What is wrong with religious belief?

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Religion is a childish attempt at explaining the meaning of life.
What's wrong with that? I'm pretty sure even atheists do childish things too.
The Bible is just like any other fantasy bedtime stories, though, its stories appeal more to me than the stories of Harry Potter or the like.

The meaning of life is different from each individual. We are not the same. What makes sense to you, does not neccessarily makes sense to others, ie.
"good music" is different from individual to individual. So is it with art. And literature. And the Bible is literature. It is just as much literature as Harry Potter.

So what's wrong with reading and understanding the Bible, and using that Bible to understand the relationships between humans and society?

Harry Potter has something historical in it. It doesn't make it historically accurate. The clothes and other details may be historically correct for the period, but I believe the Harry Potter stories (like any other fantasy novel) to have a deeper meaning, that one should think about. As with many other movies, books etc.

It is, of course ridiculous to say that the Bible is accurate as a historical description of the historical events. It is not. It is fiction, but I think it is good fiction, and to me, and probably to others,
it makes sense. Like the fundamental message of "be nice to other people".

The Bible has been used to do the exact opposite, but that is not the fault of the Bible. It is the fault of humans.

We got to put ourselves in people's shoes. Leaders tried to get them to behave. stop being destructive. They didn't want to. So out comes religion to try to civilize them some to make them fear stuff like hell fire. All because they want them to stop killing, swearing, committing adultery, fornicating, and being generally disrespectful. It took that much to convince them.

So religion is the all powerful parent to all these destructive children. Man cannot punish them enough but God can!

The Bible is not fiction; people insist it is because they hate its core message, which is not just "be nice to other people". From Genesis to Revelation, the whole text can be summed up in one word: redemption. Paradise lost in Eden is regained in Heaven, and those who repent for their sins against God are spared from His divine wrath. I've heard it said that the one word mankind hates most is "submission" because it means we don't hold ultimate authority or control over our own destiny. God doesn't send people to hell against their will; they choose it because they'd rather be there than love Him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0e9hNU_LQI[/youtube]

If the only thing that keeps you from sinning, is the wrath of an almighty, it says more about you than the almighty... or atheists.

I know some perfectly good atheists. They are nice people.
They don't sin.

Likewise, I can read in the news that there are christian, jewish and muslim fundamentalists who would kill innocent people in the name of their religion.
Who's the worst sinners?

What do you mean by that?

No sensible person would claim that the Bible is strictly accurate, because it plainly isn't. The genealogies which claim the first humans existed 6,000 years ago, people who lived until 600, a global flood that was survived by two of every land animal in a wooden ark? We know that all these things are not literally true. We also know that the prophecies of Revelation have not come true, which is not surprising as prophecy is not possible.

I'm guessing, therefore, that you mean the Bible, whilst not accurate, is not fictional - in the same way that a post riddled with errors that is intended to be true is just bad non-fiction. However, even that is not strictly true, though perhaps an easy mistake to make if you are not familiar with scripture. Several of the books of the Bible do have hallmarks of fiction - the jokes in Ruth, for example, are reminiscent of a campfire tale, or perhaps a RomCom. Given the two different authors of Job and the insertions, as well as the bizarre behaviour of God, it seems like that was a folk story that evolved over time. The Bible also has poetry - see The Song Of Songs, or Psalms. The Gospels, likewise, are quite like a short story collection, in which various parabels are attributed to Jesus the storyteller, who also gets to have several adventures of his own. This is supported, incidentally, by the Gospels which are non-Canon, which often appear to be prequels (the Infancy Gospels) or explorations of under-developed characters (the Gospel of Judas).

Even the opening book can't get its creation myth straight. There are two accounts given.

In answer to the OP, the Ultimate Evil in religion lies in the fact that people are willing to kill, murder, maim, oppress, rape, and enslave others in order to impose moral preferences and opinions on the same order as what their favorite color Gummy Bear is.

Atheists do not kill in the name of atheism.

Quite wrong, your level of stupidity is just as dangerous in a society as a hostile religion.

What is right with religious belief?

[Citation needed]

If I am wrong, then you should easily be able to provide a single documented, contrary example instead of empty and trite ad hominems.

Name a single instance of an atheist killing anyone in which atheism was the direct cause.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA_46qTBag0[/youtube]Adam and Eve did not exist neither did Noahs flood happen, perhaps I should debunk the many other fairytales in the bible if I do then the Bible is meaningless I could also mention it being inpossible to live in the stomach of a whale like in the story of Jonah and the Whale as well. *shrug* The Tower Of Babel is also easilly debunkable as well!

I dont rhink there anything wrone with being religious. I think it's pretty simple, some people are just a-holes, I don't care If an a-hole beleives in god or harry potter it dosent change who they are. Some people use religion, gender, race, sexuality ect as weapons against others and a way to feel superior, but the people who do it, would do it no matter who they were. Has anyone done the miller-urey biology experiment where inorganic substance become organic in early earth conditions?

Walrus welcome to the mind of Movifan2k4 where EVERYTHING in the bible is true and any perceived inconsistencies are the result of human inability to understand the mind of God. In this world, science counts for nothing, any knowledge which falsifies biblical accounts in anyway is wrong, this include historical evidence but above all geology, astronomy, and biology, not to mention physics, chemistry, all are wrong, Unless of course you can find a way to distort the findings, leave bits of essential evidence out or just make up your own scientific theory and state that because this new theory fits with the theological view it must therefore be correct, now what was that you were saying about "no sensible person..........."

Also regarding revelation he would never accept as most Christians do not accept or they do not realise that the Beast and his number is a direct reference to the emperor Nero and has absolutely nothing to do with Satan, so not only is historical evidence not accepted neither is biblical scholarship.

Yes they do.
http://northkoreanchristians.com/

North Korea is atheist. They kill Christians, in the name of Atheism.
The same has happened in the Soviet Union and in China.



Source: The truth (NorthNoreanChristians.com)

How I see it...

A lot of stuff that's printed in the Bible and other religious texts isn't meant to be taken quite so literally as people do. It's more of a figurative/metaphorical thing.

They take the Gospels as being, well...Gospel, when all the Bible is really, is a tome on moral instruction and ethical principles according to the society of the day.

Some of it may still apply,... 'thou shalt not kill' always goes down well, but I wouldn't covet my neighbour's ass (unless he had a very nice, firm one).

Nothing. Until they try to push their fairy tale beliefs into the school systems or try to legislate their version of religious morality.