What And Why You Believe please write logical posts.

[egbert 0]

hmm, the 1st one says 'thou shalt not have other gods before me..or make graven images'...moral and in everyones best interest?  Tell that to those persecuted for believing differently through the years, as it is this passage (among others) that was used for justification.

 

Or, 'thou shalt not take the lords name in vain'.  Frankly, this is at most annoying to people.  Not #2 material for a list of 10 things you shouldn't do in life.  At least its better than #1.

 

Then there is #3, 'Keep the Sabbath.....'  Also, not really dealing with morality.  Though perhaps everyone's best interest, since we all need a break.  It seems a bit of a strange way of saying that though (though, honestly, it does say other things as well, but the following comment applies to those as well).  Why not say 'take a break once a week, to be with others and enjoy community'  Much more to the point.  In fact, a lot of this stuff could be much more to the point, and a lot less 'Rawr! GOD! RAWR!. 

 

As for the others, they are pretty generic.  I don't think you need a diety to know that its not nice, polite, or moral to kill another person.  I have never believed, but that always struck me as sort of obvious.  Same for, the 'don't steal' and 'don't lie' and 'don't commit adultery' type of things.

Why should you believe that holy book/religion over any other?  Because you were raised with it? Fine, but that only counts till you are say...18, at which point you should learn to think for yourself.  If you have other, more compelling reasons, that would be nice (not saying you don't, just that I can't tell from your post and it strikes me as unlikely.  I could be wrong). 

 

There are many holy books, and many prophets, and many religions. Most of them say similar things. 

 

The point is, you shouldn't start with saying something is true and then looking for something to disprove it (especially when most religions make claims that simply are outside the realm of proof/disproof).  You should demand that a religion prove itself not only better than the others, but in some definitive way.

 

To simplify:  A lot of whats in religions probably strikes you as BS, and vice versa. I think its long past time to create a BS test and make em all pass.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Firstly, about the no other gods before me.

Let's say some fake priest comes and had an altar, and everybody worshipped it, and he said that his 'god' said "give my priest a million dollars", and the people would do it because of their religious belief. Not good.

 

And, anybody persecuted using this as justification was not done so rightly. The commandment did not say, "torture anyone who disobeys this".

 

And thou shalt not take the lord's name in vain? If you do, he becomes nothing more than a joke, and you begin to ignore Him and laugh at him. This is not good.

 

Remember the sabbath? Yes, it is in everyone's best interest. And people should have a 'holy day' to keep them on track. The morality of this is to keep people from working all day and makign themselves tired and unhealthy.

1Cr 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

See here.

 

Rawr god RAWR?

 

Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do [his commandments]: his praise endureth for ever.

You think we don't really need to be told the other commandments? Apparently, some people do. There are peopel committing adultery left and right. You'll see tons of murder in Palestine.

 

Yes I shouldn't be looking for something to disprove it, I just wanted to fill up my post.

 

About the other religions? I have no problem with Islam or Judaism or Buddhism.

Islam is fine. It makes sense to me except that I don't believe in the violent conversion of people to Islam when they conquer everything. Jesus seems like a more godly guy than Mohammed to me. I have not read the Quran so I shouldn't judge it really.

Buddha seems like a guy who's smart enough. He goes along and comes with this interesting theory about how you should behave. I disagree with it at some points, but I think it's pretty moral.

 

BUT, I liek christianity better than them all because, like I said, everything is says is:

 

Moral,

Good for Everyone overall,

Sensible,

 

I can't find anything to disagree with.

So, I don't find many other religions to be all BS, I just think they are incorrect on some points.

 

I'm not--shall we say--- the best at defending my religious beliefs, so forgive me is there are any flaws.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

I gave up on reading the bible a logn time ago because Essentially when you get down to it, it's still a book put together by a group of people trying construct their own image of god, and then telling others to follow it. which is utter bull.  Not only that, they change and remove any part of any gospel or whole gospels based on what they deem "realative" or "important"

 

its all freakin religious politics.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There are parts like that, but I think you are giving the book a bit too little credit. The Bible certainly contains parts that are harsh and judgemental, but it also has parts(especially the new testament) that are more concilatory and profound.

 

The problem is less with the book than the way people interpret it, such as believing that other religions are all 'of the devil' or that everyone is going to hell if they don't accept certain beliefs.

 

These views are the things that cause problems and suffering(and aren't those the domain of the devil? Just for irony?), not the book some people supposedly base those views on.

 

You can find wisdom in just about anything if you look for it, just as you can find hate. What you find is more of a commentary on who is looking than what they see.

