More than one in four Americans believe religion “outdated”
Overall, this is good news, as it indicates that, rather than blindly believing in unfounded concepts which have created an often spectacular amount of divisiveness and horror, people are beginning to develop the courage and insight to look more closely and with greater scientific thinking into humankind’s most important issues.
Nevertheless, I hope by “outdated” the majority of these individuals are not suggesting that we simply throw out all religion, ignore its history and ban it from the future. I completely disagree with such a notion, which would define tyranny and fascism, if those words have any meaning at all. As a mythicist and scholar of comparative religion and mythology, having studied these fascinating subjects for decades, I have absolutely no interest in banning religion or ignoring its massive, imaginative, creative and colorful past extending back many thousands of years.
Indeed, I love studying these subjects above all others, and my main goal is to spread the appreciation for deserving religious ideation dating back millennia, while attempting to stem the fanaticism and megalomania that create endless atrocity. It’s really not that difficult, but we need to wake up, as it seems a significant portion of people are doing today. Ironically, what we are bringing forth from our collective past is really the “updating” that religion so desperately needs in the first place!
29% of Americans say religion ‘out of date’
A Gallup poll of Americans’ attitudes towards religion released on Christmas Eve found significant recent increases in those responding either that they have no religious preference, that religion is not very important in their lives, or that they believe religion “is largely old-fashioned or out of date.”
Only 78% of Americans now identify as Christian, while 22% describe their religious preference as either “other” or “none.”
Most of these changes have occurred since 2000 and represent the first significant shift since a sharp decline in religious adherence during the 1970s. Over the last nine years, the number with no religious preference has grown from a level of around 8% to 13%. The number for whom religion is not very important has climbed from just over 10% to 19%. And the number who believe religion is out of date and has no answers for today’s problems has jumped from slightly more than 20% to 29%.
These changes do not appear to have affected the majority of Americans who still consider religion “very important” in their own lives. That figure remains at 56% — roughly the same as for the last 35 years — while 57% still say religion has answers to most of the world’s problems.
The biggest difference is that in the late 1990s, up to 68% of Americans though religion had answers to the world’s problems — even though only about 60% said religion was personally very important to them. It seems as though over the last ten years a significant number may have gone from believing that religion is a positive factor in the world, even if they’re not particularly religious themselves, to seeing religion in a far more skeptical or even negative light….
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I’m ready for America to stop discriminating against atheists & Freethinkers. America’s largest minority is the non-religious. It’s larger than Jews, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Hindu’s & every other minority.
Yet, among the nine current Supreme Court Justices, six are Catholic, one is Protestant and two are Jewish. No self-declared atheist or freethinker has ever sat on the Supreme Court. Apparently only one Justice, David Davis (d. 1877), has been unaffiliated with a church, temple or other religious organization.
This is not representative of the US population as Freethinkers make up nearly 16% of the population in America. Freethinkers are still the most discriminated against minority. It’s time we had a Freethinker or two on the Supreme court bench.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_against_atheists
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Religious_Identification_Survey#The_American_Religious_Identification_Survey
http://www.adherents.com/adh_sc.html
So, here we are in America of all places, proclaiming [b]”Let my Freethinkers Go!”[/b]
1776
“The Third World War must be fomented by taking advantage of the differences caused by the “agentur” of the “Illuminati” between the political Zionists and the leaders of Islamic World. The war must be conducted in such a way that Islam (the Moslem Arabic World) and political Zionism (the State of Israel) mutually destroy each other. Meanwhile the other nations, once more divided on this issue will be constrained to fight to the point of complete physical, moral, spiritual and economical exhaustion…[u]We shall unleash the Nihilists and the atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations the effect of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil[/u]. Then everywhere, the citizens, obliged to defend themselves against the world minority of revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will from that moment be without compass or direction, anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the true light through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view. This manifestation will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time.” – Albert Pike – 33rd Degree Freemason.
Free from thinking
Like it or not our Declaration of Independence, and our Constitution is based on Judeo-Christian Law. As an atheist you can’t make a moral decision based on everything is an accident and right is what I want it to be. The atheist hates guidelines because it is un-natural for an animal to be restricted, and we should all live under the evolutionist creed of survival of the fitist. Atheism would lead us down the path of despotism because the only way to control animals is to pen them up when they freely express themselves. Free thinking isn’t new, the tower of babel was created by free thinkers that rebelled against their creator. Greece had their free thinkers, Germany, Russia, China, all have murdered millions for the sake of free thinking. Free thinking just means get the rules changed so I can live by my own rules. I can cheat, steal, lie, rape, murder, curse, and blame it on my animal nature. Atheism has killed more than any religion has ever killed because is reduces man to his lowest common denomiator.
Look up at the heavens and embrace the wonder of the accident. You know in your heart of hearts their is a creator, you just choose to ignore him! Even if their wasn’t a God I wouldn’t want to live in a world of animals.
Good Luck when you die.
What?!
More people have died as a result of free thought? Come on. Let’s be honest. No war has ever been conducted to spread logic and free thought. Most people in prison are religionists. The atheist population in prison is around 2% in America, the most imprisoned nation on earth. The USA was not founded on religious morals. Try reading Thomas Paine if you don’t believe me. Read Age of Reason by Thomas Paine. Also, Thomas Jefferson rewrote the bible taking all of the supernatural stiff out. It’s called the Jefferson Bible. I really don’t know any warmongering atheists. Next time, try doing some research before you post.
I agree that it is discrimination and it needs to end. Rachel Maddox recently drew attention to the fact that some states still have it on their books that it’s illegal for someone to hold office if they are an atheist. Yes- check it out. Maryland and North Carolina are only two of the states that defy federal law by having it on their books. Sad but true; it’s time to people to think and stop being sheeple.
True but why limit it to S. Court.Why should one nazi type group be allowed to control the white house.Rich people which certainly includes jews dominate even if few in numbers.Congress is best one availabel to be bought by highest bidder.This is not best type of democracy.Meanwhile I like free thinkers but do not rule out christianity as dead.
Not sure why Rense.com thinks this article has anything to do with communism:
“a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.”
Unless it’s just more blatant discrimination against atheists for not believing that a Jewish man (or any other) is the god of the universe based on absolutely no credible evidence whatsoever.
[b]Discrimination against[/b] atheists ([url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_against_atheists[/url])
It’s probably time to grow up and stop harassing people for being intelligent enough not to believe in nonsense.
Atheists are the craziest
Atheists being freethinkers? PLEASE
I have never met an atheist who is a freethinker, actually quite the opposite
the universe is so massive and complex, and still so much unexplained, and atheists have the gall to tell me something that is very plausible, is impossible, and that anything that is outside of their ‘scientific’ world view cant be proven. BS
Psychology for example is absolutely pathetic in its efficacy and in reflecting on its results, and when an innovative therapy came about, thought field therapy and emotional freedom techniques, one of the pioneers, Dr Callahan, had his license revoked, and was almost imprisoned by the so called ‘scientific’ community.
The problem with atheists is they ignore the massive influence belief systems, ( perception ) has on the result, ( actually proven by physics tests ) so when i present evidence THEY CANT SEE IT because they explain it away
Shame on you all! At least someone who believes in religion is in many cases OPEN MINDED to possibility, where as most atheists I talk to are CLOSED TO POSSIBILITY. In curve of massive possibility and advancement, sorry, that is intellectual retardation
( BTW Atheism is related to communism because atheism or more accurately: STATISM is the satanic world view that is promoted by the disease of communism, research it with an open mind and youll see )
IBelieve “I have never met an atheist who is a freethinker, actually quite the opposite”
Don’t confuse all atheists with militant or fundamentalist atheists – I’m an atheist after being a saved, baptized evangelical for many years but I don’t like militant atheists either.
