organised religion

[Gerard]

Organised religion is a joke and the Bible has more holes in it than a sieve imo.

Noahs ark is a great example of this, how many tens of millions of creatures would he have to fit onto it for one? And just happened to distribute them all appropriately after the flood. And if the flood actually did hapen then the biggest mass murderer in the bible is none other than "god".

 

[King85]

Organised religion is a joke and the Bible has more holes in it than a sieve imo.

Noahs ark is a great example of this, how many tens of millions of creatures would he have to fit onto it for one? And just happened to distribute them all appropriately after the flood. And if the flood actually did hapen then the biggest mass murderer in the bible is none other than "god".

They're only heathens though

 

[Hoodlum]

George Carlin:

and

If you give him a chance he brings up some excellent points throughout. Mostly focused on why the organised nature of religion is a farce.

 

[Gerard]

^ this

 

[apeZ]

Personally, I'm not really bothered about organised religion, to some extent. People can believe what they like, and if they form a collective, then that is up to them.

What I do have a problem with is people forcing their beliefs onto others or sacrificing others in the name of their own religion or beliefs. Jehovah's witnesses and Islamic extremists are two examples, respectively.

As for the God question; I don't know and I don't expect to ever know, so I fall into the Agnostic category. I don't feel that I need to live my life conforming to a system of beliefs or having faith in something that doesn't seem real to me, so I just get on with it. Speaking from experience, the majority of religious people seem to be content with their beliefs and they see no need to force them onto others or encourage others to follow a similar path. Contrariwise, quite a few atheists get quite protective and feel the need to criticise and attack religion; which is pointless. If someone truly believes in a God, you aren't going to win them over with rational argument, because for them, it is merely a question of faith.

Just my $0.02

 

[semi-pro waster]

This is the point where people start quoting Hitler and Stalin etc... Who didn't do things in the name of Atheism, they just happened to be Atheist, which is a totally different thing. Hitler was Catholic BTW!

If that was aimed at me I wasn't thinking of Hitler. Pol Pot and Uncle Joe were the first names to mind but you're partially right - they didn't carry out genocide in the name of atheism as such, they did however persecute people for being religious and I'm not at all certain that you could suggest one is morally better than the other or indeed that religion caused their behaviour. Religion has the unfortunate effect sometimes of being the peg that people hang their bad deeds on - it's easier to unite people behind a cause than no cause at all.

Yes I understand that people say they have experienced god but there's generally always another, better more rational explanation. People say they've been to Lordes and have been cured, and then you look at the statistics and there's actually zero evidence that a trip to lordes is making people better from the miracle of gods cure. The rational explanation is that these people would have got better anyway!

It may be the rational explanation but that doesn't mean it is the only possible one, unless you wish to believe that statistical probability is an absolute proof. While it is probable that the people would have recovered irrespective of their trip to Lourdes (not forgetting of course the possibility of a placebo effect generated by their trip), it is also within the bounds of possibility that a god intervened to heal them.

i hoped for some intelligent discussion to carry on and ignore the trolls and this had nothing to do with the existence or non existence of god, just opinions on organised religion vs belief in a deity.

You called organised religion stupid in the opening post - I'm not sure how that is especially conducive to intelligent discussion.

However, for the little it matters, whether someone has their own specific belief in a deity (or multiple deities) or one that is given by an organised religion is a point of little difference to me - I'll respect their right to believe equally as they should respect anyone elses right to not share their belief. If everyone could do that then I think it would be a much more pleasant World.

 

[Chimerical]

Organised religion is a joke and the Bible has more holes in it than a sieve imo.

Noahs ark is a great example of this, how many tens of millions of creatures would he have to fit onto it for one? And just happened to distribute them all appropriately after the flood. And if the flood actually did hapen then the biggest mass murderer in the bible is none other than "god".

It's fairly obvious you don't have to take Noah's Ark literally.

 

[Delvis]

They did in 2012

 

[Naffa]

Let me preface this by drawing a distincion between the question of whether religion is man made (or absurd), and the question of whether there is a God (or creator).

