Every time i debate or even mention something that doesn’t go in favour of a particular religion or religions in general, people get riled up so soon .Pretty strange because the same people on hearing about a murder, incest, kidnapping or even rape react as if its routine..Well, that is alright because every individual thinks differently, perceives things differently and reacts differently..So nobody can impose ‘anything’ on anyone but when it comes to religion, imposition is somewhat implied and most of us hold the same common beliefs so we react the same way ..We fight..we kill..and we become some kind of bigots with the minimum tolerance level..Why is religion dividing us?
The recent killings in Nairobi are so sad..Why are people being killed in the name of religion? What is ‘Islamist Terror’? Or for that matter ‘Hindu Terror’ or ‘Christian Terror’..I mean how do believers of Islam, Hinduism or Christianity even take it? Don’t they feel awkward that something they believe in enormously, is being linked with a heinous thing like terrorism? Or is it in some way justified? If it is then its deadly and will one day destroy everything. The sad part will be, that the reason for which people around the world are ready for massive killings and bloodshed is very very futile. The reason being, “my religion is better than yours.” Seriously people what has gotten into you? Is religion even a thing to fight for? Wasn’t it supposed to be personal? Whatever happened to a personal spiritual connection with God? Whatever happened to humanity? Isn’t that what every religion essentially teaches us? Being good, being compassionate, being tolerant to any kind of belief and faith? What is the world turning into? Are we going back to the ‘Dark Ages’ because that was one time when religion was allowed to rule the world.
Personally i will any day, favour a man who even if , is an atheist but does good for humanity more than a so called religious man who kills without shame, without remorse and without fear. Religion was created by man – the most intelligent, the most ‘evolved’ species to instill some sort of discipline and control in each individual. From that moment (whenever that happened) until now we’ve changed a lot. The worst part is we haven’t progressed, we’ve digressed. Technology wise yes we have progressed, morally we’ve become worse than beasts because they at least have rules in the animal kingdom to kill their prey. We have none. In India, there was a recent scandal involving a God man with a mass following. He has charges of raping a 15 year old against him. Something like this makes us wonder that these people thrive because we make them thrive. If the charges against him are proved correct, what is going to happen to the crowds who can leave everything for believing in this man? In moments like these, the faith of believers in religion breaks into a million pieces.
Religion is the single most important factor for initiating wars. The Islamists even have a name for it – Jihad. Worst part, their war is an ongoing process killing millions of innocent lives each day. The term ‘holy war’ is such a contradiction since war can never be holy. In fact it is far from any kind of holiness. War is always about destruction. Killing hundreds of innocent people can never be holiness. Sad thing is religion and war somehow goes hand in hand. Religious intolerance is the single most important reason for war. We have so many examples – India/Pakistan, Israel/Palestine, Iran/Iraq etc. I’ll admit, at the grassroots level, religion seems like a good idea. Kind of harmless because its meant to provide a good deal of charity to communities. Also it might perform some advocacy roles which governments don’t. But the price the world is paying is a lot more than the benefits received. Before we continue, I’d like to mention that I’m not writing this post to specifically pick on any one religion. Almost all religions have the same attributes – Belief in a supernatural force, a virtuous code, and the need to spread truth to the uninitiated. The only religion that doesn’t fit the above mentioned criteria is Buddhism. Buddhism’s spiritual leader- The Dalai Lama, is quoted as saying “Don’t become a Buddhist. The world doesn’t need more buddhists. Do practice compassion. The world needs more compassion.” Can you ever imagine the Pope saying – Don’t bother becoming a catholic? Or a Muslim cleric saying – Don’t become a muslim.