IBelieve “The problem with atheists is they ignore the massive influence belief systems,”
My experience is the most atheists know other belief systems [b]BETTER[/b] than the devotees themselves because they [b]WERE[/b] previous devotees. All atheists weren’t always atheists.
IBelieve “At least someone who believes in religion is in many cases OPEN MINDED to possibility, where as most atheists I talk to are CLOSED TO POSSIBILITY. In curve of massive possibility and advancement, sorry, that is intellectual retardation…BTW Atheism is related to communism because…”
This is just utterly false and demonstrates clear biases, prejudice and discrimination against atheists. You should probably get counseling.
Why?
Why did you quit believing?
Wow- you are one brainwashed person. Your rants certainly don’t make you sound open-minded. Science on the other hand, always leaves the door open, and in fact begs people to prove them wrong- using science. Any ‘evidence’ you present needs to hold up to scientific review. If it doesn’t, then it isn’t evidence.
Shame on us? Science is open to possibilities, just not the fantasies of those who never did the authentic research. Why not be open minded to actually do some research based on Science and History? You have nothing to loose and a lot to gain.
Well the problem with that is that if you take away religion you end up with exactly what has happened to USA.
the people become self centered self absorbed a** holes
the country fails when morality is gone and the people are too self absorbed to even notice.
Whether you believe in God or not Once you shift away from the moral fabric the nation is doomed to implode for all manner of baboonish
ideas to profit from your country men will take hold
the moral fiber lost and the country will be doomed.
As we can well see today People have become so self centered and self absorbed that they now are inbreeds and grunts.
All the great society functions cease to function
education fails ,crime rises,each man is an island and the country fails.
the door is flung wide open so that criminals can rape the nation
gut the nation and loot the nation’s purse.
In 1963 American woman wore dresses and the men wore suits.
the stood upright in society.
Today the American people are like apes.
That is why 100,000 of the smartest and the most educated Americans have been leaving for good each and every year.
They know America is lost.
That leaves the rest of America in an ever increasing spiral down.
Today America is at her Waterloo the people no longer step with a purpose,other than to wallow in a self absorbed self centered lifestyle. forever degrading into a mire of manure.
The American people will soon stagger into reality in a Barrio in the middle of the third world and wonder how they got there.
They will get third world police and third world police tactics.
this and much more is at your doorstep for you have turned from the lord and his ways.
There is no way to fight it now it is a losing battle to try.
for the barbarians have been inside the New Roman empire for sometime.the money changers are in the temple of the churches today.
and there is no place left for the Lord to reside in America today.
The Shame of the American people will not go away it will only intensify from here on out.
Make no mistake about this America has fallen and even the masses ,as dim as they are ,will soon realize the hopelessness of trying to right the listing ship USA.Do not blame the politicians they did what they could get away with. The American people have let this happen by becoming sick with greed hate and lust.
too sick to even man the watch tower of freedom.
To those that think I am wrong stick around by the end of 2010 Americans will tremble in fear of their own govt.and those that do not it is because they are still seduced by Eddie Bernays and living in a bubble that has no sense of reality other than that accorded it by those under it’s spell.
David “Well the problem with that is that if you take away religion you end up with exactly what has happened to USA. the people become self centered self absorbed a** holes”
Well, actually America is one of the most religious nations. Your comment is utterly false according to the data. I’m sure it’s what you’d prefer to believe though because it makes it more convenient to discriminate against atheists that way.
David “the country fails when morality is gone and the people are too self absorbed to even notice”
Since when does morality have anything to do with religion? Have you ever read the bible or the Koran? They are some of the most violent, bloody books ever written. [b]Remember the crusades & Inquisitions?[/b] It was led by religion which is a time period we all refer to as [b]THE DARK AGES[/b].
David “To those that think I am wrong stick around by the end of 2010 Americans will tremble in fear of their own govt.”
I lived in fear for 8 long years under the Bush W. admin. Bush turned every problem into a major crisis that put America near collapse. Nothing scares me now.
Spirituality trumps Churchianity
Religious dogma is fading in favor of spirituality. Just as the spirit of the law should be more important than the letter of the law, spirituality asks us to love our fellow man and consider what benefits him as well as ourselves as we are all in this life together.
Agreed. Rense.com is becoming more and more laughable as a thinking person’s news source. If it only presented more T&A I’d think I was logged onto Fox News or something.
Doesn’t get it
An idiot writes…
“I agree that it is discrimination and it needs to end. Rachel Maddox recently drew attention to the fact that some states still have it on their books that it’s illegal for someone to hold office if they are an atheist. Yes- check it out. Maryland and North Carolina are only two of the states that defy federal law by having it on their books. Sad but true; it’s time to people to think and stop being sheeple.”
This moron obviously doesn’t understand the concept of true federalism, which means a small weak federal government and States free to make their own laws. Is there a law forcing an atheist to live in Maryland or North Carolina?
Why can’t anyone understand the principles of Liberty upon which this nation was founded, namely MOVE to another state. America is dead, yes already DEAD, because people could not grasp the concept that we don’t have to a NATIONAL policy for every single issue. National policies lead to civil war, period.
America didn’t have a single problem, not a one which couldn’t have been eventually solved by MOVING to another State. But tyrants and control freaks had to go the other way, and look at the result. America is a HELL HOLE nation, falling apart at the seems, in which every group hates every other group, because any group must hold power at the federal level just to protect itself and survive. This is a recipe for disaster.
I am not a religious person, but I believe in God, not religion. Those who would throw out religion completely, or at least the spiritual aspects of it, are acting on ignorance in the guise of being “open”, or “liberal”. Without spirit, there is nothing.
Bob – Doesn’t get it wrote: “National policies lead to civil war, period.” Right, and that is exactly what will happen to the US in the very near future!
The banksters want Civil War in the US…it’s the only way they can conquer us.
walk humbly
There are how many billion people on the planet earth?
Count how many different “paths.”
Snowflakes – science proves not one is alike so how can any human in an individual imagination know precisely what another human’s imagination can be?
Narcissistic mirrors of consumerism = 21st Century “humankind.”
No such thing as a god until a god knows it is what it is in spite of whatever the animal instinct drives the higher being into moments of insanity to do what all unconscious blubbering piles of protoplasm do/does: recycle when organic form reaches critical mass decomposition.
Freethought from an Naturalist
Hey Jackson, I like your post. Just remember that atheism is a spectrum. Fundamentalist atheists just like religious fundamentalist fail horribly when it comes to free thought and open dialogue. But those away from the fundamentalist end are extremely thoughtful and usually quite ethical.
For any question, when the answer is not known, there can exist many possibilities. To leap to a conclusion without evidence will most likely lead to a false answer. As we gain knowledge there are fewer possible answers. For instance, if one has no knowledge of neurology or biology then it would be easy to hypothesize a spirit or soul or brain or something else to explain the consciousness of humans. But to accept this hypothesis without evidence is flawed. However, if one understands that the brain contains 100 billion neurons that act in concert with each other and with the various systems of the body such as the nervouse, endocrine, and muscular systems, then one might hypothesize that this is what humans perceive as a spirit or soul. It gives us an avenue to pursue to search for an answer. Saying “its magic” or “spirit”, or “soul”, to me is a give up. So, to be so dismissive of people that don’t accept that there is a magical spirit within us, as being closed minded, is premature. And in fact, the argument could be made quite easily that the person that doesn’t understand the inner workings of the brain and simply says “its a miracle” may truly be the one that is closed minded.
