Your train of thought was confusing on if those listed where unneeded or religion itself was.
The only thing that's unneeded is air space
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Do you believe in a higher power? (God, etc.)
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Your train of thought was confusing on if those listed where unneeded or religion itself was.
The only thing that's unneeded is air space
If you believe you can walk you will walk if you believe you can jump to the nearest cliff that's a belief I'm not talking about teachings I'm saying instict
I'm arguing, no? Lets see... when we became aware of our own mortality, began to contemplate death and what happens after... maybe a belief in a god or an afterlife is a large part what enabled us to form societies and civilization. Without that belief, its possible that early humans wouldn't have been able to function properly as a society.
Then say instinct? To say belief means you're tilting the conversation one way.
I'm also making a point that this is a classic misinterpration that is presented in so many of these arguments
Unsure. I can easily believe that there are many universes, and for all we know those multiple universes are cells in some other universe where sentient beings live. It obviously sounds super far-fetched, but I feel like the universe is so vast and wild that something similar to that could easily be true.
I don't think any human religion is accurate though.
I don't think any human religion is accurate though.
No. Religion or God wasn't a big part in the formation of civilization. Rivers, agriculture, labor, trade, etc. helped form society. People didn't group around a Lord, King, or whoever they felt was in charge because of some diety or religion, it was because they had the land that they worked and ate off of.
That sounds so dire. LOL I'm not walking out into a sun drenched planet to meet my fate.
I make choices just like everyone else. There is no either or. There are degrees to everything.
Nope. It's kind of like the difference between getting what you want and deciding you don't want it anymore.
Various inventions say hello. We know a lot and the knowledge ever increasing.
Doesnt evidence of worship and religious practices date back as far as any other form of civilization?
Haha, okay okay.That sounds so dire. LOL I'm not walking out into a sun drenched planet to meet my fate.
I make choices just like everyone else. There is no either or. There are degrees to everything.
I'm not sure what you're saying here but I also really disagree with the idea that everyone is born with a belief in god. Nobody is born with a belief in anything.
My thoughts and opinions about this topic are always in constant flux from the Christian God is the one true god, to there is higher power, to maybe there is one but it's not like the Christian god, and so on and so forth.
Currently I'm in the "unsure" category. There could or could not be a god, it doesn't matter on my end.
Currently I'm in the "unsure" category. There could or could not be a god, it doesn't matter on my end.
I'm saying even the word belief can be misinterpreted if we are simply just here typing to speak our mind that itself is your own belief to do that...follow?
Nah. Not with the knowledge of the heavens we've accrued over the last 600 years. Maybe if I was some ancient human and saw the stars I would think that there was some merit to it.
Argue better? You have zero evidence to support your position, and are so far ignorant of what made the early civilizations grow.
I believe in a higher power. I feel that the cosmos and all that exists within it are far too complex to truly be explained by science without some type of creator playing some designing role in it. Just looking at the majesty of this world sometimes, its hard to imagine that this was all by random chance, rather I largely feel that that conclusion is impossible. I was raised and indoctrinated in a southern baptist church but once I developed a mind and thoughts of my own, I turned away from those teachings and searched and gave meaning to the universe myself as opposed to being spoon fed another's interpretation of it. Being inquisitive and having questions created a schism between my mind and what I'd been taught.
I'm not religious because I consider the atrocities that happen in this world and I'd think God (I'm speaking purely to Christianity now, I have no knowledge of other religions/denominations but they'd likely share key elements) would have to be an evil leaning being to orchestrate such pain that exists within the world today. I also dislike the idea of both destiny and God having a chosen or favored people. I think a lot of people who are religious and who are "good" because they fear what awaits them after death or they believe they'll be rewarded for their deeds, rather than being good for the sake of being good or because simply it's the right thing to do aren't inherently good themselves. So I can't align myself with individuals like that. Fear not, I'm not saying that all religious people are like this, but I've known many devout Christians who were/are hypocrites, and monsters in the flesh. I have friends who are religious and it doesn't interfere with our friendship because I can respect their views.
Religion is my opinion a tool to control; one that instills purpose in many directionless people. Typical of things people find fulfilling or that gives meaning to their lives, it creates zealotry and has only served to divide the world but perhaps this is religion is just a perversion of the original message of the creator. So, in closing yes I believe in a creator. I don't believe any religion has quite gotten the motivations behind it correct. I think the creator is purely neutral party, willing to allow what happens on Earth to be so without its intervention. This is the only way I can explain the calamities of the world while a supreme being presides over it or at the very least is aware of it.
Sorry if I went off-topic. Religion/God seems to be all anyone wants to talk about these days. Just yesterday a friend of mine tried to convince me that whites are evil and an engine of destruction crafted by God to punish, blacks are the true Israelites and the reason why we suffer so throughout the world is because we turned away from God's word and largely because we eat ham and that WW3 will be a race war where the chosen people will cut down homosexuals, murderers and rapists and. You can't make this shit up. Impressionable minds are ruined by this stuff.
