Religion has never been a significant part of my life. At one point (elementary school) I held a loathing for religious people. This came to be when I was in the third and fourth grades where people would tell me that 'god had a mom' in response to questions about who created god if god created the universe and insist that I was going to hell for not believing. I told them that when I died I would just go sideways rather than up or down. From what they told me I got the general sense that god was an asshole and that if he was going to send me to hell for not believing in him I didn't want his heaven anyways. So at that point it seemed to me that religion consisted of beliefs about what happened to you after you died, where the universe came from, threatening people of different beliefs, and going to church every week. So I decided to become an atheist because they were obviously all just stupid jerks and I didn't want to give in to their threat that I was going to hell.

Then I had a chat with someone on battle.net while playing Warcraft 3, during one of the heated religious debates that went on sometimes, and I realized that being religious and being a complete moron weren't necessarily the same thing.

But I still don't see what people get out of it. What is there to religion, besides the obvious social and communal implications? Besides a series of beliefs and practices and institutions leading infrastructures of public control, what is it?

As an atheist I have gotten much amusement out of religions. Along with the occasional tidbit of good philosophical stuff, but mostly amusement.

Religion has never been a significant part of my life. At one point (elementary school) I held a loathing for religious people. This came to be when I was in the third and fourth grades where people would tell me that 'god had a mom' in response to questions about who created god if god created the universe and insist that I was going to hell for not believing. I told them that when I died I would just go sideways rather than up or down. From what they told me I got the general sense that god was an asshole and that if he was going to send me to hell for not believing in him I didn't want his heaven anyways. So at that point it seemed to me that religion consisted of beliefs about what happened to you after you died, where the universe came from, threatening people of different beliefs, and going to church every week. So I decided to become an atheist because they were obviously all just stupid jerks and I didn't want to give in to their threat that I was going to hell.

Then I had a chat with someone on battle.net while playing Warcraft 3, during one of the heated religious debates that went on sometimes, and I realized that being religious and being a complete moron weren't necessarily the same thing.

But I still don't see what people get out of it. What is there to religion, besides the obvious social and communal implications? Besides a series of beliefs and practices and institutions leading infrastructures of public control, what is it?

People usually dont think of it as "getting something back" they simply believe what the Bible says and if you believe it you should love and do all that he demands of you (think of God as parent to help you out a little) so you dont really plan on getting things out of it (although there is the gift of going to heaven) you just want to obey your heavenly father.

What do I get out of religion? Usually a pounding headache and the distinct feeling i haven't had way near enough alcohol.

If however you mean 'What do I get out of my faith? Then i'd have to say that it keeps me from doing that which I want to do and thereby fucking up real bad. You have remember my road to damascus was waking up one morning in a police cell with the world's worse hangover and looking at at least 2 life sentences.On the whole I have a slightly judiac view of God- ie that he is a gigantic pain in the arse who is also right 100% of the time.

that still doesn't put it into words. WHY would you want to do all those things? So it's intrinsic? I never considered it a positive thing to obey ones parents.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I don't get where you're coming from. Are you saying that they don't do it for any reason? Otherwise, they would be planning on getting something out of it. That thing doesn't necessarily have to be a personal reward, it could be a state of self or a reality in the world, but it would still be by definition something they strive to attain, not neccesarily a specific and clear-cut 'reward'.



And that it serves as a form of self-motivation (or a replacement for self control) makes sense I guess.

that still doesn't put it into words. WHY would you want to do all those things? So it's intrinsic? I never considered it a positive thing to obey ones parents.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I don't get where you're coming from. Are you saying that they don't do it for any reason? Otherwise, they would be planning on getting something out of it. That thing doesn't necessarily have to be a personal reward, it could be a state of self or a reality in the world, but it would still be by definition something they strive to attain, not neccesarily a specific and clear-cut 'reward'.



And that it serves as a form of self-motivation (or a replacement for self control) makes sense I guess.

WTF are you talking about i put it as simple as possible if you didnt pick up on what i said go take somemore English classes.

I told them that when I died I would just go sideways rather than up or down.

thats so cute I love that

So I decided to become an atheist

Why do you have to put yourself into a category? You're basically shutting off the part of yourself that may consider spiritual possibilities.
The same goes for anyone who labels themselves. It seems kinda limiting to me. Be infinite.

Anyway to answer your question I get food for thought out of religion, advice on how to correct the areas of my mind that make me unhappy, a positive outlook, a reason for me to put up with life's hardships, understanding.

I also get all this stuff through my own experience and understanding, but religions to me are guidelines that speed up your growth. It's just up to you to separate the wheat from the chaff. And I don't mean discard one religion and accept another. All religions have something worthwhile about them.

well i dont really get anything... i'm an atheist/buddhist and i like buddhism because i find it a good way to live. I like the fact that i'm being a good person etc
Other than that i get absolutely nothing

amusment and a feeling of superiority for not being a religious drone.