We’re getting close to the answer on this question. If someone proves that there is a spirit I’ll shout halleluia. But my money is on the neurological explanation.
Btw I hate the label atheism, it implies there is something magical to not believe in, and I know thats not true because there’s no such thing as magic.
Religion=opiates
Religion is the opiate of the massess…
wtf?
Free thinking site??posted after moderation…why don’t you allow what you preach?..
You are free to [i]think [/i]whatever you want. You are not free, however, to muck up my website with foul language, spam, hate speech or any other human detritus people have attempted to post here.
Not a very difficult concept. Nice try, though. :whistle:
As usual, very well-stated Acharya! Keep up the good work!
just the facts, man
the facts are these: [u]all[/u] religions share one characteristic, they are all demonstrably wrong about cosmology (how and when the universe came into being), biology (how and when species came to be as they currently are) and history (who existed when in the historical past). there is not a single true utterance in any foundational religious text, period. the basis of religion is [b]not[/b] their ‘moral instruction’ its their claims to explain the origins and nature of the physical universe. and in that aim they fail completely. in addition if you read these texts then you realize they are in themselves immoral documents filled with truly sickening tales of primitive torture, murder and slavery all sanctioned by an all-too-human super-tyrant who was born under the quill of ancient men ignorant of nearly every process we now know of. thankfully morality exists independently of said doctrines. morality is based on reason and as such is a process of rational thought.
the position of ‘atheists’ (which [u]we all are[/u] when referring to all but one of the thousands of gods in the human diaspora) is [b]not[/b] ‘don’t show me evidence that points to a god of any sort’ (only a fool or someone with a warped agenda could even consider this seriously) its ‘based on evidence I shall make determinations about the nature of the physical universe …. got any evidence for me?’ and the answer from religions is and has always been ‘no’. so now what? an increasing number of people are unswayed by these dogmas and seek honest public discourse about education (including science) and politics and to assert unfounded claims based on bizarre and self-contradictory writings of the bronze and iron ages seems to me pure madness. as long as we allow for fantasy in our decision making process we can be fairly certain that the end result will be illogical and ultimately fatal for human progress.
what theism and fascism share is the inability to withstand rational argument. stalin and pol pot had more in common with the inquisition then with atheists.
A REMINDER
A simple reminder.
All of the indigenous peoples were either murdered and the very few who survived assimilated.
Hi Ya hey ee ah hey ee oh
Hi Ya hey ee ah hey ee oh
Regardless of your Ignorance
This apple was rotten before it fell from the tree…
Hi Ya hey ee ah hey ee oh
Hi Ya hey ee ah hey ee oh
Besides the Ghosts of the past…
You do not wonder why ONLY 5000 americans died during the revolutionary war?
Against Britians “GREATEST ARMY TO EVER TAKE THE FIELD” or so the -ganda of that era goes….
How long before the eco-hitmen and then the Banksters were sent in?
You must wonder “WHERE THEY EVER “FREE”?”
The civil war = the consolidation of power UNDER the guise of FREEING SLAVES
My LORD I doth protest!
These are not the looker’s and seer’s yet mere head sheep!
*gets all “ghetto” in an attempt to reach more young white people* 😀
mess with that! Yeah! Aint got shit do ya! nada! Nine! Nil!
Now go play some call of duty modern warfare 2 with your non thinking robot hive jive ass speck of a basil ganglia !!! 🙂
Stupid f**kers man i swear… they “learn” one thing and feel all superior ya know… then they run with it as if the most recent “revelation” is the absolute best and there will never be another…. pffftt!
Let alone re-thinking which should be done frequently IMHO….
my what a nice warehouse full of past resignations we have!!!
Yep…… yer’ all doomed…. 😀
Hurry! Someone quote the PROTOCOLS so I can call them an antisemite er something!! 😀
“My Lord thinks he can get me out of this mess but he is pretty sure that yer’ fooked !”
Hi Ya Hey ee ah Hey ee oh
Huh?!?!?
What?!?! The fault lines have always been around the percentages presented. 1/3 is devout, 1/3 is lukewarm, and 1/3 is against. Those that lump Christianity in with world religion totally undermines the very existence Christ. So these events that are occurring around us today were not foretold approximately 2,000 years ago? Please. Just another attempt by this author to poison the minds of true free-thinkers. What has been said by Christ was not to bring peace to this world -you need to know scripture. Read this and understand people, there will be one very soon that will come and bring peace to this world or at least try to. This is the one to be worried about. True Christ-man are slowly being turned into the enemy. Soft attempts like this article are a case in point. Funny how the above article speaks about people saying religion is outdated and then the focus is all of sudden on Christians. Why? Why not talk about a world religion like Islam, or Buddhism? Think people.
re: Religion the answer to the world’s problems?
[quote name=”Kevin Ratzlaff”]I find that religion IS the problem behind the worlds problems and the bible, along with the good it brings, is starting to cause the world problems. It is (the bible) starting to cause a lot of unnecessary deaths and misstreatment of many thousands of people. If I think about it it causes people to hate if anything.
This problem seems to be getting worse in third world country’s that are going to put to death people that are gay. It is time that we look at what the bible says and why people think that they are closer to God just because they pray and or worship a god with so much blood on his/it’s hands. This book is superstitions gone wild.
People accept it too easly and just because they feel they will get to heaven BTW is just another supestition, think they can take others lives from them because they don’t agree.
I think in the next 20 or so years this will change.
Those who sell this bible’s hate and control will stop. As of now it is all very tragic to the human race.[/quote]
Wow! So because man acts evil and uses something for his own purposes, that makes the Holy Bible a hateful thing. hmmm…. by that logic you are saying the object is controlling the man. That’s like saying guns kill people without a man to pull the trigger, when in fact, it takes an evil man to use a gun in an evil manner. This is the case with Holy Scripture. Do you not understand that a man came here, the Son of God, and gave us a tome of truth. Have you ever even read it? If so, did you understand it? Have you broke it down in its native language and found all the enlightening truths within? I doubt it. Because you say it is superstition which tells me you know nothing, period. No wisdom.
Gays… let’s try abominations to God as it is stated in the old and new Testaments. Do you not realize that 2 cities were wiped out because of this unclean lifestyle? Its true. Scientists are actually digging the ruins up still to this day. So are you wiser than God? What was evil? The people and their actions? Or was it God for destroying the thing He warned against? Do you know anything about this?
See according to the authors tone above, he/she would have you think that Christianity was nothing more than some colorfully imaginative comic book fantasy tale. When in fact, the very events that occurred in the Holy Bible shaped the world and the events that occurred after the ascension of Christ. Is that fake? Can any world-religion claim that to the degree that Christianity can? If you start citing the evil that came out of Rome, then again you know nothing. Because Catholicism is a perversion of Holy Scripture. The evils of that establishment is what you should be citing; not Christ.
Harry Re: Religion the answer to the world’s probl
Harry, have YOU broken the Bible down in its original language, as you ask of others? Everything you asserted was from a book that we don’t even know who wrote or,…do you just happen to know that too? The cities that ‘God’ destroyed have NOT been found and the worldwide flood has long been disproved and only FOOLS are still searching for the ‘arc’. I STRONGLY advise you to read some of Acharya’s books or perhaps something by Richard Dawkins, or…would you simply not be able to understand, as you so vehemently ask of Kevin in your above post? I always find it incredible that there are those such as yourself who read a book written who knows by who and believe every word of it, regardless. Why are you even on this site, surrounded by intelligent people who think for themselves and don’t waste time parroting myths and legends?
