. Show me proof I will accept.

Relgion has been used to control people for many years, thats a fact. Europe was excellent for burning people for speaking out against what the chruch preached and deemed acceptable. Religous leader were very powerful not so long ago and they controled how society was run and what people thought. Today its a different story because the church and religon does not dominate people's lifes so much and its hard to imagine the impact the church had on people in the 18th - 19th century.

An example of how modern religon is out of touch and misguided:

The Catholic church to this day still say it is against the their relgion to use condoms or anyother form of Contraception (even when married). I guess they dont give a flying fuk about the christians in Africa that follow these religous guidlines to the letter and continue to die of Aids.

Each to there own i guess, whatever floats your boat in this world. But to say religon is not an excellent tool to control the people is wrong. Maybe not so much these days but defo in past.

[Cops]

I respect evreyones beliefs and religions but should this be openly discussed on a game forum?

[Troll King]

We are a cynical bunch, aren't we?


Rather than view religion as a matter of control as people have said, I prefer to think of the other side, where it's a matter of faith. Whether one believes in the teachings or scriptures of a particular religon is up to the individual. Even if one takes the Bible as purely allegorical, there is still room for faith, and that's what it all comes down to. It doesn't matter if others perceive it as a controlling method. If one truly has faith and believes, then that's good enough for him/her.

[ConcreteSchlyrd]

Faith is good. It's people that run on blind, never-questioning faith that I worry about.

[TelC@t]

Originally posted by Cops
but should this be openly discussed on a game forum?

That shows how much we care about other Trenchers' opinion.

<--- me
:eek: <--- you

Originally posted by Troll King
We are a cynical bunch, aren't we?

I call that skeptical

... where it's a matter of faith.

What is faith? By dimply having faith, you can't accomplish any thing. Dissatisfaction nurtures invention, curiosity and doubt give birth to new discovery.