God (if he exists) did not create religion, we humans did..the same humans who created alcohol, guns, warships, atomic bombs and now nuclear bombs too. Are we seriously the Almighty’s best creation as we proudly claim? Its one thing to have faith.That is nice but blind faith will destroy everything one day.I feel bizarre right now because i wasn’t really an anti-religious person until some time ago but now i’m turning into one and very very soon i’m going to turn into an atheist and proudly so .All thanks to the fundamentalists who have taken over religion and our ‘intellect’ too. We are losing logic and our rationale. I’m glad that i’m not a part of the blind crowd. I still have my ability to think, my ability to question. The sad thing is that people like me don’t get answers. People, let’s say ‘religious people, try to shut me down without providing answers.’ Not just me, every individual who is curious enough to know everything about the dangerous manoeuvring religion has been trying to do for millions of years. I need answers. Why doesn’t the Vatican allow a woman to be the supreme in command of their religion some day? Why doesn’t the Catholic church allow using contraceptives? Are they threatened? Why do the Abrahamic religions want to deem homosexuality as a sin? In this modern age, it is understood that homosexuality occurs naturally, not only in humans, but all the animal species. (Homophobia, however, only occurs in one…) And you know what? There’s nothing that happens between a homosexual couple that doesn’t happen between hetrosexual couples. Why are some propagandists of Islam killing people day in day out in the name of Jihad? Why doesn’t Hinduism allow women to enter temples when the women are on periods? What kind of a logic is that? I mean allow murders, rapists, any sort of criminals in temples but don’t allow a woman on her period? It’s just a biological phenomenon for procreating in the future.Worst part is we are people are blindly following all this.
I guess, now we are getting closer to what I believe to be the answer to the question: why is religion turning into something bad? As we learn more and more about the world in which we live, the need for a supernatural explanation for questions on where we came from and why we’re here has diminished. It’s known as the “god of the gaps” argument: if science can’t explain how something happened, then god must be the explanation. Two centuries ago God was the answer to almost everything but as Science progressed we started leaving our ignorance behind and developed a more rational approach. We began to question, and to seek answers. Bertrand Russell said once, “Religion is something left over from the infancy of our intelligence. It will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines.” It should be fading away, but it’s not. The fundamental and radical elements of religions are fighting back, literally recruiting the naive and the uneducated, brainwashing them, and discrediting the scientific knowledge to promote their supernatural explanations. For me, this is what makes religion so retrograde. Someone didn’t just wake up one day and “make up science”. Everything we take for granted today, started out as an observation, which became a hypothesis, which lead to experiments, repeated experiments, the results of which are eventually submitted for peer review. Should the results eventually pass peer review and get published, other scientists (hoping to disprove the results) analyse the data for years, looking for inconsistencies. Should a hypothesis survive this treatment, only then does it become a scientific theory.
So when I hear things like, “Evolution is only a theory” I’m just dumbfounded. What is the point some morons are making? I heard an Englishmen on TV say once, “it is only a theory, it’s good that they say that. I think, it gives you hope, doesn’t it? That maybe they feel the same way about the theory of gravity, and they might just float the fuck away.” That’s right, you know? There is just as much evidence for evolution as there is for gravity. Think about that for a minute. But something like the “creation” theory, on the other hand, does not stand up to peer review, no matter what you’ve learned in the church. The bible is not proof of anything. It’s a claim which people are forced to believe. If it were ever to stand up to scientific scrutiny, I’d be more than happy to look at it, but the simple fact is, it does not. The Dalai Lama has the right attitude about his religion. This is what his views are, “If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change.”But all other religions see science as a threat. But a threat to what? It’s a threat to their selfish interest, livelihood, and control over believers? Creationism is a last ditch effort for religion to remain relevant in an increasingly educated and secular society. While attempting to discredit the science, creationists only manage to muddy the waters, instilling enough doubt in the uneducated masses that their alternate theory might seem just as convincing..And therein lies the problem.
After centuries of scientific advancement, there is a movement afoot to drag us backwards so a supernatural belief system can survive another few years before finally fading into obscurity. Obedience without knowledge is slavery people. The slavery of religion is far worse because all you get for your pain and hard efforts in life is weekly ambiguous promises that one day you might get to heaven if you’re good. The problem with this is that no one is really sure what God considers to be good, so the followers spend their entire lives in a state of uncertainty. Religious followers put faith in religion’s teachings and then make a bunch of wild claims..And they do that because religious claims are so difficult to disapprove. They are difficult because it happened so long ago that all the witnesses are dead, and because God is basically a faceless entity.