Atheists And Evolutionists Are Fools
Atheists And Evolutionists Are Fools – The Bible Says
If the Bible is morality you can keep it, I’ll tak
Religion is nothing more than Self-imposed slavery for people who aren’t intelligent enough to engage in free thought. They need to be told what to do because they are incapable of figuring it out for themselves. RF is grossly ignorant about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was fervently anti Christian, as were Adams, Madison and the majority of the founding fathers. Washington, while a church going man was well known to have refused to take communion and revealed in a letter that he did not consider himself to be Christian. The writers of the constitution went to great lengths to ensure a separation of Church and state. The first amendment ensures that people have the freedom to choose to worship any way they like and that the government is not allowed to impose any beliefs or non-belief on the people. If it were Judeo Christian based, the constitution would either not mention religion or it would require the specific worship of their Gods.
Anyone that has read the Bible in its entirety and still thinks that this is some kind of guide to morality should check themselves into a mental ward.
We were all born atheists. Most of us were brainwashed or indoctrinated into some cult, like Christianity, along the way. About 15% of us here in the US have broken away from that enslavement and we all have done so through the application of freethought. Those of you that choose slavery over freedom should be ashamed of your ignorance and more importantly your lack of courage.
If you sheeple really think you are correct in your position, you need to at least have the guts to research the validity by seeking corroborative historical evidence for the claims of your cult. Start with Adam, for without the original sin concept there is no need for redemption. It all falls to the ground straight out of the gate. As for the morality validation, just read the Bible. I’ve read it cover to cover. I still have mine as a reminder of how horrid your concept of god is. Your god, as revealed in the BIBLE, is a murdering, raping, thieving, genocidal maniac. Just go to Numbers 31 that will be a good start for you. Anyone that can claim morality out of that story is gross and demented.
Religion the answer to the world’s problems?
I find that religion IS the problem behind the worlds problems and the bible, along with the good it brings, is starting to cause the world problems. It is (the bible) starting to cause a lot of unnecessary deaths and misstreatment of many thousands of people. If I think about it it causes people to hate if anything.
This problem seems to be getting worse in third world country’s that are going to put to death people that are gay. It is time that we look at what the bible says and why people think that they are closer to God just because they pray and or worship a god with so much blood on his/it’s hands. This book is superstitions gone wild.
People accept it too easly and just because they feel they will get to heaven BTW is just another supestition, think they can take others lives from them because they don’t agree.
I think in the next 20 or so years this will change.
Those who sell this bible’s hate and control will stop. As of now it is all very tragic to the human race.
The people who really control the US are NOT Christians and do not read the bible. Most likely there are many homosexuals in government which makes them so much easier to control. Not wanting to be “outed” and such.
Everybody has a religion – they just don’t call it such. Much of science is a religion too. Don’t believe me? Just try and talk to an astrophysicist about aliens or the electric theory of cosmology and see what happens.
The world population has developed to the point of evolution of consciousness that has outgrown the fixed mindset of ‘religion’. Spirituality is the word better describing each of our individual methods of search for the truth.
Liken the dynamics to that of any family . . . the mother and father enjoy a different relationship with each of the siblings — equally. So to does the Creator with each one of us.
Honor the differences.
Quiet Heart
Cherokee
Actually God does exist, and evolution is a lie told by the “synagogue of satan”, just as most everything in this world is a lie told by them. Now if any of you wants to know the real truth, and see proof of it, then visit my site at YouTube “ThePhilosophersTruth”, and find out for yourself the real truth.
David
Who am I? Promoting Mediaeval Philosophy
Here is a quiz…Guess who I am?
The Earth is clearly flat – I can walk for days and never fall off
The Earth is the center of the Universe – I look at the sky and see the heavenly bodies revolving around me.
I know why I get sick – The four humours, when kept in balance are the key to good health.
I know how to cure myself – When I am sick I bleed myself or apply leeches to heal
I can’t explain what animates beings and where that something goes after death So I will invent a concept and call it a soul.
I know there was a start and I know it will all end – Therefore there must be a god.
I used the logical Fallacy of ‘Argument from ignorance’ for each conclusion. I also created a few strawmen. Not one shred of evidence was necessary.
I now will garner the support of those in power to enforce my philosophy. Any who deny shall be demonized and if necessary tortured and murdered.
So, Who am I?
Answer: I am the writer (s) of every religious doctrine ever created
Sometimes I Wish I Could Be Ignorant As Well
So tell me, what I’m I suppose to do with this world? I have been in God’s presence, I have been attacked by evil many times, my mother was attacked by demons for 10 years for getting into witchcraft, and I have to live in this world filled with ignorance, doing exactly what Jesus said would happen right before the end, “a falling away”, meaning people would fall away from God, away from righteousness, and believe the lies that the Anti-Christ is putting upon the world.
I mean, look at this from my perspective, here there are a bunch of people, all with their own opinions and ideas about what’s true and what isn’t, and yet in reality none of you knows anything whatsoever.
For instance, do you know how and why “time slows down the further you get from the surface of the earth”?
Tell me, how is it you don’t know about something so simple and basic as this? This was discovered in 1919 aboard a plane, it’s almost been 100 years since that time and none of you knows anything about it.
This is a microcosm of the reality that everything you believe to be true in this life is a lie, and I mean EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
For instance, there is no war in Iraq.
There is no war in Afghanistan.
There is no such a thing a nuclear energy.
Money is a scam designed to enslave you, not set you free.
You cannot imagine what you don’t know, now if you want to start finding out the truth about this life, straight from a servant of the living God, then visit me at YouTube: User: “ThePhilosophersTruth”.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePhilosophersTruth
David
SMART BUT NOT WISE
Atheists are usually smart but not wise. They are very smart up to a point but not beyond it 😮 . And smarter people will believe in God. ➡
An atheist should admit that by not believing :Pinch: , that is every much a matter of faith as believing.
Lets not confuse spirituality with Churchianity. To follow Jesus’ teachings and be a Christian does not necessarily equate with having to belong to a church and follow dogma ;-).
Vatican II and its huge sell-out to the Jews was the beginning of the end for Catholicism. The current Pope is essentially a Freemason :evil:. He will not even defend or support his Bishops 😡 🙁 on simply questioning the holocaust, etc.
Finally, compare for yourself the spiritual potential of New Testament Christianity vs Talmudic Judaism for a view of the sublime vs the ridiculous; or better, the sublime 🙂 vs the Satanic. 👿 And Satanic is a considered and supportable charge re Talmudic Judaism. ❗
judo chrstianity
I always find any article that starts with relating the us. constitution or declaration a product of judeo leannings. Re-read the old testsament – destruction, racial killings , complete genocide of tribes and asking someone to kill their own son – daughter.. This kinda stuff belongs in an insane ass:-)ylm and is not reflected in any us. charter underpinnings..
May the fleas of the animals you look down upon infest your armpits…
More Deaths Than Religion?
The notion that atheism is responsible for more deaths than religion is ridiculous. “Politicized” atheists, maybe, but not “atheism,” per se. “Atheists” can be pacisfists, OR psychopaths; political, OR apolitical; nice people, OR real bastards. Just like everyone else. The rejection of the “hive mind” mentality of organized religion is a positive sign.
Many will find it hard to reform or separate dogma from their brand of Abrahamic religion. Especially when following said dogma promises eternal life.
