Religion 2

[abi]

that they deserve to be heard and respected

What ever happened to "respect must be earned, not given"? There are many religions out there which preach intolerance and bigotry, why on earth should I respect them for the mere fact they are a religion?

['Itan Atxur]

Everything should be respected until it no longer deserves respect. Then it gets a completely different kind of respect.

[Tsäroltxe te Eyrutì Tantse'itan]

hey, hey, hey.  I wasn't trying to be mean, I just do all of that for fun and to show people how all religions are in some way linked.   

Sorry if I came off the wrong way.

['Itan Atxur]

Yeah, you just gotta be careful sometimes. Topics on religion can be very touchy and it's very easy to unintentionally offend someone.

[Fnua Atxkxe]

What ever happened to "respect must be earned, not given"? There are many religions out there which preach intolerance and bigotry, why on earth should I respect them for the mere fact they are a religion?

I do not consider any "religion" that preaches intolerance or bigotry worthy of the title of religion. While a realise that there are some radicals within religions that are bigoted and intolerant, you cannot judge an entire religion based upon the action's of a few.

[Unilfwewyu]

Honestly I do not believe in any religion, and I believe that none of them are true. Here me out though.

I will agree that some of them may have some truth behind them. We must look at religion as a belief (What a person thinks, not what is the truth, and we have right to try to dissuade them from it). Again, because it is only a belief, we must look at the message behind every odd story we see in it, and not the litteral message (Because honestly I doubt some guy can be resurrected months after he died and that a "spritual being" created the universe (Highly unlikely)

Second, I do not believe that any of the religions are true, but I hear about the very first belief of this planet, mother earth, and this sounds much better than any other belief I've heard of before. Sadly the Mother Earth belief "disappeared" a while ago .

Eywa ngahu.

Unilfwewyu

[The old Uriuujìn]

Sadly the Mother Earth belief "disappeared" a while ago

Well, most religions have an aspect of Rebirth in them... seems as though the religious belief of Our Earth Mother might be going through a rebirth as well ^_^

Gaia ayngahu

-Uriuujìn

[Txon Taronyu]

I can accept the fact that some people don't belive in religion. But what I can't see is how they think everything in the religion is wrong almost all religions have a code of moral conduct and practical wisdom even if just a little. Also many focus on self improvment  so I just don't see how you can say they are completly wrong. they are all wrong in parts but you must be able to see the other parts as well

hope that made sense

[Tsamsiyu Atsteu]

It made sense to me.All religions have a moral code ("an it harm none" for wicca, "the golden rule" the commandments and so forth) but it seems to me that no one sticks to them anymore. It seems that people are caught up in demonstrating the "superiority" of their own faith and bringing down others' faiths because they are "wrong". As a Pagan I have been told I am "evil", "sick", "wrong" and "insane" by Christians. I don't hate any religion, but I tire of the "our way is the only way so convert or burn" that is so prevalent. Why can't people leave each other alone and respect one another's choices?

I can accept the fact that some people don't belive in religion. But what I can't see is how they think everything in the religion is wrong almost all religions have a code of moral conduct and practical wisdom even if just a little. Also many focus on self improvment  so I just don't see how you can say they are completly wrong. they are all wrong in parts but you must be able to see the other parts as well

hope that made sense

[Fnua Atxkxe]

Religions, when practiced in the way that they are meant to be, have numerous things to teach us, they can't really be listed off at once. I think that, by studying all religions, you can see that they all involve living your life in a way that is deemed to be "good". They all endorse trying to improve yourself, to teach us to respect each other and what is the harm in that? Personally, I would never say anything against someone's beliefs (not when based on such wonderful systems). So long as we try to do the best with what we've got, what more can we do?

[Tonbogiri]

Txon Taronyu,

It strikes me from the first post you made about finding the truth etc, that your beliefs lie closest in resemblance to buddhism.
This religion is tolerant of others, and seeks "enlightenment" rather than the promise of some future reward/threat - very much like what you are after!

As for religion, I believe that religions were almost certainly started as a method of control. As a mentalist, I once went to a local spiritualist meeting, and using some very secretive skills I was able to replicate many effects some of the more zealous members considered to be true psychics. Many religions involve a promise of some future event that will depend on your actions - almost like a form of self-policing. What better way of stopping murder than convincing people that the end result will be an eternal stay in a fiery pit with no air-conditioning?
However, I realised a few years ago that my original views were a little too cynical. So I sat down and had a real think about it.

What makes a religion? THE PEOPLE. It may have started off as a basis for law and order, but religion has had more effect on our world than politics or the judicial system or anything like that. ANd why? Because we chose it to be so.
Take Eywa, for example. It is not a divine deity, but rather a hivemind composed of every being on Pandora. This is what our religions are also - they are what we want. We want justice for the good, we want a second chance at life, we want free parking on Saturday lunchtimes (what religion that is from I forget ).
Religion is in my opinion one of the best things to happen to the human race. The fact that there are different religions only highlights the fact that all human beings are different. Because  of this, I feel that there must be an element of truth in all religions. It's how you interpret it that counts.