If people think by following religious rituals exclusively and by going to temples, churches , mosques and the like , they’ve become some sort of goodish folks they are so wrong. Make the essential goodness in your heart ‘the biggest ritual’. Rest is obsolete. The best gift we can give to our next generation is A SAFER, RATIONAL AND A PEACEFUL WORLD. Do that. Stop the blind faith and stop justifying the teachings of your religion. Don’t turn into fanatics. Seek answers and most importantly – JUST TRY BEING MORE HUMAN!!
Brilliant piece!
The individual freedom of whether I follow any religion at all, or not, is paramount. My spiritual experience is mine. It can not be ordered by another person. A regimentation, in the name of religion, certainly annoys me, too.
Thanks for that perspective.
Hi Akriti, I would say brilliant thought. I would however say that the idea to abandon a religion to embrace atheism is difficult to digest. It is true that it is humans who created religion and it is used for all kind of malpractices. At the same time it also gives rise to one of the most important aspect of human life FAITH. At times when one cannot decide what is happening to him it is his faith which supports him that there is someone who is watching and everything will be fine. Faith gives rise to a state of high consciousness in oneself. Faith gives rise to optimism and many people do some charity in the name of religion which otherwise they would never do. It is a matter of perception. People can either see a glass half empty or half full. Same way what people absorb from a religion makes all the difference.
I feel religion imposes all the time. And that is a big negative for me. Everybody has the right to life their way.
i would rather find my peace in logic, reason and proof rather than a lie, or faith as the world calls it.
Agreed. I wish a lot more people understood that.
agree .. the basic premise of religion was to instill in humans a sense of brotherhood and selfless service towards . however sadly it has turned into one of those ideas that are perfect on paper but poor in practice.
yes 🙂
Brilliant piece. This will sadly be the case as long as people continue to defend what they believe – as long as mankind exists. And that is as good as wondering why that one likes a pizza and not a ham-burger!
When I started reading this piece, I was thrilled. I thought, ‘now here’s a fellow who’s had his thinking cap on, and sees the harm that being ‘religious’ rather than ‘spiritual’ causes the religion itself, society and the world at large!’, but the longer I read, the more it seemed to turn into less of a piece which reviled religious institution for its inhumanity, and more a piece which reviled people for having their faith at all, regardless of how they practiced it.
I ended up feeling like I was being called ‘stupid’ for having faith in God at all, instead of a call for people to be more accepting of each other, regardless of their faith or lack thereof, which is what I thought this post was about, due to my impression of its beginning.
‘Faith’ cannot exist where proof lies, because the essence of faith is believing in something for which no proof exists. Otherwise, it is simply ‘knowledge’.
While I agree wholeheartedly with your disgust at the lengths to which mankind has been prompted to go to ‘defend’ or ‘enforce’ their various religions, I fear we must part ways approximately mid-way through your post.
Although we do not stand in agreement throughout the entirety of your post, I *do* still respect your right to express your opinion, and am simply sharing my own opinion in response.
May blessings be upon you.
A.
That is alright. Everybody is entitled to have an independent opinion. Not everything can be agreed upon.I wrote what i felt..And yes faith cannot exist where proof lies and that is why religion is such a touchy subject .As for being called ‘stupid’ in a way maybe all of us who have blind faith without ‘reason’ and ‘logic’ are stupid because we stop ‘questioning’ and \accept blindly whatever has been given to us. That i feel is dangerous because questioning is a must. Having faith and a connection with God is a personal thing but imposing the same on people who don’t want to believe is not ok. Imposition is the reason why for centuries religion has been playing deceptively and has encroached the deepest layers of the human psyche.
I agree. Personally, religion annoys me, too!
I’ve only recently begun to study the Bible again (on my own, CHURCH still annoys me, lol) and have simply fallen in love with Romans, Chapter 14. It’s such a great chapter, basically pointing out all of the self-righteous garbage that people invent, trying to say what God does and does not allow, and flushes it all right down the toilet.
While I don’t shy from admitting my faith, or mentioning it if it relates, I don’t ‘preach’ to others, or shove my beliefs down their throats.