Astrotheology holds the key to understanding the naturalistic origins of modern religious beliefs without the need for dogma. One thing to keep in mind though, constellations will not keep their form forever. 🙁
free thinkers dont think logic
Free thinkers is a not a good concept for these atheist. If the free thinkers were actually thinkers, they would logically conclude that their is a higher intelligence in the universe. Whether they’re called angels, aliens, watchers, or gods, they would understand this is what history (not religion) is spoken of in the bible and in many other cultures from all over the world.
The biggest proof of the bible as being prophetic is revelations which is occurring right now (4th seal). It is going to end the way the bible says because God or whomever or whatever you want to call it is outside our dimension of time and has already seen the end and is telling us this fact.
There will be no economic recovery. It will be a satanic new world order. And when you free thinkers (atheist) have a choice to accept a mark in order to buy or sell, I hope a light bulb goes off in your head that this is what the bible states is going to happen.
To quote Sam Harris…
…’So, let me make my somewhat seditious proposal explicit: We should not call ourselves “atheists.” We should not call ourselves “secularists.” We should not call ourselves “humanists,” or “secular humanists,” or “naturalists,” or “skeptics,” or “anti-theists,” or “rationalists,” or “freethinkers,” or “brights.” We should not call ourselves anything. We should go under the radar—for the rest of our lives. And while there, we should be decent, responsible people who destroy bad ideas wherever we find them.’
RE: To Quote Sam Harris by Bryan W.
I could not agree more with your post. Because I choose to adhere to THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE and to not believe in a God (which, BTW, was a really hard thing to do, seeing as I had believed for most of my 61 years), I don’t deserve, want, nor need… a label. I rather choose to just be a normal, average human being, making my own decisions and living by my own moral code, because it is a good one. Basic common sense and having a ‘heart’ continues to get me through life just fine.
Prove Your Mettle
Nice if you so-called free-thinking reasonable people can also take a look at the fact that Muslims did not do 9/11 — and had nothing to do with the so-called fanatics of this religion:
http://www.takeourworldback.com/itwasntmuslims.htm
http://stj911.org/
Dare you to engage your reason in this rather big deal that has changed the world for the worse.
This blog post has nothing to do with 9/11. How about not changing the subject in order to be insulting? That sort of [i]honest [/i]behavior would go a long way in bettering the world.
If there was no god, then there would be no athiests.
Thank heaven for God! :woohoo:
Religion = being gullible
To believe in a book which tells you unbelievable stories is not intelligent. The religion which promotes and forces you to believe or at least pretend to believe has been the downfall of the US as it forced people into a behaviour to believe without any reason or without any critical thought.
That attitude has used in jewish owned massmedia which means 96 % of the massmedia. To believe the lies jews spread through their massmedia is the same as to believe into the jewish book called bible.
Get rid of this attitude. It is never too late.
I long for the day when organized “religion” dies and disappears. It has been the cause of so much discrimination, division, war, and human suffering. The silent self-torment, worry and shame within the individual is incalculable.
I am a spiritual person, and feel guided by spiritual sources, which I commune with. Human beings benefit from self-reflection and through
Direct Experience with Spirit, Higher Consciousness or the Creator… whatever one cares to call it. We do not need organized dogma, we should instead encourage children to reflect on themselves and humbly ask for guidance in their thoughts, words, and actions. It doesn’t matter who or what is providing the guidance, it only matters that the asker is sincerely and earnestly seeking the greater good.
Petra – Bible quotes in this forum? Now that’s foo
Great job Peter…using a demonstrably fictional book to try to make a point? Or perhaps this is the license for ad-hominem attack that rationalists hear and read so often? Allowing oneself to be controlled by a cult is truly the foolish thing. The stories are false as has been proven repeatedly. There is your fictional book that the zealots worship even more than their god, and there are charismatic leaders that use numerous cultist techniques to influence there sheep. There is an agenda, and that is wealth, power, and self aggrandizement, even though the claimed deity supposedly represented the opposite of these qualities.
Also I can’t believe you went down the evolution road. Not only is evolution a fact, it has more evidence to support it than the theory of gravity. No less than a dozen disciplines, all INDEPENDENTLY arrive at the same conclusion…Evolution has and is occurring. This is widely accepted. Your scientific ignorance is astounding.
Bible Morality – Rape and Murder
Since most of you worsheepers choose not to read the Bible, I’ll give you a clue as to what you are worshiping and defending. These are but 2 examples I have scores more if you wish to argue the point. I have also compiled a list of over 350 contradictions and absurdities (with many more to come) from your inerrant book.
1) Murder, rape, and pillage at Jabesh-gilead (Judges 21:10-24 NLT)
So they sent twelve thousand warriors to Jabesh-gilead with orders to kill everyone there, including women and children. “This is what you are to do,” they said. “Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin.” Among the residents of Jabesh-gilead they found four hundred young virgins who had never slept with a man, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.
2) Murder, rape and pillage of the Midianites (Numbers 31:7-18 NLT)
They attacked Midian just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed all the men. All five of the Midianite kings – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – died in the battle. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. Then the Israelite army captured the Midianite women and children and seized their cattle and flocks and all their wealth as plunder. They burned all the towns and villages where the Midianites had lived. After they had gathered the plunder and captives, both people and animals, they brought them all to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the whole community of Israel, which was camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.
Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the people went to meet them outside the camp. But Moses was furious with all the military commanders who had returned from the battle. “Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded. “These are the very ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the people of Israel to rebel against the LORD at Mount Peor. They are the ones who caused the plague to strike the LORD’s people. Now kill all the boys and all the women who have slept with a man. Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves.
Clearly Moses and God approves of rape of virgins.
Good thing its all fiction or this would really be horrible.
Wrong data
I disagree with the survey especially with the results around Christmastime. My small town is under 1,000 population & we have 7 churches & I can only guess at the attendence, but it’s around 600 who attend. So, I guess it depends on where the survey is being performed.
Thanks Acharya. This is the best exchange I’ve seen in a long time.
David-
Speaking of things that don’t exist- Jesus didn’t exist. He was created, much like Harry Potter, to fill a role. To quote an imaginary source as though he was real is no doubt going to lead to a life of misery since your two worlds will always be in conflict.
No war in Iraq? Or Afghanistan? What is it then? A play date for frustrated children? What about all the people who have lost their lives? Wouldn’t their families be surprised to know it didn’t exist. To add to it you say there’s no such thing as nuclear energy?
What world are you living in?
David…Dude, your perception of the world is amazing. I’m not saying this as an attack I’m just stunned. I’m a physicist and I teach people how Nuclear Reactors are designed, built, operated, and inspected. Trust an expert (ME!!!) there is such a thing as nuclear power.
I agree with the money comment, there has got to be a better system than money created out of thin air and backed by nothing.
I’m trying to see your point of veiw, all I can say is Read Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan. It will help you sort out the real from the imaginary. Belief in imaginary concepts is not new and you are not alone. You desperately need a skeptical barometer. Skepticism is not cynicism. It is the search for truth through knowledge, evidence, and the scientific method. Stick to the road map laid out by these things and you will never be wrong in the end. If any of your hypothesis are ever in error this process will allow you to adjust in favor of an improved hypothesis.
While I am skeptical of all of these concepts against which I rail, If verifiable evidence is ever found that supports things such as spirits or demons I’ll revise my hypothesis. Until then I choose to live in the real world.
Good Luck David
Gee Whizz!
Finally getting over the millennium fever without a world war. But, still need to take an aspirin and nap before I can read all these comments. Much less figure out we are all talking about.
re condemnation of religion as irrational immorali
A recurrent theme here is that the Bible is despicable because biblical scriptures honor war, killing of women and children, etc.
