WHAT IS RELIGION ?

[acer1]

What is religion.
What is the use of religion.
Has any one every benefited from religion.

Take a long hard look at the world now and in the past and please tell me what the hell religion succeeds in achieving.


acer1

[Wyvern]

What is religion.
What is the use of religion.
Has any one every benefited from religion.

Take a long hard look at the world now and in the past and please tell me what the hell religion succeeds in achieving.


acer1

Well at least during the dark ages, religion(both christianity and islam) were instrumental in retaining the knowledge from the classical world.

Many people have benefitted from religion, many have also been hindered by it. Religion tends to be a unifying factor within a culture which makes a particular culture that much stronger. All of western europe can be considered to be from one religion(even with the schism) and look what they were able to achieve(for good or ill)

[veerar]

What is religion.
What is the use of religion.
Has any one every benefited from religion.

Take a long hard look at the world now and in the past and please tell me what the hell religion succeeds in achieving.


acer1

As per Oxford dictionary religion means " a particular system of faith and worship".Eventhough it means this in its simplest form,to theologians and to those interested in it,it means much much more than that!There are people who are supposed to have sacrificed their lives for the same,Jesus,himself,being a good example,if you are willing to believe in that,because by the way,you have formatted your post you seem to have scant respect for the same.Crusades have been fought for the same spanning years.
Religion started as a way of life,in the early periods, especially, Hinduism.morality,being the main pillar,as a means of maintaining social harmony. Later religions formed on the basis of "beliefs",like Christianity and Ilslam.
All religions,owe their allegiance to some God or other,eventhough,many are unable to define the term "God'.This has resulted in a lot of argyments,differences of opinins and waes as mentioned earlier.
Many have benefitted from religion,especially those belonging to the famous "Alcoholic Anonymous'.Carkl Jung,the famous Psychiatrist,felt that,men and women,in their middle ages and the fag end of their lives,will have strong religous experiences and even revelations.he himself seemed to have one.Mr Bill W of the famous AA had admitted that he had a powerful religious experience,which converted him from an alcoholic to a crusader against the same.
Paradoxically,Religion has also resulted in a lot of persecutions and seems to continue even in the enlightened 21st century.How paradoxical,when we see the progress in science and technology!thus religion has proven itself,to be a double edged sword.
I have only given a grain on this very vast ocean of a subject.
I ould also like to point out that people,will change their beliefs as regards religion in their lives,generally,being atheists,in heir youth,to believers in their old age.
Has it anything to do with physical disability that accomapnies old age or being "unwanted",by their own loved ones,like children etc?
Religion is indeed mysterious and powerful,for the way it sways people,emotionally to hysterical levels,especially,when they are in groups!
And then,you have got these various cults,especially in modern times,which is why,I think,people become cynical about the same.

.

[acer1]

Thank you for your reply both Wyvern and veera.

You have still not given an answer, only given me further proof that religion is of no benefit
to mankind, it has and continues to rule with war or crusades and nothing but blood-shed, it is
nothing but evil. And continues to succeed in achieving nothing for the human race.

(Religion tends to be a unifying factor within a culture which makes a particular culture that much stronger.)

(Crusades have been fought for the same spanning years.)

The only strength religion gives is to the victor in all the needless wars and blood shed.

acer1

[veerar]

Thank you for your reply both Wyvern and veera.

You have still not given an answer, only given me further proof that religion is of no benefit
to mankind, it has and continues to rule with war or crusades and nothing but blood-shed, it is
nothing but evil. And continues to succeed in achieving nothing for the human race.

(Religion tends to be a unifying factor within a culture which makes a particular culture that much stronger.)

(Crusades have been fought for the same spanning years.)

The only strength religion gives is to the victor in all the needless wars and blood shed.

acer1

Most of the laws pertaining to modern society,especially,ethics,owe its origins in Religion.But for religion,I doubt,the present day society,would be what it is,from the civic point of view.
Actually,Religion,as such is not the reason for bloodshed or a particular culture being stronger than others. RELIGION IS USED AS AN EXCUSE FOR WAGING WARS,now a days by politicians and during ancient times by the superior warriors!
In this context,I would like to point out that there will always be problems in this world,in one form or another,religion or no religion.Doesn't one see gang wars among teenagers in all nations,in spite of their belonging to the same nation?Doesn't one see brothers fighting each other,eventhough belonging to the same family?Doesn't one se murders and other criminal acts in our society,in the same nation,against one's fellow citizens?Can religion be blamed for this?Similarly wars are also being fought for other reasons,using religion as an example.I would also like to point out that wars are being fought for business and raw materials,and would like to blame the Corporates also,along with the politicians for wars.
Nature has programmed us in certain ways,one of them being making us competitive and assertive.Man will always try to assert his superiority against his peers and subordinates.He will always try to possess what he does not have,even if it means fighting for it. If one observes human history,one would find that Man,had had to fight throughout his existence in this world,right from the days,he dwelt in the jungle.He had always had to face some problem or other.This is one of the wonders of Mother Nature!
Religion has only been used as an excuse thro' the course of human history.More so now a days, as politicians find it easy to arouse passions to hysterical levels,among their countrymen,to capture political power.
Man will always try to show his superiority over others.
I would rather blame Man(politician and Corporate honchos) for wars and bloodshed,than religion.I would also like to separate religion from politics.