I’ve spent my entire adult life learning tolerance (I was raised in a household rife with intolerance of others, in just about every category – race, religion, etc etc.) and try my utmost to extend an open heart of understanding and acceptance to others, in all regards.
I only ask that they do the same for me. (I’m still working on that ‘being nice even when people aren’t nice to you’ thing, I usually do rather poorly at it, LOL)
I question EVERYTHING! I mentioned in my most recent post that it is my belief that we are allowed, even encouraged, to question God and by proxy, the church, and I believe that all faiths have something to offer by way of self-improvement… one just has to make their way past all the dogma and ‘religion’ that buries the faith itself, LOL.
Blessings be upon you,
A.
Yup 🙂
Brilliant..!
Religion is a support system,most people aren’t strong enough to survive on their own and that’s why they turn to a “God”. You don’t have to convert someone into an atheist,you just have to make sure they can think independently. Maybe in another 500 years this planet will produce masses that are intelligent enough to reject religion as opposed to a handful of individuals ,which is the case right now. But even that seems far fetched.
Yup.
brilliant article ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and it is a privilege of being an atheist you can laugh it off
Thanks.
We’re all entitled to have opinions but I must say, there’s a fair bit I disagree with. Firstly there is a fundamental difference between being religious and believing in God. It’s too extreme a jump to say that almost the only alternative to religion is atheism. It is not, there is a middle way. One can believe in God and not be religious. That’s hard to digest for some, sure but religion isn’t a package deal as such. And all religions are not the same-it’s dangerous to lump them together like that. Yes, the Semitic religions are pretty similar to each other in their rigidity and other aspects too.
There is also the option of believing ‘selectively’ as it were-which is very much prevalent as I know. Though some people do ‘believe enormously’ in religion as you put it, let’s face it, most do not. And I’m talking of developed, developing and under-developed countries without exception. Especially with the coming of ‘westernisation’, there is more rationalism and less religiousness going round.
I wouldn’t call myself religious but I do believe in God and somewhat adhere to the Hindu faith, but I don’t feel any pressure whatsoever from my religion. There are no rules in Hinduism, much as you may find that hard to believe. There are guidelines and no, these are not imposed on you. There are no consequences in Hinduism except those of your own making. I’m sure you’ve heard of karma and reincarnation. There is no preaching and I am free to stop believing if that’s what I wish; believe it or not, there’s even a place for atheism in Hinduism. I can think for myself I assure you, and I choose to believe.
You mentioned Buddhism-it’s open and all but it is pretty strict. There are rules you must follow.
But in general I guess it depends on perhaps what kind of family you are from-that isn’t the fault of the religion, but the people who interpret what is and isn’t acceptable. Humanity and goodness IS what religion teaches, it’s people who twist it and it’s plain senseless to blame the institution. I mean, if someone bends the law, you wouldn’t blame the courts and law-makers for letting them would you? And I guess the rules that seem erudite today had a purpose when they were first written.
I’m a person of science and a rationalist but I understand that there is a proper place for faith, but if there is anything I have a problem with, it is religious superstition or superstition in general.
Historically, religion has certainly been the cause of a few wars, but it is wrong to say it’s the most important. Most wars are in truth about territory and imperialist ambitions. It’s even topical with Russia in the Crimea. Nothing to do with religion.
On the note of obedience, there are lots of things we were told not to do as kids, and we(most of us at least) obeyed our elders at that age-we are ignorant at that age, so it is necessary. In the same way, for those who do not understand why certain things are wrong, there must be rules. It’s because ‘just being more human and good’ is so hard that these rules were invented. It’s no-one’s fault but individuals that some of these have been twisted.
Sorry for the long and disagreeable comment, but it’s honestly what I feel. Looking forward to your response.
-The Ace
Not at all. The comment wasn’t disagreeable, was pretty insightful. Thes best part about your comment is this – “It’s no-one’s fault but individuals that some of these have been twisted.” 🙂
Just like every other thing on Earth religion too has evolved. However some of the bigot religious leaders find it really hard to accept that change. The latest Pope for instance is one of the most liberal popes till date but a lot of people are having issues with the way he thinks. Its like the slight change in the environment around freaks these people off. They don’t realize that in the end the only thing that is constant is change itself. Thats how people evolve, thats how religions evolve.