My reaction to such criticism: these ‘war crimes’ occurred at a time in history when every nation as a matter of course engaged in what today would be considered war crimes; not resorting to ‘war crimes’ when the nations fighting with your nation are committing war crimes could put your nation at an unfair disadvantage; every ethnic group alive today has at some point in its history engaged in what it considers to have been a ‘just war’ or committed what would now be called ‘war crimes’; most of the ethnic or racial groups alive today, at some point in their history, found themselves in a situation where in their eyes or in the eyes of disinterested observers, the ethical thing to do, especially given the ethical imperative to care for one’s own family, was to fight a war.
Modern theologians have pointed out that the consciences of men are shaped by their environment and were different in past times than they are today. Religious scriptures emphasize that one should adhere to one’s conscience. If everyone followed their conscience, the world would be a better place, so long as people realized that a conscience based on willful ignorance or intellectual laziness is not much of a conscience.
Looking at history, wars often involving practices which today would be considered ‘war crimes’, have been fought by not just the ancient Israelites, but by many different groups which today are proud members of the world community.
Indian Vedic scriptures recount proud tales of conquest of barbarians; the Zulu Africans had a history of conquering other African nations; the Han Chinese originally occupied only a small area of China but expanded their kingdom through conquest; almost every American Indian tribe ‘abused’ by Europeans, had taken their territory from some other tribe through warfare.
As for the contempt for religious faith: it is folly to confuse a religion with the misconduct of those who label themselves as adherents of the religion. History has been filled with persons who pretended to adhere to a religion whereas inwardly they were not true adherents. The fact someone foolishly misinterprets a religion and commits outrages, does not in and of itself indicate that the religion in question does more harm than good in society. It is bad ‘science’ to simply assume that those who commit transgressions when claiming to be adherents of a given religious faith, would have been better persons if the given religious faith had never existed; perhaps they would have been even worse or just as bad, if the religious faith that they ended up claiming to adhere to had never existed.
In order to arrive at religious knowledge, it is useful to understand how faith and knowledge differ and are related to each other.
In grade school at the Lab Schools in Chicago, I used to do pottery. Faith is like the soft clay before the formed object is heated in the oven; the heat of the oven is like the religious experiences and psychic-like epiphanies that men of faith experience; the clay in its hard form after it has been hardened by the heat of the oven, is like the knowledge which is a step beyond faith that men of faith arrive at as a result of their psychic-like religious experiences.
If you are lost in the woods somewhere and your sick child is in your car and you need to find your way to a hospital, you would be a bad parent if you met a benevolent honest person and he told you the directions to the hospital and you ignored him the result being that your sick child perished (such errors in judgement also result in innocent men being executed).
On the other hand, you could believe the man giving you directions. At this point you would be like someone of faith. Then after you followed the directions and got to the hospital and actually saw the hospital, you would become like someone of knowledge.
The idea that we can only rely on what we can as individuals see, hear, smell, and touch, when it comes to determining our ideas about the world, is more irrational bad ‘science’. Human beings learn truths about the world by believing what someone else is saying all the time.
afterlife
I’m willing to take my chances.
Gallup Poll on religion
I wonder what the Gallup Poll meant by “religion”? Did it mean organised religion like Chrisitanity or did it mean personal religion?
I have no objection to people having personal spiritual beliefs. I do object to established religions forcing people, especially children and vulnerable people, to trust in particular ideologies that defy logic, force you to take sides or demand that you worship particular persons, dead or alive, and accept that they are infallible.
Communism is very like a religion. Communism is often a veneer for nationalism. In Russia, the government there is whitewashing Joseph Stalin and presenting him as a strong leader when in fact he made mistakes that allowed the German army in the 1940s to penetrate deep into European Russia as far as Volgograd. In North Korea, Kim Jong Il is presented as a messiah. In China, the government deliberately mixes Communism with being patriotic to China.
It is established religion that demands unconditional public worship in the form of Christianity, Communism or some bizarre combination of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism mixed with nationalism that is out of date. It would be nice to know if the Americans who said that religion is out of date also would say gungho patriotism that supports the US fighting endless wars in the Middle East and other parts of Asia and Africa for reasons known only to US politicians and their friends in big corporations, is out of date.
religion is good
i like religion and dont want to c a world without it.
Religion isnt the problem its the fanatics and radicals and people who want ctrl/money.
Most people like religion as it sets you up with good values and morals.
I like the christmas story of jesus and i respect other peoples faiths and religions .
I myself dont try to convert people or drum on about it but i will tell them if they ask that ,i believe in jesus as savior and love him I also was not made to attend church except a little while when younger and it was boreing to me .
BUT and because of my attending at age 5 to 8 i lerned about god .the holy spirit and jesus and the saints.
I am so glad now at my age now over 40 that this happend to me and I can now understand the world better .
IT is man who causes war. it is man who chooses evil.it is man who chooses his life style. and karma is real. thks dee
1 in 4 think Religion Outdated
Stick with that which doesn’t become outdated. Food, survival, love, sex…never become out dated. Those who think so are ‘dead’ and not relative in ‘statistics’. Religion and, atheists are cadavers of thought. . . illusions looped by the mind of those who have not reached to their inner truths. So be it . . . it’s time to move up to new levels beyond this useless recognition of ‘dufusses’! Who cares! 😛 :s :s 😮
always sarcasm and hate in such articles .. sad people THINK they are “free” and never FREELY question all sides to any issue
What article has “sarcasm and hate” in it? Not mine and not the one I linked to.
Once & for all, no, atheism isn’t a religion, trying to equate the passion of physicists or whoever with religiousness is silly(religious passion is just passion directed at religion), & finally, humanity does not get morality from religion. Other way around.
I particularly bristle at that sad little arguement about atheists not being capable of morality without some absolute standard set by some sky genie. They’re essentially redefining the word morality to mean believing in some particular proposition instead of just right actions & kindly motivations. Morality becomes shrunk down to mere obedience to some god’s orders.
I take the opposite view & say that sincere religious behavior can’t be moral at all. Take away the reward of heaven & the threat of hell & see what’s left of religious “morality”. Religious “morality boils down to obedience based on self-interest.
If God’s command to love others motivates you, then the command cancels the potential morality of the act that should’ve been based on love alone. If God commanded murder & rape (like he did constantly in the Old Testament), those acts would become just as moral since they’d be set by the absolute moral standard Himself. See Islam for a current example of this.
This craving for absolutes comes from a psychological fear of uncertainty in some & the lazy dependence on dogma as a substitute for thinking for the vast majority. We like our belief systems issued to us pre-packaged so we don’t have to figure anything out or have to admit we don’t have the answers we want on a lot of things. A bad answer beats no answer for too many people.
Don’t think, just believe, sheeple. All the answers to the most important questions in life just happen to be comforting & simple. Nevermind the evidence. Sky-Genie loves you & every horrible thing has some wonderful purpose you’re too dumb to comprehend. Just believe, obey, & keep drinking the kool-aid & it’ll all work out.
Why is this on rense?
Rense.com seems to be very christian in its beliefs.. why even post all the other conspiracy stuff if you’re not gonna tackle one of the biggest conspiracies around, which is christianity.. It really baffles me.. alex jones.. a christian.. rense a christian… dont really get it. Religion is very powerful .. even has alex and rense brainwashed.
