Should We Reject Religion?

[bymis]

I want to get peoples opinions on wheter we should reject religion and is there any country that has no god's or religion's?

Thanks

Marty

[dotjhawkes]

Who do you mean by we? Human beings, British people. Christians, ABers?

[Lonnie]

I take it you actually mean 'abolish' reigion, wouldn't work for a number of reasons, (1) its a means for the few to control the many. (2) I believe that humankind has an inherent need to believe in something, eg, why are we here?. Communist countries like China and North Korea officially don't believe in a god, as was Russia before the collapse of the Iron Curtain, so to abolish God has been tried, but never succeded.

[Drusilla]

I am a humanist and member of the British Humanist Association (BHA), so I have already rejected the idea of God, Gods and Supreme Beings, but I have no problem with other people making different choices on such issues.

I am wary of people who require a spy in the sky in order to lead a moral life. What type of person is good because they fear punishment in the afterlife?

I believe the earliest humans joined groups for protection and religions grew as a way of explaining the complex world around them, so it is my belief that humans invented God and not that he created us, but even I will accept the study of world religions is a fascinating subject. I just wish it was more rational.

http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/

Hope you don't mind my adding the link for anyone who may be interested.

[Lonnie]

I agree with Drusilla that humans created God, to a certain extent, we all have our own ideas, and mine is that each and every one of us is a God, we are the only creatures that have the total power of life and death over anything else, including the planet. we also have the power of creativity that nothing else on earth has.

[joko]

ditto drusilla.

Lonnie - germs, mrsa, aids, sharks, lions, tigers, poisonous spiders, snakes, etc etc, even bees and peanuts to some, so hardly total power - we may be able to kill them (only with weapons though, without them we'd have no chance) but they also kill us, as do hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes et al, and we can't do a thing about it, plus we die after about 90years - we have no power over that.

and do you seriously think we could kill the planet??

the planet is, and will be, absolutely fine - it is us that will soon find the place uninhabitable for us to live on, the planet will carry on and new life forms will grow that are suited to the new habitat we shamefully created - life finds a way, as they say.

anything we do to the planet hurts us, not the planet.

to be honest the planet will probably be relieved to get rid of us once and for all, parasites that we are.

[Lonnie]

Sorry joko, I have to reply to your post, I was not talking about nature, unless you class a Tornado's etc as creatures, as I said, there's no other creature on this planet that can do what we do, intentionally, is there, apart from humans, another creature that could blow this planet to smithereen if they got the mind to it?, if there is, i'd certainly like to know about it,

[Robert G]

Hasn't difference in religious beliefs been the cause of most wars?

Isn't mankind self-destructive anyway, with or without religion?

Just thought I'd throw that in.

[bymis]

Robet G.

I Think Religion Cause Extremism

Yes we destroy our selves and evil people kill but religion is the only thing where good people do evil things for their "gods and religion"

[joko]

lonnie - you said "total power of life and death", we do not a have "total power" for the many many reasons i stated. you made no specifications.

I take your point that we are dominant though, but that is hardly something to be proud of is it? that we can blow things up!

It is the arrogant talk of man thinking he is a "god" that has "total power of life and death" that causes megalomaniac sociopaths to blow things up and destroy things in the first place.

We are not gods, we are animals like all the others. the fact that we consider ourselves more important than everything else is irrelevent, and as for more intelligent - there are some aliens (and some humans) who would disagree.

[Lonnie]

joko, i'll try to be more specific, we are, as you rightly point out, animals, and the dominant one, but, we have freedom of thought, which no other species has, we have, for good or bad, the power of creativity that no other species has, we have the power of invention that no other species has, we can go where we want, and do what we want, within our own rules. No other creature has caused as much harm as us with or without our inventions, and no other creature has done so much good either. The only reason I said that man was God, is because I can't believe in an almighty being that had no beginning and has no end, allows innocents to die the most horrible deaths imaginable, and by innocents, I include all the animal and vegetable life, along with humans that can't fend for themselves. I do agree with the end of your first post, the world would be a lot better off without us, but we we are here, and we should be doing all we can to look after it, instead of creating weapons of mass destruction.

[joko]

lonnie - i agree with you. perhaps it was just the wording of your first post that gave the wrong impression.

it is hard to word things to say exactly what you mean on here isn't it?

(also, i know a few people who think they literally are gods! - drives me nuts!) :o)

[Lonnie]

joko, Yes, I didn't really explain properly, I aplogise, and thanks for your understanding.

[brooklyn77]

Lonnie - We are the only ones with freedom of thought?....as in all other species are under some mind control? A cat will choose wether it is the right time to pounce on prey or not. That is a level of freedom of thought at least. We are just in an advanced state of freedom.

As for 'all the good humans have done' well we have but everything we do is at the expense of the planet and animals we share with the planet....mans gone to the moon, gone to the depths of the ocean, we can talk to each other on the other side of the world, we can get food easily from superstores and we can build warm housing and feed ourselves plentifully.

Yet all the above requires energy and materials, all taken from the planet which is now dying...

Did you know that Gorillas are dying out in Africa in large part due to the Iron Ore rush because the west wants it to make better products. Did you know that Orangatangs are dying out in Borneo because their Government cant afford �2 Million measley pounds to double the size of its rain forest? Yet your favourite popstar or movie star can happliy spend �10 million on a diamond encrusted Ipod !!

I dont really begrudge people spending money they earnt because we are mugs enough to pay extortianate amounts of money on products that cost 50p to make.

As for religion, I would ban it. I would not ban beliefs. People should be allowed to believe what they want. But as soon as it gets into building special churches etc..and people preaching i would say no. Keep it to yourself and believe in what you want. Dont involve the world. Discuss it, meet about it in your home, but dont make a whole world about it.

[brooklyn77]

Oh and anther thing Lonnie - Just in regards to freedom of thought...My cat has learnt that by biting my face and holding on - without injuring me - will make me up - so I can feed him.

Now that is a good level of intelligence

[brooklyn77]

Correction: "will WAKE me up" not 'make'

[pugwashjw]

The governments of the world WILL unite to do away with religion. It is stated in Revelation. Religion is called ' Babylon the Great' and is described as being finely clothed in scarlet and gold, and very wealthy [ Rev. 18;12] The whole of chapter 18 describes 'her' crimes. The 'kings of the earth', governments, will cause her devastation, and the 'travelling merchants' [ big business] will lament her passing. So Babylon the Great must be organised religion, destroyed by governments and lamented by business.