Religion was created by man and therefore i see no point in the concept of blind faith. I agree with you on the point where you mentioned that atheism should not be the only alternative to religion. But even then if people want to turn atheists, i guess that is ok because that isn’t affecting anyone. At least atheist don’t kill people.
Religion and faith for that matter is a very personal thing. Therefore every single individual on our planet is entitled to believe whatever they feel is right. However problem occurs when people i call bigots try to stop people from following and believing what they dislike. That imposition is the real trouble. Why can’t some people just let people be.
As long as we have the humanity in us alive, whatever faith we believe in is good. If that humanity is lost nothing can redeem us. So for me humanity is bigger than everything else. Will try to never turn into a beast. 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to give a full considered reply. Yes, I do believe in that ‘best part’ very much. It is an individual not the organisation or institution they belong to that should be punished for their wrongs.Many people fear Islam because of Jihad and Hinduism because of the con-man gurus.
In the same vein, if atheists commit crimes-and they are as likely to as anyone else-they should be punished, except in this case you can’t blame their religion. The real issue is about taking responsibility here.
On a side note, when I was younger we had to do Religious Education. I really hated that they always assumed people would act according to their religion’s teachings. What would a Christian do in such-and-such situation? Or a Hindu? Truth is far removed from this of course, cultural background, family and personal morals have much more of an impact on important decisions taken. It’s misguided to say otherwise.
It is very much natural to fight change-there is no change whether good or bad without opposition in the beginning. So that’s not what I would berate them for, there is usually some good in the old ways.
Well it’d be nice if people let other people be, but it’s a given that doesn’t happen. As to why….how long is a piece of string? It’s a hard question to answer, and that is the same-too many possible explanations to be flippantly asked without deep thought.
But yes, humanity is much needed. Faith has it’s place, and I don’t think there will come a time when we don’t need it. I lost faith in religion and God for a time and felt very lost indeed-you may dismiss that as my being brought up that way or being used to believing in something, but it did teach me that you need something to anchor you. If you’re at a very difficult place in your life, it isn’t humanity that will save you completely, but faith in something. Whether that is God or someone who stood by you or even yourself, it doesn’t matter.
-The Ace
I just feel atheism comes across to people as some sort of a curse word. I don’t think thats fair. I mean its 2014 so we have to let people be. The sort of imposition some people try to put on others is suffocating. You might love a particular faith or hate it but why try to put your own views on somebody else just to change their point of view to yours. Everybody chooses a particular faith or atheism for that matter due to their own individual reasons. Thats what makes people incline or dissociate themselves from certain ideologies.
As for killing in the name of atheism is concerned, doesn’t happen. I agree most atheists act a little nasty towards people professing certain religions as in they make fun of it and even mock religious people because for them religion doesn’t make sense .. but mocking somebody’s ideology is way way better than killing people in the name of religion. In Fact the biggest issue with religion is that it just cannot take criticism. Religious leaders feel their religion is infallible and thats where religions go wrong. The saddest thing is that even human history acknowledges it because it was only once in the history of mankind that religion was allowed to take over the world. History has termed that phase as the ‘Dark Ages’ .
As for me. i was once a religious person . now i despise the very mention of the word religion. But I am okay with people professing whatever they want to but their faith should never encroach my space because my ideology doesn’t do that. Lastly, as far as a higher power is concerned, yes i do believe their is one. But my connection with him is a very personal thing. I call it my spirituality. I don’t need any religion to have a personal connect with him. I’m happy with the way things are in my life. I can never allow people to ever tell me i’m less than my freedom.
You stay blessed and do keep giving me your feedback and input in the future too 🙂
Sorry for the late reply, I didn’t see your response. I do agree that atheism, like feminism has got bad press and is still somewhat taboo. I certainly don’t agree with preaching(but I think one comment won’t contain my views on that one)-religion should be a free and personal choice, but I do know some atheists who have stubbornly and a little aggressively tried to ‘convert’ me as it were and make me stop believing in God as I do. It’s wrong on both accounts.
