Viewing Thread:
"Religion & Belief"

Yes, it's a highly original topic isn't it, but seeing as in the past I've been the one blasting about every religion going I thought I'd tell everyone about this, not that many people, or even a few, are going to be bothered, but anyways.....

I've always found it hard to believe in any religion. Christianity, Buddhism, heck even that Wicca stuff. I was the kind of person who sat there when a disaster happened on TV and thought "where's God now eh ?" In short I found it hard to believe in anything like religion and subscribed to the theory that religion was just one of the many ways of contorlling people in how they think. During my X Files fascination I even found it plausible that religion was somehow created by ET's. Even on 9/11, seeing people on TV talk about God and their religion, I found it hard to believe there was anything to believe in.

Throughout history, religion has been the cause of so much war and killings; The Crusades, the Witch Hunts, The Inquisition, The Middle East, even WW2 to a degree, and today's War against Terrorism boils down to one side believing in a form of religion to justify themselves.

Last week I bought a DVD (hang on here, I'll swing this back to my point in a moment), The West Wing Season 1 boxset 2. In one Episode The President (Martin Sheen) has to decide whether to pardon a man on death row. He calls a priest to him as the execution time draws near. As the clock ticks down the last minute he talks to the priest and says his staff have spent the day trying to convince him to pardon this guy, but he hasn't. He tells the priest he's prayed to God for help, but nothings come, so he hasn't pardoned the man (who has now been executed). The Priest then tells him a sotry, and makes it clear that God did send him help - his staff and the priest himself, who tried to save this man's life.

Now to me, this seemed to just make religion and belief so clear. WE're not going to see some massive intervention by any God, because we ourselvescan do things just as well.

Its hard to explain, and sounds stupid I know, you won't see me in a church anytime soon, but I think I believe a little, and thats enough eh ?

Thanks for reading this far,

~~Belldandy~~

I couldn't care less what people believe in if it works for them.

All I ask is that I am left alone to get on with my life in the manner I see fit.
And any decent religious person would do that, it's called tolerance and love.

So if you do hassle me for not believing, then you've got it wrong and are going to whatever version of purgatory fits your description.

Eh? Eh?

some guy I met down the local disco ;)

umm yeah sorry about that, I've been away from a computer for 2 weeks and I have forgotten how to spell

Who the hell is Jeasus?

Bën wrote:
> The thing I can never get my head round is this:
>
> If you are good in life then you go to heaven and are rewarded with
> ever lasting happiness or whatever.
>
> If you are bad, you go to Hell and are punished. Why would Satan
> punish you for being bad if that's what he wanted you to do? Surely if
> you are bad all your life you will be rewarded in Hell?
>
> I don't believe in every religion. All it causes is hate.

Actually if you are referring to the Christian Religeon your wrong. The usual interpretation of the bible is that all it takes for someone to go to heaven is for them to accept Jeasus. Is doesn't matter what evil horrible stuff you might have done. If you love Jeasus then you will be sorry for what you have done, God will forgive you, and up you go.

I'm not sure weather I am a Christian or an Agnostic. I certainaly used to be Christian and I think that I belive in a God. I'm not sure that any religon out there has got it right yet.

Ros

Or†ega wrote:
> Yup, Beer most def, Devils drink. okay for socialising I guess...But
> we've all seen what happens to a typical football "fan" when
> they are pisst and thier team dont do so well.

I don't see alcohol as a 'bad' thing. Basically, it's not the typical footie fan who'll get into brawls. Mostly nowadays they are highly organised thugs who arrange fights. Sure, there'll be a few pub punch-ups, but that's generally down to a couple of guys getting totally sloshed. Basically, alcohol will affect your mood. But it can't place that seed of violence. If there is a seed of violence within you already when you start drinking, it may bring it out. But the alcohol can't plant the seed if you like...

That's my theory anyhow :D

Uh huh, I'm starting UNI next month so i guess I got some big tests ahead of me.

I dont see much wrong with swearing (depends how it is used, I think causal swearing is all good and well, but insulting someone and actually meaning it isnt) and smoking seems okay...

I'm no Angel, but I'm trying my best of late...

Well, I drink, smoke and do lots of other stuff which isn't really good such as swearing. I have also committed the crime of sex before marriage a fair few times in my life. Mind you, this collectively can be classed as going to uni...

Bën wrote:
> Or†ega wrote:
> This world has been laid out with many temptations by the devil
> which
> we must try to resist to escape this world to be with God.
>
> Like what?
>
> Beer?

Yup, Beer most def, Devils drink. okay for socialising I guess...But we've all seen what happens to a typical football "fan" when they are pisst and thier team dont do so well.

> Women?

To a certain extent...Like the temptation you get when you see a hot b!tch wearing not much...Leads some people to commiting rape...

> Fun? You can still have fun.

> Cars? Dont see much wrong with Cars.

Religion doesn't cause hate, it's just people use religion as a means to an end.

Take Saddam for instance, his stated threats to Israel make plenty of reference to the fact he believes Jews shouldn't exist in Israel and that his own religion hates jews, in his opinion. He doesn't mention that whoever controls Israel can make money, fast, which is something Iraq can't do, or that Israel is the strategic crown jewels of the Middle East.

Sames goes for Usama Bin Laden, his preachings of hatred and Islam are misleading, Islam really teaches tolerance, not Bin Laden's holy war. BUT he knows that people will believe in him if he says their religion allows them to do what they want. Some of his people see the mainly non Islam societies in the West that have what they want and can't get so they hate what they can't get and look for a reason to attack the West, an excuse.

Durin the witch hunts in Europe, people beleived they were rooting out witches, devils and all other nasty anti christian things. King James altered the Bible slightly to "suffer not a witch to live" in tune with this sentiment. In reality people used this religious excuse to turn upon those that didn't fit into the town. If you were an old woman who kept herself to herself then you were obviously a witch. If you thought your wife/husbnad was seeing someone else then that person was obviously a devil, or a succubi. And so on.

People look to anything to use as a reason to do what they want, to justify themselves and give an air or righteousness to their own actions that would otherwise be deemed unacceptable in their society. Religion is one of those reasons.

Think of religion as being like a gun. A gun in the hands of a policeman can save a life. In the hands of a terrorist it can take life. Religion is like that. It can be used in different ways, but because some use it in a bad way doesn't mean we should stop using and beleiving in what it does.

~~Belldandy~~

Or†ega wrote:
> This world has been laid out with many temptations by the devil which
> we must try to resist to escape this world to be with God.

Like what?

Beer?
Women?
Fun?
Cars?