👿
(Racial Segregation Facts US, Britain as compared
To Peter Moore,
above is interesting article although on Rense see attributions and many other references can be found. History written by victors….
towards an age of reason ?
i hate to sound elitist, but i’m not sure this is a good thing. it’s true religious beliefs have led followers to do all manner of horrible things. but by NOT having religious beliefs, are the masses of people LESS LIKELY to do horrible things? for example, the Jonestown massacre of the followers of The People’s Church was made possible in part by the cult beliefs with which Jim Jones had brainwashed his followers. but would Jones’ followers have been harder to brainwash into this cult if initially they had been quasi-atheist/agnostic, believing religion was outdated ? if you think those who scoff at religion are more difficult to recruit into a cult, what about a belief system that isn’t overtly religious, say a cult based around pseudo-scientific principles? for example, social darwinism could be the basis of a psuedo-scientific cult, and it’s easy for me to imagine atrocities being carried out in the name of this theory.
You’re right about people generally being lemmings with or without religion. Communism & National Socialism are the favorite examples of the religious apologists on this point. I still hold that humanity would be less violent & stupid without religions.
The biggest of religion’s contributions toward the dumbing down of humanity is it’s promoting of “faith”, the fervently believing something to be true without evidence. This conditions people & cultures to accept bulls**t unquestioningly.
Raising uncritical belief to the level of a moral principle is part of religion’s immune system, helping it get past any bulls**t detectors our logical faculties may have mustered to protect us from deceptions. Critical thinking & intellectual integrity are acid to religion.
If blind, unthinking faith was seen as an embarassing vice instead of a moral virtue, clowns like Jim Jones, Hitler, Muhammed, & other demagogues wouldn’t be able to hijack so many minds with their stupidities.
In a slight detour from my point, I’d like to point out that people are throwing around the word “freethinker” in a curious way. I guess religiously conditioned minds can’t help but see every other label as another belief system similar to a religion. They keep trying to do this with atheism & science too, showing their lack of understanding.
Freethinking isn’t a set of conclusions or answers to the big questions of life. It has more to do with how you arrived at your conclusions than what those conclusions are. Here’s a quote from Bertrand Russell that sums it up better than I can:
“The expression ‘free thought’ is often used as if it meant merely opposition to the prevailing orthodoxy. But this is only a symptom of free thought, frequent, but invariable. ‘Free thought’ means thinking freely — as freely, at least, as is possible for a human being. The person who is free in any respect is free from something; what is the free thinker free from? To be worthy of the name, he must be free of two things: the force of tradition, and the tyrant of his own passions. No one is completely free from either, but in the measure of a man’s emancipation he deserves to be called a free thinker.”
Religion-How outdated
“Over the last nine years, the number with no religious preference has grown from a level of around 8% to 13%. The number for whom religion is not very important has climbed from just over 10% to 19%. And the number who believe religion is out of date and has no answers for today’s problems has jumped from slightly more than 20% to 29%.”
I am not surprised to see this piece of social research with such an astounding figures. This is because of the wrong connotation of “Religion” in the modern perspective. The sharp difference between “The Organised Religion” and “Spirituality” has to be stressed. The Organised Religion limits you to dogmas and strict rituals and binds one in the quagmire of the established putrified theses of the books. All these books simply serve the purpose of the ‘Clergy’, the ‘Mullahs’ and the ‘Pandits’ &c., with no relevance to the vagaries of the present day life, made even more complicated in the modern days as we call it proudly:”Scientific Era”. Science has helped in the material comforts of modern life, but only at the cost of “Moral Degradation”, I am afraid. No wonder that the younger generation is becoming disenchanted with the word “Religion”. Organised religion has become commercialised. Read the quote as below:
“Politics without Principles,
Science without Morality,
Business without Humanity,
Education without Character,
Religion without Social Values,
is not only useless but positively dangerous. To counter this and the growing trend of terrorism world over, we need to stress on the “True” meaning of the reason the religion was originated. The roots of terrorism also lie in the same misconception, which is leading the present generation either astray or misoriented. Both are dangerous and
misguides them from the real aspect. This makes the task doubly difficult to guide them towards the real path. That was the reason, we now denounce both the “Crusaders and Marauders” in the past.
This is where the Indian Vedic teachings ( please do not confuse with the word “Hindu”) tell the real meaning and explain the “Spirituality” in its right perspective. But over the period of alien occupations for more than a millenium, its essence has been diluted and misinterpreted by the
invading “Desert Blocs”. It in itself needs revival and renaissance from the mis-interpretations caused in the interim.
The essence of the religion should have, basically two fold meaning:
(1) The uplift of Moral and Social Values to make one a good Human being, which will teach him, how to stand the vagaries of present day life and live peacefully in the ambient society. “Love begets Love”.
(2) Secondly, it should thenafter help to inculcate the attainment of “Higher Spiritual Experiences” that will impart him the real meaning of the “Human Birth”. We must realise that the “Mother Nature” has endowed us with a “Unique Faculty”, we call “Intelligence”. This thing we proudly call it “Intelligence” is a double edged weapon. If you are not careful in its use, it may become dangerous to the user like knife.
Because the use of “Intelligence” has not been sharpened at the grindstone of “Spirituality”, it has resulted in its misuse, we see today in the form of “Terrorism”. The “Spirituality” divides the senses in the two broad groups:
(1) Higher Senses, and
(2) Lower Senses.
“Lower Senses” limits us to sensual day to day pleasures, for which we owe much to our modern science, but at the cost of degradation of the higher senses.
“Higher Senses” elevates us above the day to day pleasures and teaches us the real meaning of life. You might have to define your goals, like:”Live to eat or eat to live”. There is a vast difference between the two and it helps one to understand its “WHY”.
“Love gives and forgives.
Self gets and forgets.”
This is a huge concept and needs a proper study like all other curiculla. This is just a glimpse for those above categories of some misguided or curious youths, away from the realms of the “True Religion”.
I have seen a lot of misguided bloggers on the internet, who take it easy, read a few books by some selected authors and start writting like ‘authentic and authoritative teachers’, in wrong manners. This again misguides you. A serious student of “Spirituality” must join a serious school; which is qualified in its proper teachings, though not easy to get in a proper place easily.
But as the saying goes, the teacher arrives when the student is ready. Are you ready?
But the present day practices of religion has been so tightly shakled in the chains of big money and show of strength game, that is the cause of present chaos in the ‘Modern Civility’. Until we break away from the clutches of the present day practices of “Organised Religion” or its big money game, we shall see more and more people getting disenchanted from the religious rituals. More and more religious intolerance will be its
result, as we see in the form of terrorism.
Let us get in a proper queue.
Dr. O. P. Sudrania
Pompous and self aggrandising
ThePhilosophersTruth is absolutely correct. You guys should learn humility and quit thinking, it obviously isn’t your strong point, most of you. It sucks to be so smart that you out think yourselves. I pray that I shall never be as freakin wise as thee!
Way to lob insults & criticism without actually saying anything at all, Jimmy. You sound kinda pompous yourself.
re:
Jeff,
I agree with your comment, and you have taken the words right out of my mouth. I’m still figuring out what I am.. but then again… why do I have to be anything? I’m an energy field hopefully attracting others who have larger altruistic goals.
Lori aka: RoxyRox
[quote name=”Jeff Hansen
“]Once & for all, no, atheism isn’t a religion, trying to equate the passion of physicists or whoever with religiousness is silly(religious passion is just passion directed at religion), & finally, humanity does not get morality from religion. Other way around.