Good grief, that looks like all of my inspirational chat for the day used up!

[Txon Taronyu]

WOW you get karma
That is so true what you just said, and it is true what you said about Religion being one of the best things because it really is
btw I gone through a huge philisophical time trying to see how all religions could be true, I will write up my ideas and post it here soon, its good trust me

Christains should listen to this (not offensive)
jesus said "I am the way,the truth, and the life. Nobody gets to the father exept through me"
So what is Jesus, well he is said to be god.
So what is God, God is love or an embodyment of virtue
so if J=G and g=v then J=V mathamaticly
so virtue/love is the way the truth and the life
I just proved that as long as your good you have eternal life
so all religions are good (from a christian view) as long as they teach virtue try arguing but its mathamatical

does that make sense to anybody

[Tsamsiyu Atsteu]

Really now? What about all the bloodshed in the "Name of God"? I'm curious to hear an explanation. If it is so wonderful, why all the hate and intolerance nowadays? Also I see Eywa not as a Hivemind, but a deity, too, remember Mo'at's prayers and the Grace debacle? I think it's both, really.

Txon Taronyu,
Religion is in my opinion one of the best things to happen to the human race. The fact that there are different religions only highlights the fact that all human beings are different. Because  of this, I feel that there must be an element of truth in all religions. It's how you interpret it that counts.

Good grief, that looks like all of my inspirational chat for the day used up!

['Itan Atxur]

But you don't need religion to have a solid moral compas. I was brought up in a family that encouraged me to choose what I felt was the best choice for me. I've been an Atheist my entire life yet I know it's wrong to steal and kill and such.

Yes religions have very good messages, but you don't need religion to get that message across.

[Tsamsiyu Atsteu]

I would have to agree with you. I spent my life pretty much not in a religion (my parents were catholic, then when Jehovah's witness, and mom was protestant when she died. Dad is still a Witness) and I have morals and values that wre family instilled, not religion-inspired. You make a good point. I am dismayed with religion in general because of all the "convert or burn, sinner!" messages out there. If God is Love, then that is the opposite of what is being shown.

But you don't need religion to have a solid moral compas. I was brought up in a family that encouraged me to choose what I felt was the best choice for me. I've been an Atheist my entire life yet I know it's wrong to steal and kill and such.

Yes religions have very good messages, but you don't need religion to get that message across.

[Esmond]

Same, I've been a Theist so far in my life and I know it is wrong to steal and kill. I'm more of a person who believes in Karma. Cause and effect.

@Christianity: I don't see the sense in sending anyone to eternal suffering for a relatively short few years of guilt. Seriously, even if someone had done bad all his life, it is still nothing compared to eternal. If He is as great as they say He is, He would do whatever it takes to make a man see the good.

Which is why I still have the most respect for Buddhism.

['Itan Atxur]

See this is the biggest issue I have with God. Why if he's all powerful did he make humans imperfect? What I've been told by Jahovas witnesses is that God wanted us to follow him and love him and hear his message because WE wanted to and not because he made us. Okay, I'm cool with that. But YOU made us imperfect God! Sure, punish us if we do wrong but eternal damnation? Isn't that like incredibly immoral? I'm not attacking God here, I'm just supremely confused and Ill informed.

[Esmond]

Yeah exactly, made us imperfect and then punishing us for it. Plus, why did Adam and Eve breaking His rule resulted in us getting sin from birth? No sense.

[Esmond]

Yeah exactly, made us imperfect and then punish us for it. Plus, why did Adam and Eve breaking His rule resulted in us getting sin from birth? No sense.

[Txontaw]

I'm no expert on the subject, and my explanation may be less than helpful, but I'll give it a shot;

From what I know, God made us imperfect so that we would have free will.

Here you say; WUT? YU NOB TAT MAKES NO SENS!

But really, it does. If God had made Adam and Eve "perfect", then they wouldn't have had free will, and they wouldn't be able to choose to do right all the time. Instead they would be forced to do the right thing. So God lets Satan tempt them and lets them commit a sin. Thus the grand scheme to eradicate sin and keep free will was started. And yeah, it's taken a long time, but you gotta remember, time is irrelevant to God. So that doesn't really matter.

I also love how the biggest argument Christian (and other religion) haters have is "Why doesn't God preform miracles, like heeling amputees? And why does he only preform miracles for some things, like cancer?" My answer is simple: He has been separated from us. He can't really get involved here because sin runs rampant so much. We can't connect with him like they can in the Old Testament. And as for "only some miracles are performed", I don't think that that is a miracle granted by God, I think that that is just good ol' luck of the draw.


On a different matter:

My biggest confirmation that some sort of Creator exists and Evolution is at least partially untrue is DNA replication as well as mRNA and the ribosome process. I mean, seriously. That is WAY too complex and specific to be created by chance.