[amkint 0]

i believe in islam cuz i was born a muslim and my parents thought me that....but now i believe it myself..its sad how the terrorists are portraying a very bad meaning for islam to the world though... makes me sad.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

i believe in islam cuz i was born a muslim and my parents thought me that....

but now i believe it myself..

its sad how the terrorists are portraying a very bad meaning for islam to the world though... makes me sad.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Please know that not everyone in the west consideres 'islam' to be the threat. We try to distinguish by saying 'radical islam', meaning the form that considers everyone a threat and is very violent(such as wahabism).

 

What you can do is let people know that you are a muslim, but lead your life in a way that is an shining example of what islam can be. People will take notice, and attitudes will change(slowly). Also, speak out about the actions of the terrible leaders in the middle east. They are the ones who are giving you such a bad name.

[webguide 0]

Please know that not everyone in the west consideres 'islam' to be the threat. We try to distinguish by saying 'radical islam', meaning the form that considers everyone a threat and is very violent(such as wahabism).

Political correctness aside, most of the muslims in the world are fundamentalists. Do you have any idea of the sickening rules of a Islamic Law country? A small example would be that in order for a rape to even get to court you need four male witnesses. And history has shown that whenever muslims have the chance they will vote for Islamic Law.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

Political correctness aside, most of the muslims in the world are fundamentalists. Do you have any idea of the sickening rules of a Islamic Law country? A small example would be that in order for a rape to even get to court you need four male witnesses. And history has shown that whenever muslims have the chance they will vote for Islamic Law.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not true, the country with that law is ruled by fundamentalist, "WAHABISM" muslims, that I mentioned in my above post.

 

Before the renaissance in Europe, most of the science and learning in the world was done in the middle east by muslims. Islam does not have to be crazy psycho.

 

That being said, I agree that right now, crazy psycho islam seems to be all the rage.

I just want people to realize that it wasn't always like that, nor does it have to be in the future.

[webguide 0]

Don't get me wrong i'm not just taking aim at Islam, all the biggest religions have had very violent times during their history. Infact no religion comes close to the amount of destruction that Christianity has created. But at the moment Islam is the religion in which followers take their holy book literally. After all, that is what a fundamentalist is, someone who believes the whole religion and doesn't pick and choose. As for how Islam used to be, I don't know what your information sources are but I advise you to look through the religions own account of how the faith was created in the form of the Hadith's. The Hadith literature, as a whole, was handed down in Arab society until the mid 700s and is widely accepted by the muslim community. It contains some sickening information.

[Shogi 0]

tbh, the only religion i know of thats had no real violent history is Buddhism, and that I'm not even sure of.no doubt God feels sick at the things that people do in his name.actually, go watch Dogma and that'll tell you guys how i feel about religion.

[nykademis 0]

I dont know what to classify myself as. I grew up in a Christian family. My beliefs growing up were the typical Christians beliefs,I guess. Such as; there's a heaven, there's a hell, everyone must be born again to go to heaven, homosexuality is wrong..blah blah blah.But now I look at those beliefs and the rest of the Christians. Most are hypocritical. I guess I can say I do believe in a Higher power. Though I have changed the way I live different from that I believed as a child, I do lightly carry some of the beliefs. It's hard to believe that such a "wonderful" and powerful" God would allow such horrible things to take place. Such, as war. But I would be told that its necessary for us to "grow."I don't know. I believe there's a God. I would say that. I think the Bible should'nt be taken so literal or else we'd all be giving our daughters out to be prostitutes!That was a joke..sorry, i know we shouldn't be joking. But. Everyone is so serious.

[Shogi 0]

That was a joke..sorry, i know we shouldn't be joking. But. Everyone is so serious.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thats one thing i hate about religion, everybody takes it so seriously. people are so fast to tell you youre going to hell for crackign a joke about religion.

 

God made us in his likenesss right? that woul dmean the he has a sense of humor too right? which means god can take a joke.

 

people need to chill

[webguide 0]

I dont know what to classify myself as. I grew up in a Christian family. My beliefs growing up were the typical Christians beliefs,I guess. Such as; there's a heaven, there's a hell, everyone must be born again to go to heaven, homosexuality is wrong..blah blah blah.

 

But now I look at those beliefs and the rest of the Christians. Most are hypocritical. I guess I can say I do believe in a Higher power. Though I have changed the way I live different from that I believed as a child, I do lightly carry some of the beliefs. It's hard to believe that such a "wonderful" and powerful" God would allow such horrible things to take place. Such, as war. But I would be told that its necessary for us to "grow."

 

I don't know. I believe there's a God. I would say that. I think the Bible should'nt be taken so literal or else we'd all be giving our daughters out to be prostitutes!

