Religion?

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I am an atheist (not a religion by the way), my mum did try and raise me christian when I was much younger but it never caught on.

To get back on topic: religion is a remnant of the infancy of humanity. Everyone nowadays knows that the earth is round and not flat; that the sun does not orbit the earth, and that we are not the centre of the universe, but merely an unimaginably small speck. Religion undermines everything we know about ourselves and the universe. It tells us that we are the only mammals worthy of an afterlife. It is so arrogant to assume that us being here is a consequence of some higher power, instead of a pure coincidence which was bound to happen at some point in a universe as vast and chaotic as ours. Religion attacks humanity at its very core by dismissing all the evidence we keep finding about our existence.

Not only does religion claim there is a divine superintendent watching us, it claims to know what it wants. I think it was Christopher Hitchens who said that the latter is the real problem with religion. Religion presents us with all the answers and discourages us from coming up with our own ideas about our existence, morality and visions of the future. Almost every major scientific advancement has been met with religious opposition; how dare we meddle with God's design? You shall worship instead of enquire. It is completely absurd that so many people submit to these arbitrary, man made rules and regulations which have stifled the progress of humanity ever since their 'prophets' revealed them to us. Less than 300 years ago you could be burned at the stake in Europe for blasphemy, and you can be executed for a simple thing as dropping a quran in Pakistan, today.

Now, if the bible, among other holy books, was anywhere near coherent and consistent, I suppose you couldn't blame people for taking the easy road and ignoring the evidence against organised religion. But two different creation accounts in Genesis? A worldwide flood not recorded in China and Egypt? A Jewish zombie acting as a scapegoat for all the sins you, your neighbour and everyone else committed? Who came up with this stuff? Religion is an enormous ball and chain for humanity, and it is a fault in our design (no pun intended) that we accept it as an alternative for the things unbeknownst to us, rather than not having an explanation for them at all. This 'God-of-the-gaps' theory is losing ground fast. Unlike 200 years ago, nowadays not many people believe that God is responsible for lightning. Maybe in another 200 years people will find the notion that God is responsible for our existence just as absurd. Maybe one day everyone will think like Voltaire who said: "My version of the universe doesn't need a God, it works just fine without one." Until then, religion should be mocked and ridiculed like any other superstitious belief.

they use sex as a way to assert their power; sex is just a means to satisfy something that is mostly unrelated. they usually assert their dominance using other means like physical violence as well - sex is often just one expression of that tendency. it's kind of like how people use food to feed their hunger, or they can take an appetite suppressant for their hunger instead. food and appetite suppressants are just used as means to deal with hunger, just like sex is used by rapists as a way to express dominance. it is a means to an end, not the end itself. i hope that clarifies the difference.

Some guys are turned on by thoughts of violence - especially against women. Rape is all about asserting power over others against their will and in the most humiliating way possible. Sex - like violence - is just the means of assertion.

I've been a Buddhist for almost six years now.

lust is pride
-because really they just want power in that situation or any lustful situation, there is an entire article on it I read many years ago. It's all a power thing-

You don't need confidence to be prideful.

greed is also pride
-I already explained that, you want to feel better and have power-

My religion does not justify crimes, it promotes self-development.
You have to fix the wrong-doing.
Like some sins even require talking to a bishop.
Others just need to be replaced.
Make no mistake, if someone in my religion did a crime, they would do the time, and then repent....

I am a Protestant. I am a member of the Methodist church and am a church organist. I feel very comfortable in my church---it is an important part of my life.

I am a nontheist, but I admire the Buddhist philosophy.

I'm baptized Mormon.

I have to agree with everything you said concerning pride.

I have been a Lutheran for nearly 10 years, so I put Protestant.

Christian- Baptist

Jewish.

I understand a little where you are coming from. maybe i can help. I lost my faith when i was 14, and was on the fence about it for another 3 years before i was ok with losing my faith. My guess is you were deeply indoctrinated as a child, as i was. I spent at least half my life fearing hell fire, granted im not that old, and in a couple years that ratio will be reduced to less than half.

What you have to do is explore Reason thoroughly enough to understand your fear is unfounded. At the outset lets consider, this exploration is among the least devious things you could do, you aren't killing anyone, or engaging in premarital sex, your just exploring information. You may be worried this foray is a rationalization of demonic temptation. Well even if it is, God will forgive you. Build that at your basecamp if you need to return to it.

Once you give reason a chance, you will realize that there are too many people believing too many different things, now and through history, to give any weight to which ever version of hellfire you fear. Christianity might seem big in your world, but in the global scope, and the historical scope, its just another idea. There is no basis to say Christianity is the way. If you fear the hellfire of a Christian god, you may as well be afraid of the hellfire of all pre-christian deities, and all presently worshiped dieties that you might be offending by being christian. Also if you look into the history of Christianity you will find there is a very weak if any case to say Christ ever was as a human, let alone a god.

Another thing for me as my reason for losing faith was gaining knowledge of biology including the principle of natural selection.
Life is incredible, everything about it. Natural selection appears to be very useful in explaining many things about life. If life was put here as a creation, would God oppose to me studying his greatest creations? In fact these are THE works of god. Most people occupy themselves studying or being entertained by the works of man, and are oblivious to the beauty of creation. Now this is not a mechanism i need to use at all anymore, but just saying if this helps you weaken the bond of the fear of hellfire, I think god would favor me in my interest of biology, perhaps my conclusion that biology exists without God he will show me later to incorrect or an oversight of something. I think this is less of a correction that needs to be rectified between God and myself, than the countless masses who spend their lives worrying about trivial things, if not technically believing there is a God.
I think god will have more of a problem with people who spent they days worshiping the Idol of television, having no interest in creation, though technically believing in God. Than with me, who does not believe in God, but I revere above all the study of biology, which would be Gods creation.

After you have come to terms with reason, and that there is no reason to fear hellfire, you must also come to terms with the fact that you may too some extent, in the back of your mind, be worried you are sinning against the faith you have grown out of. By all means try to subdue this factor as much as you are able, but it is just simple psychology, that if you were deeply engrained with something as a child, you may never be totally free of it, try as you might. This is why most people never do question the faith of their fathers. This is also why people who were beaten as children often beat their own children. Just because you were taught something as a child does not make it right, as much as it feel right. Your head must sometimes battle with your heart. Please for the love of God, let your head win. I use God to mean whatever you revere aproximally as others revere God. For me god is not a supernatural human man who created the universe. that is a silly idea to me. But there are many things I revere as much as others revere God. Personally i feel my 'godless gods' i am more reverent of than people who revere the traditional definition of God, because my God have been arrived to by my personal and honest searchings. Not fear of hellfire if i think something else

Militant atheist.

Essentially, my belief is that there is no god and it is a duty to inform those who do believe of the facts.

Religion is only an excuse to harm others and remains ignorant. No more. It has no place in any society.

abacus, i agree with you in technicality. the idea that there is an entity which created the world, and or has an omnipotent presense within it, is ridiculous, and sad that anyone has to be plagued by such nonsense. It would be an unprecedented positive improvement if reason could replace religion.

but how effective do you think a militant attitude toward the religious is? let me also ask were you raised in a faith?