As before, I think it’s dangerous to lump together all religious leaders. Each religion has it’s own character and some are not that strict. But it is true that tradition is held in high stead in religion and it is resistant to criticism and change. That could be improved, but if it is it will be slow.
Also, the ‘Dark Ages’ you mention refer to a specific period of European history which was off the top of my head from about 1100-13/1400 AD and quite constrained to that part of the world. The religion concerned was Christianity, and it was indeed a dark time. But I believe the zenith of other religions’ influence was different-Hinduism’s was somewhere from c4000-1/2000 BC I think, when art and culture flourished. I cannot pretend to know much about any other religions as I haven’t studied them.
I do agree with your last point about spirituality, and believe it should be separated from religion. Not many people know the difference. I follow traditions and celebrate festivals because I have been brought up that way, and don’t see any reason to abruptly stop doing so even if my personal connection with God is what matters most.
Gotta say, I feel like I just keep criticising and countering your work. Hope you don’t feel too badly about it 🙂
I welcome your feedback and comments on this blog and our other blog She Thought So.
-The Ace
Nope i’m pretty okay with any sort of feedback as long as the person expressing it does that with conviction and without getting abusive. So keep rolling in your views. Always welcome 🙂
Sure, will do.
This is brilliant stuff!! Happy to have read it.
thanks 🙂
lol @”That maybe they feel the same way about the theory of gravity, and they might just float the fuck away.” and a very apt ending – Just be human!
I think, religion is akin to politics. It is all about power and lot less about spirituality or the life after death.
Humanity has no chance till religious extremism is prevalent.
True that .
“I heard an Englishmen on TV say once, “it is only a theory, it’s good that they say that. I think, it gives you hope, doesn’t it? That maybe they feel the same way about the theory of gravity, and they might just float the fuck away.”
Here’s to The Church(s) banning gravity and then reaching escape velocity as the rotation of the Earth spins them off to Pandora or Mars or to some galaxy far far away so that the rest of us may escape them.
Great post and I loved reading the discussion which followed.
Thanks a ton for your feedback 🙂
I think we can agree pretty much on religion except that you probably have more insight into it than me. I dismissed it pretty early on, including boycotting school assemblies by judiciously catching a late bus (too late to attend) and more sensibly spending my time studying in my sixth form ‘quiet room’ – or chatting with the other rebels 😀
Off to your feminism post now ….
Thats a cool way to avoid some snarky glares 😀
Thanks for reading my posts 🙂
All I can say is Wow!!!. I read some of your other blogs and knew you were deserving of the awards you’ve garnered, but this blog/essay on religion is amazing. I’ve been fighting the ignorance and inflexibility of organized religion for more than 65 of my 75 years and although I’m a huge fan of Dawkins and the rest, I think what you’ve written is the best tome against religion ever. With over 80% of Americans believing in god and our so called separation of church and state being a colossal joke, I have very few to commiserate with when I try to point out the hypocrisy, and what I like to call the “parking your brain elsewhere” ignorance.
The current movie called Noah is a current case in point. The faithful hated the film because the film took “liberties” with the old testament version. God slaughtered the rest of the human race because they didn’t listen to him and commanded Noah, a 900 year old man to gather the animals 2 by 2 on the ark that he and his couple of sons age about 700ish built in a few weeks without power tools. Traditionalists say there were dinosaur’s on board.. How did Noah get Kangaroos and Koala bears (maybe Quantas was flying to Australia earlier than we thought)?
I am amazed by your brilliance, and thank you again for nominating me.
Your fan and friend,
Marty Savarick
I really appreciate you giving me this sort of feedback. Feel honoured 🙂
When people from your generation are flexible enough to understand what our generation has to offer, feels good 🙂
As for religion – it was created to spread fear and hatred among the masses. Sad.
