I personally believe in God (as Something/one had to start the big bang) but I think that religion is just a way for the primitive brain of Man to cope with e.g. death by believing that someone will come to their aid at the last moment.

The fact that such a large amount of people place their trust in a book, that is simply some bored Arab writing a novel, believing that he can talk to God with his many personalities, is proof that Man cannot cope without the naivity that somebody will always be there for them.

Religion is an emotional safety net blown WAY out of proportion by Man's sense of loneliness. Care to say any different?

Man always strives for answers and there are many questions he has about life. So, religion is created to attempt to explain much of it. I don't see any monotheistic or polytheistic religion as an acceptable means of attempting to understand the world, but other people feel differently. I just want to see the look on their faces when it turns out there is no heaven and they wasted their lives.

quote:Originally posted by Inside_Voices:

Man always strives for answers and there are many questions he has about life. So, religion is created to attempt to explain much of it. I don't see any monotheistic or polytheistic religion as an acceptable means of attempting to understand the world, but other people feel differently. I just want to see the look on their faces when it turns out there is no heaven and they wasted their lives.



You shouldn't be so closed minded. You may be right in what you say, but then again maybe you just haven't realised some things that other people have. Don't shut off your mind to other possibilities otherwise you may be stopping yourself from having some far out realisations.

Another thing, you don't have to waste your life. To reach heaven is a natural end. You can't avoid it, so no matter what you do you'll never not go there. It's all just a matter of how quickly and in which life.

^ As is my current understanding

Beany, where do u think that heaven exists? The previous thoughts of the world was that it was just past the upper atmosphere, but now that Nasa has fucked that theory up, and many people have proven that the universe is huge, and mostly empty, where the hell could heaven exist? Heaven and hell were both created in a primitive attempt to explain natural events

Heaven - The sky (mostly)

Hell - Volcanic activites

Where the fuck could this utopia exist?

on a different plane of existence

quote:Originally posted by Exothermic:

The previous thoughts of the world was that it was just past the upper atmosphere, but now that Nasa has fucked that theory up

Of the world? I don't think so. Most thoughts of the world believe that heaven exists on a spiritual plane. IE: Not physical, not of this universe.

You have the body, you have consciousness. The body is physical whereas the consciousness is a spiritual entity experiencing a physical universe. Heaven is the spiritual universe that the consciousness eventually returns to.

He was looking for a logical answer, not a spiritual one.

quote:Originally posted by RIGHTEOUS IMPIETY:

on a different plane of existence

Which one exactly? Have you seen it? My consciousness has been to a couple, I haven't passed through heaven in my travels yet, I haven't come across that drug. Or is death seriously the only way? There must be someway I can get a sneak look if I can check out all these other ones for a small price.

quote:Originally posted by Froonhed:

Which one exactly? Have you seen it? My consciousness has been to a couple, I haven't passed through heaven in my travels yet, I haven't come across that drug. Or is death seriously the only way? There must be someway I can get a sneak look if I can check out all these other ones for a small price.

Or perhaps heaven can only be seen when you are tripped out...

It would certainly explain a lot.

The catholic church at lkeast used to claim they were physical places. After all, why go for absurd when primitive and superstitious will suffice.

Exothermic- I agree completely with the position that religion exists just to make people feel good. I'm not sure how you can still believe in God as well though. Religion is a crutch for weak people throughout their lives. Whenever they get into a tough stop "God will help them", or "it's all part of Gods plan". And I know full well that I'm only dealing with western religions. People are just cowards.

quote:Originally posted by SurahAhriman:

The catholic church at lkeast used to claim they were physical places. After all, why go for absurd when primitive and superstitious will suffice.

Exothermic- I agree completely with the position that religion exists just to make people feel good. I'm not sure how you can still believe in God as well though. Religion is a crutch for weak people throughout their lives. Whenever they get into a tough stop "God will help them", or "it's all part of Gods plan". And I know full well that I'm only dealing with western religions. People are just cowards.

Just curious, but what is your view on philosophies? Same deal: comfort and relief of hardships? I agree with your stance, though.

quote:Originally posted by SurahAhriman:

Whenever they get into a tough spot "God will help them"

Ah, but I've never even been in a tough spot. http://www.totse.com/bbs/wink.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/wink.gif)

i also believe in some sort of a creator, but that doesn't mean that it cares about us or that it even still exist. i just think that some form of higher being (not spiritual) had a major role in our begining.

people do normally use god and religion as a crutch though. if they get sick or lose their job they say god will help them because its part of his plan. nevermind the actual physical reasons behind their predicaments.

Philosophy is much less of a crutch. A philosophy doesn't promise to take care of you. I consider myself a variant stoic, the variation being that I'm most open with those I'm most intimate with, and that my stance on civic duty is much more reluctant than it should be. A philosophy is something that should just fit with a person. I have nothing against philosophy, unlike religion.

It's not that religion is just a crutch. The ideas and morals that religion finally wrote down probably complied with the morals of the time. I feel it was everyone's thought that "murder was bad" and religion was the first to write it down and offer a spiritual punishment for it.

Fear kept religion alive back then, although its starting to wear a bit thin on the people of this modern era.