In answer to your question, yes, the whole concept of religion is absolutely absurd.

 

[Chimerical]

Let me preface this by drawing a distincion between the question of whether religion is man made (or absurd), and the question of whether there is a God (or creator).

In answer to your question, yes, the whole concept of religion is absolutely absurd.

Then that means every human construct is absurd.

I don't see how attending Church is more retarded than going to a football game or a cinema or why constructing a business around faith is a particularly bad thing.

 

[SlugForAButt]

I don't mean to offend any religious people on this forum, but I'm atheistic and think religion is nothing but crowd control.
Look at the origins of most religions.
Want to control the (mostly fuedal) masses?
Give them religion that says that for service to their Lords (the representative of "their God" on Earth) they will receive rewards AFTER they die.
I firmly believe though that Jainism is the way to go if you are atheist but but believe in spirit. Without the need for Gods it teaches you humility and respect.

 

[Gerard]

It's fairly obvious you don't have to take Noah's Ark literally.

Ah yes the saving grave of every bible story that seems way out there "you don't have to take it literally".

Show me the asterisk in the bible next to the start of stories denoting that its meant to be taken literally or not. You either believe it all or you don't believe any of it, this pick and choose BS is laughable.

 

[Squark]

any religion 99% of the time is pushed upon impressionable children, who easily without question believe in the tooth fairy/santa until they're told it's false...

give it a few years and it'll be gone

Do you have any sources for you overly generalising statements?

Out of my Christian friends it is probably a rough 50/50 split between those who were raised in a Christian family or became Christians later in life, either way it is still the choice of the individual, someone else cannot 'make' you a Christian.

 

[Naffa]

Then that means every human construct is absurd.

I don't see how attending Church is more retarded than going to a football game or a cinema or why constructing a business around faith is a particularly bad thing.

The mere fact you've made that comparison demonstrates, quite clearly, that you obviously don't know what you're talking about.

 

[Tefal]

Ah yes the saving grave of every bible story that seems way out there "you don't have to take it literally".

Show me the asterisk in the bible next to the start of stories denoting that its meant to be taken literally or not. You either believe it all or you don't believe any of it, this pick and choose BS is laughable.

So you're3 saying that the stories Jesus told for the moral of them literally happened and he didn't make them up to be a morality tale?

 

[Hoodlum]

Out of my Christian friends it is probably a rough 50/50 split between those who were raised in a Christian family or became Christians later in life, either way it is still the choice of the individual, someone else cannot 'make' you a Christian.

You cannot "make" people criminals either, but if you provide the right conditions (poor education, few opportunities, morally questionable family, high reward for crime) there is a vastly greater probability they will become one.

I think you'll find your environment shapes you down to the physical connections made during brain development and throughout your life. This has a significant role in making you who you are today.

 

[converse_uprise]

It's funny that Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross for lieing.

It's even funnier that the only people who saw his ressurection was his ten little pals he ate dinner with.

 

[FoxEye]

The mere fact you've made that comparison demonstrates, quite clearly, that you obviously don't know what you're talking about.

This attitude is precisely why the people who could contribute most to this thread will pass it by.

You are not here for reasoning and argument (the scholarly kind). You are here to mock those you don't agree with and for argument (the fisticuffs kind).

I'll leave you to it.

 

[Gerard]

So you're3 saying that the stories Jesus told for the moral of them literally happened and he didn't make them up to be a morality tale?

I think you're missing the point somewhat, toaster.

If the Ark story isn't meant to be taken literally then what is exactly? How do we know that Jesus "raising" Lazarus wasn't just something that wasn't meant to be taken literally? How do you know what is an what is not meant to be taken literally?


And what exactly is the moral of the Ark story? On the one hand god loves us all but on the other don't **** him off or he will drown everyone? Kind of a contradicting message don't you think? And im also pretty sure that the story of Noah and his insanely large dingy predates Jesus by a good few years.