Religion? how many decades has it got?

[Mikefromlondon]

Good question sooey

 

[mdf290]

Oil running out has no relevance to a goat herder in the desert.
It's the greedy westerners who will be doing the praying.

Not strictly true some of those ex goat herders are now millionaire oil magnates in the middle east. Oil running out will massively affect the muslim way of life too.

But the Victorians advanced civilisation beyond herding goats massively with water , steam and horsepower. You dont need to assume all that can be achieved without oil is pushing goats around.

 

[wobs]

Religion declines with more critical thinking:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-critical-thinkers-lose-faith-god
This isn't just education IMO, but an interest in science.

Also here:
http://500questions.wordpress.com/2...ef-in-god-decrease-as-intelligence-increases/
-with numbers to back up the ascertain.

 

[sooey]

Religion declines with more critical thinking:

I agree, but as long as there are idiots around like norcon there will be religion. They've just got to believe in something.....anything.

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Nope, religion will never go away no matter how clever the scientist and critical thinking gets, simply because you are unable to prove that god does not exist, meanwhile we have every faith that the Almighty God exists, because without him there wouldn't even be a single atom in the universe.
It is plain simple and so logical, you don't even need to have brains of an Einstein for this, so who is the idiots? those who think God does not exist.

 

[big-all]

Nope, religion will never go away no matter how clever the scientist and critical thinking gets, simply because you are unable to prove that god does not exist, meanwhile we have every faith that the Almighty God exists, because without him there wouldn't even be a single atom in the universe.
It is plain simple and so logical, you don't even need to have brains of an Einstein for this, so who is the idiots? those who think God does not exist.

fully agree peoples beliefs are ever evolving
if you believe god exists good on you as i am sure you are a person who looks after you friends family and local community like i do
i personally do not believe in god but i am glad that others find it comforting and helps them be good in the community in general
i personally function perfectly in a happy helpful cohesive community where some believe and others don't
i do not pass judgment on others for there believes as long as they are not judgmental
the only idiots in my world are the ones that think they are superior or judge others who don't agree with there views

 

[Mikefromlondon]

Quite true Big all, and I agree with you that one can be a good citizen without having to belong to a religion. or to believe in a God, if one doesn't believe in God, doesn't make him a bad person.

 

[chapeau]

the only idiots in my world are the ones that think they are superior or judge others who don't agree with there views

Nope. If you insist on believing what is written in the Bible when there is overwhelming evidence that what is written in the Bible is wrong, then you are an idiot. There are no two ways about it, you are an absolute fool.

If there are two ways of looking at a problem

1) If it's in the bible it's correct
2) If 'science proves it' then it is correct

then one method has to be superior to the other. They cannot be the same.

I also think it perfectly OK to judge people on their views. If your views come from an old story book and that book tells you to discriminate against and persecute certain members of society then I can judge you. If that religious book gives you permission to break my laws I can also punish you.

We have to stop elevating religion to the same level as other ways of examining our world. A lot of these religious people are simply fruitcakes.

 

[big-all]

i dont know the first thing about religion other than what i learnt at school

you or anyone one else can call me an idiot or not call me an idiot thats of no concern to me i believe my actions are correct but i will let others judge that

 

[ellal]

Quite true Big all, and I agree with you that one can be a good citizen without having to belong to a religion. or to believe in a God, if one doesn't believe in God, doesn't make him a bad person.

In the same way as if one does believe in God, it doesn't make them necessarily a good person.

 

[wobs]

Nope, religion will never go away no matter how clever the scientist and critical thinking gets, simply because you are unable to prove that god does not exist, meanwhile we have every faith that the Almighty God exists, because without him there wouldn't even be a single atom in the universe.
It is plain simple and so logical, you don't even need to have brains of an Einstein for this, so who is the idiots? those who think God does not exist.

fully agree peoples beliefs are ever evolving
if you believe god exists good on you as i am sure you are a person who looks after you friends family and local community like i do
i personally do not believe in god but i am glad that others find it comforting and helps them be good in the community in general
i personally function perfectly in a happy helpful cohesive community where some believe and others don't
i do not pass judgment on others for there believes as long as they are not judgmental
the only idiots in my world are the ones that think they are superior or judge others who don't agree with there views

While it is good to not judge someone just because they believe in God, it is in my experience a fallacy to assume any kind of moral superiority when someone is religious. They are just as likely to be dishonest/adulterous/uncaring/hypocritical or whatever.

 

[chapeau]

i dont know the first thing about religion other than what i learnt at school

you or anyone one else can call me an idiot or not call me an idiot thats of no concern to me i believe my actions are correct but i will let others judge that

That sounds very much like you are claiming your position is superior 'just because'. And I thought you were against that.

 

[JBR]

I believe that to have a religion is a human right. Some of us believe there is no god; others believe there is. That is our choice.

In earlier times, religion served the very useful purpose of keeping people in line. Centuries ago, when people really believed in heaven and hell, they would almost certainly think twice before committing a sin.

What I will say, though, is that one drawback to religion is that it has been, and still is, divisive. Despite religious leaders claiming that they are trying to bring people together to live in harmony, we still see strife caused by different religious beliefs.

Perhaps, then, religion is not working.

 

[big-all]

i dont know the first thing about religion other than what i learnt at school

you or anyone one else can call me an idiot or not call me an idiot thats of no concern to me i believe my actions are correct but i will let others judge that

That sounds very much like you are claiming your position is superior 'just because'. And I thought you were against that.

youve lost me a bit

i am no better or no worse than anybody else
certainly not superior
i give respect to others and they respect me for my actions

 

[Micilin]

In earlier times, religion served the very useful purpose of keeping people in line. Centuries ago, when people really believed in heaven and hell, they would almost certainly think twice before committing a sin.

Yes. Indeed.We had no need for jails or courts back then, and no massacres by armies or monarchs either. Sadly , murder and theft are a secular modern thing

They might have thought twice, but it didn't stop them!