 

That was a joke..sorry, i know we shouldn't be joking. But. Everyone is so serious.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Right, I don't believe in god but I can kind of understand why others would. But religion is something else altogether. And your right about christians being hypocritical. For example the bible says you should stone to death any women who has sex before marriage, which is something that Christianity has enforced for most of its existance. Now most normal people would not agree with this law yet they still call themselves Christians.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

tbh, the only religion i know of thats had no real violent history is Buddhism, and that I'm not even sure of.

 

no doubt God feels sick at the things that people do in his name.

 

actually, go watch Dogma and that'll tell you guys how i feel about religion.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You are mostly right about buddhism. Buddhists have killed, and have even killed other buddhists, just not over or for buddhism. In fact, the two great buddhist 'conflicts' involve a bunch of monks yelling at each other, realize they are being silly to care so much about doctrine, and then apologizing and leaving.

 

 

That is not to say the history is totally clean, however. Japanese buddhists in world war 2 corrupted zen doctrines to say that if you killed in a state of 'no mind' then you did not accrue negative karma. This didn't make killing 'ok' or even 'good' simply 'not relevant one way or another spiritually'. Even this took work, taking carefull corruption of doctrine as well as references to non-cannonical works (and would have been impossible using other sects' philosophies). After the war, one of the two zen sects admitted they were wrong and the monks involved stepped down. The other is sort of living out the shame.

 

Indeed, every time there has been an attempted 'justification' put forward to doing something normally wrong using scripture, it comes from 'non cannon' scripture(as in scripture not from the time of the buddha). That people know that the scripture is not real doesn't keep them from trying to ignore that fact. Still, those attempted justifications usually stay just that, "attempted".

 

This history is one of the reasons I am buddhist.

[firedoor 0]

may i just say that i held my views before angels and deamons and the da vinci code were published. I believe that religion itself could or coudln't be true, i am not a believer and i am not an aethisit as there is so much eveidence for both sides. However i do hgold a strong belief that most sects of religion are flawed, corrupt and in some cases fundametanly evil. Take the catholic church, it has it's own country and army, funds fly into it's bank accounts, up until two hundred years ago they used to castrate choir boys so that they don't lose thier tenor voice!But i do not hold this view on the sects as a whole, relions as a whole group together and help people out, they build a strong sence of communtiy and promote a decent way of life.

[egbert 0]

Lev 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with [another] man's wife, [even he] that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. I certainly agree with this. Adultery is1. Immoral2. Evil (ok that's kind of the same...)l3. Not in anyone's best interest.Lets say the guy goes with the girl and gets her pregnant... then he abandons her, leaving her to fend for herself to raise the child. BUT, it doesn't stop there. Some people won't bother trying to raise the child nd so they MURDER it instead via abortion. This is obviously not in anybody's best interest.It's so much better if both are punished severely, even put to death. Then:1. We can prevent it from happening again.2. People will think twice before doing it... and not do it.3. There will be less murders via abortion.About the seriousness? I think my religious beliefs are serious and not just some joke. It's good to have fun and be happy and have fellowship, though.

[MajesticTreeFrog 0]

Lev 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with [another] man's wife, [even he] that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

 

I certainly agree with this. Adultery is

1. Immoral

2. Evil                (ok that's kind of the same...)l

3. Not in anyone's best interest.

 

Lets say the guy goes with the girl and gets her pregnant... then he abandons her, leaving her to fend for herself to raise the child. BUT, it doesn't stop there. Some people won't bother trying to raise the child nd so they MURDER it instead via abortion. This is obviously not in anybody's best interest.

 

It's so much better if both are punished severely, even put to death. Then:

1. We can prevent it from happening again.

2. People will think twice before doing it... and not do it.

3. There will be less murders via abortion.

 

About the seriousness? I think my religious beliefs are serious and not just some joke. It's good to have fun and be happy and have fellowship, though.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You do realize that doing this would mean that many many people would die. It would cause more problems than doing nothing. For instance, lets say a man who owns a business committs adultery, and you kill him. Now you have destroyed the livelyhood of all those who work for him. Do they diserve to suffer this way? Especially if they knew nothing?

 

Not only that, but remember the witch trials that occured in America. It is easy to accuse someone of something like that. Imagine a pair of people who are really good friends, one a man the other a woman. Now, if someone is angry at them, they can accuse them of sleeping together and possibly have them killed if enough people believe. Now the entire community has committed murder. HMmm. I wonder what the penalty for that is.... Now things are even worse.

 

The extreme punishment thing just doesn't work. It is even more silly today than it was back in biblical times.