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Thanks for stopping by to post your comment. As for some of the comments that din’t make sense, well the world we live in consists of billions of people and therefore the chances of nonsense as opposed to sense are sadly a lot more 😀
You can catch me at twitter at https://twitter.com/chuckles_01
Also at Google plus at [email protected]
Wow. I really enjoyed reading this post and the comments. As a Christian who thinks for myself, I agree with your standpoint on religion. However, I know that God exists. How? Because He has spoken to and through me. He has given me His peace and comfort, which is like nothing else. I know He loves me and has a plan for me. And I love Him. Not enough, but He still loves me, and everyone. He gave His perfect Son, His joy, for my sin, and that always boggles my mind. 🙂 I also believe that He hates religion. After all, he likened the Pharisees, the most releigous people of the day, to a brood of vipers. Ouch. God simply wants us to love Him and show His love to others. Not to be religious.
I hope this didn’t come across as preachy, I am just speaking from my heart. 🙂
Blessings,
~Emily
..And your point view is always welcome here.
I may or may not agree . But that is not really important. What is important is that I need people to present here what they feel and why they feel that way.
So thanks for stopping by 🙂
Thank you. 🙂
And I am not asking for you to agree, simply stating my feelings, and I appreciate you giving your readers that freedom. 🙂
So thank you again,
~Emily
Anytime 🙂
🙂
God said, “I want to know you, to walk with you, to be a life within you.” Man said, “I will eat the fruit and know for myself.” (Man’s religion) God said, “Come to the mountain we will talk.” Man said, “Talk to Moses.” (Man’s religion) God said, “I will be you king.” Man said, “no.” God said, “I will place Myself into your hearts.” Man said, “write it all down and we will not need you any longer.” True goodness can only come from a basic decision to want goodness. It’s not God’s fault. Thank you for what you have written.
Oh and when listing bad things being blamed on doing good don’t forget Manifest Destiny – us white folks love that one.
this is where you nailed your comment – “True goodness can only come from a basic decision to want goodness.”
..And you do not require religion for that AT ALL.
True religion is taking care of widows orphans the rest is man made and should annoy us all. (James 1:27)
True religion is being human.
a nice human.
Being human is what that means coz’ the world today needs more humanity than ever before.
Agreed.
God is a man’s word .. it’s a simple as that. Man does one thing very well .. he idolizes himself. All religions I know of throughout the world are male dominated with a man as the head of the religion. When a man runs around the streets and shouts “God is great” what he is actually saying is “Man is great”. I’m glad I found your WP blog and will continue reading as you make a lot of sense.
Thanks.
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OK, two points here because discussions about religion tend to develop into the verbal equivalent of apes throwing poop in a zoo but here is my informed opinion.
1. Religion was useful in terms of getting us from there to here, here being a civilization that, on the whole is peaceful and predisposed to diplomacy, negotiation and favours conversation and intellectual skills over being the biggest and strongest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55h1FO8V_3w&feature=kp makes my argument in a way that’s funnier than I ever could.
2. You can practice a good, moral life and find beauty in the life around us and the knowledge that we have found through peer reviewed science and evidence without attributing it to an autocratic deity. If the idea of God makes sense to you, then I acknowledge that but my issue is when it is used to deny other people their autonomy. I see long screeds on why people can’t love one another openly or enter into societal rituals on the basis of ideas that were written down thousands of years ago and were not properly recorded in the first place. If you have faith, then I would be the ass to disparage that. If I’m wrong and am asked to explain my stance to whatever higher power exists, I will go with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and say that I merely went on the evidence that was available to me. Any ideology that doesn’t let women do the same things as men isn’t a good thing. The principle of a ceramic universe, where there is an autocratic creator doesn’t really fit, and I believe that we all are expressions of the universe as apples are expressions on an apple tree. I believe in love, kindness and compassion above all things and I can appreciate the universe by looking at a tree or a sunset with as much appreciation as a practitioner of faith can appreciate a church or a mosque.
This is the best part about your comment – “I believe in love, kindness and compassion above all things and I can appreciate the universe by looking at a tree or a sunset with as much appreciation as a practitioner of faith can appreciate a church or a mosque.”
As for religion tending to develop into the verbal equivalent of apes throwing poop in a zoo – True that. But that doesn’t happen here on Cerebration . You can be sure of that. Bigots and people with radically fundamental views are the ones who spread crap 😀
I’m ok with any point of view which is rational. Everyone’s welcome, and abusers, if any are given a ‘bitch slap’ right in their face. Pardon the language.