[The Persnickety Platypus]

Religion is simply an attempt to explain the unexplainable, and glean peace and order from a seemingly futile existence often pervaded by untenable chaos.

Ancient humans couldn't fathom, for example, how and why the sun seems to move across the sky on a day to day basis. They improvised their lack of understanding with religion, using (amoung other ideas) the God Apollo to make sense of this curious phenomenom.

As we learn more about ourselves, society, and the factors guiding the complex natural phenomena around us, I feel that fewer and fewer people will need to resort to religion to help them in their lack of comprehension. Religion, in my eyes, serves as but a single stepping stone on humanity's intellectual path to understanding.

[Talisman]

Think I would go along with that - one thing I would also add is that does seem to be a lot of confusion with certain types of people re the differences between religion and spirituality - religion by definition has to include some form of worship, in the case of Christianity, God, Islam, Allah, etc, or with witchcraft the various gods and goddesses, which is why witchcraft could be regarded as a religion, but not spirituality. We also need to differentiate between spirituality and spiritualism as a religion - where they have platform mediums etc, but still sing hymns and have all the usual trappings.

Spirituality on the other hand, while it does tend to include the belief in some form of higher power, does not teach that it is superior to mankind, but rather part of us, which actually lives within us and acts as both creator and guiding force. I suspect that I may though be going a little bit off topic here !

From what I can see though, the main benefit of religion is community, somewhere where people go to meet people and socialize and feel that they belong. They are plenty of other ways of doing this though that do not involve the more negative aspects of some of the religions - the belief for example in hell and the resultant fear that comes from this, the very strange belief that God loves us unconditionally as long as we do what he wants (how can this be unconditional), etc, etc. So, no I would have to say that from my perspective that religion as far as I can see does not serve any useful function whatsoever, unless you are one of those people who has a vested interest in controlling through fear ....

June

[SmellsLikeLife]

I would think all the people helped by World Vision have Religion to thank, as well as any other organization run by Christian owners.

It is not true that science is from religion, you are right, acer1, because the most scientific advances in the 13-16th centuries were the result of people basing science on physical evidence. In short, not using the science to prove their religion, because they always got the results they wanted in those cases.

It does seem like most of our government is based on Christian/other religion beliefs from the Bible/Quran/Book of Mormon. At the very least, our judicial system is based on the Roman judicial system, which was predominantly Christian.

I don't who said this, and it's probably misquoted, but someone said something like, "Every day, the Truth sits around unnoticed, but people who believe that their god told them to do something will always do it."

Basically, people will always be more eager to follow a religious cause, rather than, say, homeland security. *cough*

I think religion is the defining feature of history; that is, whatever time period, whatever location, religion has always been a big influence.

[Mark_W]

Our "religion", is our fundamental outlook on life. It answers the question why we live and what we live for, and everyone upon entering rational life answers these questions in one way or another. Perhaps unconsciously, or by default, but their words will tell the tale as to what constitues their "religion".
Strictly speaking there are only 2 religions.
One is living first for yourself or extensions of yourself (family, friends, country). The other is living for truth and following your conscience, and saying "I should do what's right, come what may", living first and only for the welfare of all.
One of them is harmful, the other is helpful to all of humanity.

[Goat]

Our "religion", is our fundamental outlook on life. It answers the question why we live and what we live for, and everyone upon entering rational life answers these questions in one way or another. Perhaps unconsciously, or by default, but their words will tell the tale as to what constitues their "religion".
Strictly speaking there are only 2 religions.
One is living first for yourself or extensions of yourself (family, friends, country). The other is living for truth and following your conscience, and saying "I should do what's right, come what may", living first and only for the welfare of all.
One of them is harmful, the other is helpful to all of humanity.

You have to prove that there are only '2' religions .. that sounds like a false dichotomy.

You also have to demonstrate that living for your friends/family/country is harmful.