I particularly bristle at that sad little arguement about atheists not being capable of morality without some absolute standard set by some sky genie. They’re essentially redefining the word morality to mean believing in some particular proposition instead of just right actions & kindly motivations. Morality becomes shrunk down to mere obedience to some god’s orders.
I take the opposite view & say that sincere religious behavior can’t be moral at all. Take away the reward of heaven & the threat of hell & see what’s left of religious "morality". Religious "morality boils down to obedience based on self-interest.
If God’s command to love others motivates you, then the command cancels the potential morality of the act that should’ve been based on love alone. If God commanded murder & rape (like he did constantly in the Old Testament), those acts would become just as moral since they’d be set by the absolute moral standard Himself. See Islam for a current example of this.
This craving for absolutes comes from a psychological fear of uncertainty in some & the lazy dependence on dogma as a substitute for thinking for the vast majority. We like our belief systems issued to us pre-packaged so we don’t have to figure anything out or have to admit we don’t have the answers we want on a lot of things. A bad answer beats no answer for too many people.
Don’t think, just believe, sheeple. All the answers to the most important questions in life just happen to be comforting & simple. Nevermind the evidence. Sky-Genie loves you & every horrible thing has some wonderful purpose you’re too dumb to comprehend. Just believe, obey, & keep drinking the kool-aid & it’ll all work out.
[/quote]
“but then again… why do I have to be anything? I’m an energy field hopefully attracting others who have larger altruistic goals.”
Sounds like you are something, & something of real substance at that. Thanks.
ONLY 78% are Christians??
That sounds like a huge majority to me! But “Christians” come in many variations including the kind that claim it so people will stop trying to convert them.
Judging by the state of the country most Christians are gullible,unread and hardly meditative and reasoning idiots…as i’ve found talking to many of them.
Nice people,but useless as a dog waiting for a crumb to fall off his masters table.
As a group they do little for the well being of the country as far as politics is concerned,but I think America is a better country because of their small works on a day to day basis,and the change of heart many experience.
Of course the church could have made a huge difference in this nation if the pastors had chosen to motivate their flocks in this direction.It was wholly within their power to defeat the Federal Reserve and keep us out of these false flag wars,but happy prosperous nations don’t fill pews,so ya gotsta do whats ya gotsta do!
The other side of the coin is if the church championed such causes they may have grabbed the imagination of people they wouldn’t have otherwise attracted – and saved.
Problem is they’d have to study their Bibles afresh and really dig deep for the answers to questions that so many odd newcomers would bring.They might even lose their preeminence..
“Nope.Better to keep the power and collect the cash.All you gotta do is be sincere,play Holy and download next weeks sermon!
The only thing we know about Jesus — not exactly the “founder” of Chrisitanity, more like a “hostage” — is what we find in the four gospels of the New Testament. Obviously, without the NT, we would know nothing of Jesus, and Christianity — at least as we know it — wouldn’t exist. Who wrote the gospels? Ignorant fisherman? In an age of virtually universal illiteracy? Pretty good trick! ALL religious texts — Christian, Jew, Moslem, Buddhist, Hindu, you name it — were written by the literate “educated” classes, i.e., the ruling elite. The ruling elite have only one purpose in writting “religious” texts, and promotiong “religion”: To protect and maintain the social inequalities of the status quo. If you are not “smart” enough to know that ALL religion, including Christianity, is MAN-made, and that there’s nothing in the bible or any other religious text that couldn’t have been written by MEN, is DECEIVED. Not by “God,” not by “Satan,” not even by the wiles of evil men. You are deceived by your own slavish willingness to believe ANYTHING, even a lie.
I suspect people like Jeff Rense and Alex Jones remain Christians, even though they should know better, because of the old political adage, “You can’t beat something with nothing.” They don’t have an epistomological or philosophical base with which to “replace” their Christian worldview, and rather than take responsibility for themselves and accept the heavy-lifting required to create a unique, philsophical base of their own, they hold on for dear life. I know the feeling. I was a Christian for 22 years before I “woke up,” and it wasn’t easy. I may not know what the “truth” is, but I know a lie when I see one, and that’s a start.
say uncle
the religion thing is just a sort of game. religious people don’t care how you act. they just want you to “say uncle” and pay lip service to their little fairy tale. this is a deadly little game, though. ostracism is the tool used to make everyone see “the emperor’s new clothes”. obviously, it is the tool society uses to keep us in line. at work, i have to pretend to believe these things. i really believe that, if i didn’t, i would have to leave my job (or would be forced out very soon.
the people i work with believe that haiti is being punished by the old testament god of jealousy and wrath. some are convinced that Jesus is coming back within the next few months. i can’t prove that he isn’t, but i think it is very unlikely.
The truth
Everyone here needs to go to this website http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/ and watch both of the movies there.These movies explain the true origin of all religion along with what’s really going on in the world today and why.Watch the one on the right side first.But,do watch both.They are very,very enlightening.
Thank you. You may be aware that my work is featured significantly in Part 1 of the first Zeitgeist movie?
http://stellarhousepublishing.com/zeitgeist.html
Not Believing Nonsense
I just LOVE the phrase by one person in the ‘comments’ section, who says it is “Discrimination against those who are intelligent enough to not believe nonsense,” because that is surely what it amounts to. I went to church as a child because my parents said I had to and, I grew up believing in Jesus and God, but certainly not the whole shebang. It was only when I finally did some serious and relatively EASY research that I found out that the whole thing is almost totally a fabrication. Now I “know the truth and the truth has set me free.” We owe a lot to those who have made the facts available, sometimes at great cost to themselves.
Amazing Smarts
One would think that I’d be used to it by now, but I am still amazed by the diction, grammar, word power, and quite frankly, the INTELLIGENCE of some people who post here. Quite often I can guess which way the post is heading – pro-Christian or con – from just reading the first phrase. I really don’t mean to be mean – spirited in saying this but, I have found that the spelling and punctuation by themselves show a pretty clear pattern that says, “The better these two things are, the more the chance is that, as I read on, the person will turn out to be a non-believer of the Bible (I never use the term ‘atheist’, as I find it suggests a hard-core, mean-spirited being. Perhaps this is only unique to me, but ‘atheist’ is not one of my favorite words, although,…I guess technically, I’m one.
If we can live longer we will all see the end of r
Man started from the caves, he moved on to superstitious believes then to multiple-God believe system then to mono-God religious system all those departures from the previous believe systems were not easy but man did moved on. it is my opinion that no matter how hard we try to deny it the modern religions will fade with time just like the previous multi-God religions (most of them involving human sacrifice) faded.
it is part of our natural history to go through those stages we went to due to the very nature of our existence on this planet where nature is cruel (survival of the fittest etc). Human beings apart from being social animals will have to find groups to cling on to in order to ensure the survival of the species the decision to join the religious or cult is not necessarily a conscious one. its part of the human evolution.
Most of religions started as a rapid response groups moving against oppression or tyranny or simply trying to avoid natural calamities and disasters hence man stumbled upon religion and used it for mass mobilization because there is strength in numbers and so many other survival tactics existing within groups.
With the formation of strong states that use strong armed forces to ensure human rights are protected and research into human psyche is funded and applied into modern laws its just a matter of time before we all realize that anything that has beginning must surely have a end.
At one time religion served a purpose
The only thing I like about religion is the contemplative aspect. To imagine and focus on an invisible Creator of the Universe brings me great peace, awe and wonder. This is a great outcome from the contemplative aspect of religion.
Every thing else about religion I take with a pinch of salt.
It’s just me. Please to consign me to hell in the afterlife.
This blog does not show up properly on my blackberry – you might wanna try and fix that