Thanks for the comment 🙂
I like your forthrightness, it’s refreshing although I can see that you have a sensitive gentle side to you as well.
What can i say – I’m only human 🙂
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Thanks.
Yes i do have some lovely people following my blog.
I read your article.
Here’s what I think.
I understand your frustration with religion. But you must also understand its place in human evolution.
Extreme poverty brings an unmanageable amount of uncertainty.
This leads to people turning to a system that is fixed and relatively open to majority to people.
Ofcourse, the minority like the scheduled castes, tribes, etc suffer.
But mankind has been, for the most part, blind to other people’s suffering.
I’m an atheist because I’m not extremely poor AND have been fortunate to have a decent education.
The same can’t be said for millions of our citizens who can’t plan their future simply because they can’t see what tomorrow has in store for them. They need some sort of energy to get them through their struggles.
We shouldn’t expect this class to give up religion. That isn’t realistic.
But we can educate the well-to-do section to open their minds to rational thinking. This would in turn bring a shift in urban society’s understanding of science.
In a span of a century, extremely few individuals will rise up and challenge the system and dedicate their lives to equality, justice and a better system
AND actually gain a massive victory.
The prime example in Indian context is Dr. Ambedkar.
Rising from an untouchable caste, he went on to rally the masses and provide for them a Constitution.
An undertaking that gives rights to all citizens.
This single document is more important than all other religious guides put together.
Imagine the magnitude of gratitude we owe to him.
But sadly, we pay more attention to ignorant priests.
We look at child monks with reverence utterly disregarding the blatant child abuse.
The purpose of the wealthy should be to devise effective ways of wealth distribution.
The purpose of the middle class should be to bind the wealthy and poor together.
But instead of being cohesive, we have distanced ourselves from other sections.
Everybody is busy with their own lives.
I do believe that economic progress is crucial for overall human development.
But we must not let our short-term job insecurities cloud our sense of responsibility towards our poor neighbours.
For the past ten years, I saw all my friends and colleagues argue loudly for equality and fairness in judging people.
For the past five months, I saw these same contacts turn a blind eye to all the evidence of danger that lay in electing a political party borne out of a religious outfit.
No amount of evidence and proof could deter them from blindly following dangerous people.
They refused and still refuse to accept the pattern of domination that arises when a certain mindset holds the important offices of government.
See how insecurity brings out the hypocrisy in people ?
Everybody wants the world to be fair to him/her but they would also happily disregard the rights of misunderstood people.
Religion is a mere manifestation of our fears and ignorance.
Its the blind people who are the culprits.
Its the politicians who are the real wolves.
But we must not lose hope in our fellow earthlings.
There are many girls and women who have more strength than the most powerful armies.
There are many children who are more wise than the highest of priests.
There are many examples in wildlife where we can remind ourselves of kindness.
The most genuine laughter is often found in the most exploited communities.
We must work in our own ways and be hopeful of the best.
i have always celebrated differences and i can NEVER judge people based on their religon..its a matter of personal choice..should not be imposed..that is why i HATE fundamendalists of any kind.
Thanks for the comment.
Let’s forget about religion. Do you believe in a creator? An intelligent designer, whether that designer is hateful, loving, caring or not caring? Look at your hand for 15 seconds, or a blade of grass. If you think that random evolution could produce your hand or a blade of grass, then you’re making a far greater stretch of faith in believing in evolution than I am in believing in a designer.
Where did the designer come from? My 3lb. brain cannot begin to fathom eternity past and future, and I have absolutely no idea. But I don’t believe my ignorance in this area weakens my argument for a designer. Do you really believe that a fish crept out of the water and then over a zillion years developed a lung, legs, etc?. To me, that would be like believing a fully assembled 747 could materialize over time from a junkyard.
That’s my two cents.
I don’t wana forget about religion..i abhor it..As for the creator, people who have faith in him..i respect them and those who don’t are equally respected by me..its a personal choice and can not be imposed!