Are modern religions beginning to crumble?

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problem now days is people defend bias, greed, ignorance, selfishness, and dishonesty as positive values.

welcome to the neo-conservative train of thought (they view all of what you listed as positive traits).

Modern religion? What's that?

An Oxymoron

scientology.

Apart from today's new religions i.e wealth, power, greed and prestige so called modern day religions may crumble and may fall. But there will always be something to replace them quite simply because for the most part we humans need to know there is some purpose to our lives.

For many, religion and its rituals offer a sense of securityand comfort, it offers focus and purpose in a somewhat dysfunctional and complex world even though many of them instill fear and dogma.

.We have in our modern day world lost our connection to nature and the simple joy of " being " we have lost our spiritual connection.

We live in a spiritual vacuum and many recognise this, guess that's why new age religions are pretty much " in " right now, and like those before us we need to know and access something of the divine we need a reason for our temporal existence.

no one views wealth and power as a religion(greed and prestige are related to wealth and power). only those who feel threatened by those who are successful and aren't religious or "spiritual."


spirituality is normally used by those who can't take the world that's before them and need another reality to help them through it. people who live in a dream.

Many of us will therefore " Dream on " because if what is in front of me is reality then I definately need another " reality "

haha. that's why "god" made drugs. specifically psychedelic mushrooms and pot. great way to cope....none of that guilt-ridden religious nonsense. just a few moments of pure escape and enjoyment. of course, one has to be responsible when participating in such activities and children shouldn't ever be allowed to do such things...but then again, i don't think children should be brought up on any kind of spirituality or religion either.



a fun little snippet...


Faith Examined


So what is FAITH?

Certainly a particular religion can be referred to as a faith but that is merely a reference to religion's reliance on faith.

Simply put, FAITH means belief or trust. FAITH is a particular kind of belief. It is strong, it is often unwavering and it does not require proof or evidence. Most would agree that belief is FAITH when it is quite strong and does not involve evidence or practical reasoning.

Faith and Emotion

Faith serves a purpose. It allows us to function when confronted by difficult situations. We believe what we need to believe in order to continue. It is a coping mechanism. It is not always for dire situations. It works for any idea or situation that troubles us. It comforts us when faced with the uncomfortable.

Faith and Religion


So why does religion place such a big emphasis on FAITH? Is this how God chooses to test us or is it because it is the only way to believe?

The FAITH that most people encounter with religion works on two levels. Firstly there is the feeling that everything is explained and is taken care of. There is little left to worry about. Secondly there is the reward/ punishment system that is used to reinforce the FAITH. If you believe, good things will happen to you- paradise. If you doubt, bad things will happen- Hell.

Does religion work without FAITH? Many try to reason their religious convictions or try to prove the existence of God but in the end it comes down to faith. It comes down to a belief in something without evidence.

It's hard to say whether or not religions are crumbling. Islam, for instance, is growing very rapidly, both in the Arab world and in the West. Judaism seems to be more or less steady, due to efforts of Jewish organizations to appeal to young people. Christianity (counting all branches) seems to be declining in the West, but steady to slowly growing in Eastern Europe.

As I said before as life length rises religions that use fear tactics (Christianity, Islam) will die and those focus on living (Buddhism, LaVey Satanism) will grow.

life expentancy isn't very long in the middle east and it's getting even shorter.

When I go to church, I see the aforementioned on display. The nice cars, the nice clothes and a focus on "saving ourselves" rather than getting out there and helping others. Most (christian) churches now spend most of their time preaching revelations instead of preaching the teachings of Christ and his values.
That in it's own right is selfish and controlling, as if it was a last ditch effort to scare the existing congregation into staying. I believe in Jesus Christ and that his live and teachings are an example that should be passed on. What I see lately is society's urge to fear thy neighbor and buy bigger cars than thy neighbor.

You can witness this, here, in these very forums, if anyone would like a reference.

I know, there are plenty of them. When you show them their illogic they don't really make much attempt to counter your points, instead they lable you as a dictator for telling them these things are wrong. Ignorance and apathy and all those bad things shouldn't be taken as morality. But it are, because people watch too much Mtv. Did I mention blatant and sometimes even deliberate stupidity as one of their so-called "positive values"?

I've tooken it upon myself to evolve myself through emotional barriers to raise myself higher on the chain of life and conscience over many many years, but what I found was the planet of the apes.