I'm not religious because I consider the atrocities that happen in this world and I'd think God (I'm speaking purely to Christianity now, I have no knowledge of other religions/denominations but they'd likely share key elements) would have to be an evil leaning being to orchestrate such pain that exists within the world today. I also dislike the idea of both destiny and God having a chosen or favored people. I think a lot of people who are religious and who are "good" because they fear what awaits them after death or they believe they'll be rewarded for their deeds, rather than being good for the sake of being good or because simply it's the right thing to do aren't inherently good themselves. So I can't align myself with individuals like that. Fear not, I'm not saying that all religious people are like this, but I've known many devout Christians who were/are hypocrites, and monsters in the flesh. I have friends who are religious and it doesn't interfere with our friendship because I can respect their views.
Religion is my opinion a tool to control; one that instills purpose in many directionless people. Typical of things people find fulfilling or that gives meaning to their lives, it creates zealotry and has only served to divide the world but perhaps this is religion is just a perversion of the original message of the creator. So, in closing yes I believe in a creator. I don't believe any religion has quite gotten the motivations behind it correct. I think the creator is purely neutral party, willing to allow what happens on Earth to be so without its intervention. This is the only way I can explain the calamities of the world while a supreme being presides over it or at the very least is aware of it.
Sorry if I went off-topic. Religion/God seems to be all anyone wants to talk about these days. Just yesterday a friend of mine tried to convince me that whites are evil and an engine of destruction crafted by God to punish, blacks are the true Israelites and the reason why we suffer so throughout the world is because we turned away from God's word and largely because we eat ham and that WW3 will be a race war where the chosen people will cut down homosexuals, murderers and rapists and. You can't make this shit up. Impressionable minds are ruined by this stuff.
I understand that but using it with the word God makes it more one sided
I get what you're saying. Strictly going by what proof is physically displayed but not discounting the other outcomes is a reasonable way to see it. I think 'Love' exists, it can't be physically embodied but it can be created or manipulated. This may be why I lean towards faith a bit.
I was really hesitant to say this because I thought people would try to cheapen the idea since it shows up in a Fiction. People treat the Force as a living personification, as if it has its own agenda and sentience.
I actually never though as far to imagine a force having sentience, I think such a thing would absolutely mesh with chaos and randomness, with patterns that are noticeable on certain scales.
Its like the alien argument, the odds of meeting one are pretty low because it would have to be carbon-based in first place. A living being based on another element could easily be existing (we have sulfer based organisms on earth!) and could also be potentially hazardous/lethal for us to coexist.
We do know a lot of things, but in relation to what we know we don't know, let alone any unknown unknowns, it's not much.
This doesn't mean that humanity isn't dope and constantly discovering and learning new things, but no reasonable or well read person should be offended at that statement
I believe in science, and believing in something with zero evidence is about as unscientific as it gets.
I'm not offended, but saying "we know nothing, we just came up with names and labels" is a completely false statement.
We know an incredible amount, all thanks to science. Not religion (although some great scientists, especially early on, were also religious).
No. I used to when I was younger but the more I grew and learned the less it seemed like there was not so much a higher being many groups, new and old, large and small, that wanted you to believe in one for a variety of reasons, usually control and power even if it was through the form of religion. Let's just say religion in general seemed very much like a human idea and development and less the result of some grand being or beings that could control the universe itself or anything along those lines.
I am open to the idea that I'm wrong but it'd have to be something pretty profound and undeniable for me to actually change my mind.
I am open to the idea that I'm wrong but it'd have to be something pretty profound and undeniable for me to actually change my mind.
Can you give the free version?
Even still, the abstract doesn't actually say religion helped further humanity:
"cognitive representations of gods as increasingly knowledgeable and punitive, and who sanction violators of interpersonal social norms, foster and sustain the expansion of cooperation, trust and fairness towards co-religionist strangers"
This doesn't mean humanity would be worse off without religion. Without reading this obvious "gotta buy to read" argument, it's quite obvious they're showing you can strong arm people with religion.
I think the origin of religious thought is simple: our cognitive abilities and inquisitive minds. Mankind has attempted to understand its surroundings but there are some things it does not have the tools or knowledge necessary to understand. Like what causes thunder or disease. So we invent the theory of Thor, the thunder God, or the miasma theory of disease. The only difference between religious beliefs and non-religious beliefs is that when a religious answer explains a phenomenon it does so by ascribing intent and consciousness to something.
Edit: I maybe should have used 'theistic' instead of 'religious'.
Also, I totally believe in a high power. *Insert pic of Jesus smoking weed*
Edit: I maybe should have used 'theistic' instead of 'religious'.
Also, I totally believe in a high power. *Insert pic of Jesus smoking weed*
Itr's reductive and sloppy writing, but I mean, we are where we are because we're exceptionally good at categorizing things and keeping them preserved.
I believe there is something more/higher at work than what we perceive, but I don't ascribe it a "holy" context per se.
What we "know" is simply our understanding, is it not?
We don't know why things are here, they are just here. We make educated guesses to the best of our ability. Do you actually 100% know what the force of gravity is? No, we just measured its properties, created our logical laws around it and gave it a name for the sake of our sanity.
Do we know why two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen make water? Not really, we just know it takes 2H and one O to do it. Acknowledging there is a basic filter for our understanding to begin isn't a negative thing. Thats just how we are. Yes, potential for knowledge is always growing. Thats the best part about the miracle of life.
Nope. I'm not a fan of "believing" and more about knowing. And as far as we know, it doesn't seem very likely that there is some magical higher power, like god etc.
What is this from?That sounds so dire. LOL I'm not walking out into a sun drenched planet to meet my fate.
I make choices just like everyone else. There is no either or. There are degrees to everything.