Religion and faith can both serve a rather wide variety of purposes.

Absolution of guilt, motivation, purpose, understanding, community, grandeur, involvement, control, structure, pillar of support, and so on.

Never mind all of my troll posts of the past and my general fucking around in this forum.

I believe in a 'gift-giving' god...forget the mechanisms it uses, science covers that, but I and every other human have been bestowed with unique gifts and attributes. The why doesn't matter, nor does any other unanswered question: life is life, and if you let your talents go to waste, you're going to be miserable.

For me, my faith is a spiritual reflection of physical fact. It gives me a sense of guidance without the need for a guide. My faith also keeps me focused on uncovering my positive attributes and giving me the drive to utilize them in any way possible.

Whether or not it's actually a god behind the physical fact of how life works doesn't matter much to me: Without this faith I seem to grow apathetic, so I hold it true as it works for me.

I think you have it down pat. But we will never know until everyone has it down pat.

Me personally? Not much, apart from some good guidelines to live by. You know - Thou shalt not murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, etc....

I feel sorry for most religious people because their mindset is totally different to mine - I have no idea what the final answer is, but I'm happy to look for clues along the way. Religious people think they know the answer, and spend their life looking for evidence to support their chosen answer.

My sorrow comes from the fact that only two possibilities are out there - Either 1 of the religions is right (and all the others are wrong), or none are right. How do these people know they have chosen the right one? Sure, their friends all tell them they have, and they have this book (printed by their friends friends friend) that says they are right, but that doesn't carry any weight in the scheme of things.

Generally speaking, religious people have taken the easy way out of life. Rather than looking for answers, they have accepted someone elses answer as their own. They'll never discover their true person, and they'll go through life with blinkers on.

So I just feel pitty and sorrow for anyone that says they belong to a certain type of religious group. They believe someone elses beleifs, so in effect, they are not a real individual human being. They have chosen the easy road through life, rather than the harder self discovery road.

But thats just my opinion.

Organised religeon is just a mind fuck for the sheep and the bottom feeders of this planet.

If there was a "god" She would be laughing her tits off at your pathetic attempts to rationalise your existance.

Live your life, you only get the one.............To those who believe otherwise, good luck.

If there was a "god" She

Why she?

What if God isn't he or she, it's just God? Or e?

You take from that message what you will. I've never in my life once tried extacy.

God is black, she really is.

Says who? What's black?

Says who? What's black?

Black='nigger'

clear enough?

Nah, what's a nigger? Did you come up with that did you?

Nah, what's a nigger? Did you come up with that did you?

Nope its an old joke.

Explain the joke to me.

Nah, what's a nigger? Did you come up with that did you?

You find them in woodpiles I do believe!

look, there are a lot of dumbasses out there, not only are there religious retards but theres athiest retards too! such as the ones that try and use the omnipotent logical fallacy bull shit with that gay rocl thing as a reason to disprove God or seeing the connection between Mithraism and there hinduistic like resurection as the same as Jesus! You have to look past all the bullshit and look at what the Book itself says, weather that be the bible or koran or any other religous texts!!! Weather or not you think that all seems stupid or not is up to you! Plus just because a scientist has an IQ of 180 doesnt mean hes allways got it right!!!

What do you get ou of religion?

Suppoedly to learn standards and values in order to keep peace, order and happiness in people, but obviously the Popes had long ago took advantage of this just to impose their selfish beliefs onto the public. As you said "leading control over the public," that's the only purpose it serves today.

However, I really dig Jesus' preachings, all of them make a lot of sense and are very well put. You should know that Catholicism has little to do with Jesus' original teachings and have heavily deviated from them a long time ago. Christian Orthodox is a much better and less controlling version of Christianity but again not perfect.

What do you get out of religion?

When I was an Orthodox Christian (up til age 12ish), I got many things out of religion. However, the reason I believed in it at first was because nobody had given me specifics about the creation story of Christianity. Anyway, a few positive things that I got out of it were:
1) A good feeling (like weight lifting off my shoulders) after confessing my sins to my parish priest.
2) A lot of my friends were there at church, and it was a fun enviornment.
3) There was food after every sunday service.
4) Praying about things gave my life a relative ease, that is, I didn't have to worry about my Grandfather's death because he was going to be with Jesus.
5) Religion prevented me from sinning for a great deal of time, I refrained from swearing, masturbation, bad music, etc. while I belived in salvation.
6) I felt an easier life in general because I was not at all confused about anything and didn't need any verification (or otherwise) of my beliefs.

On the other hand, while being an atheist (age 15-present), I have learned to rationalize most of the things that I felt. My main argument is that I was young and needed the encouragement/reassurance that things were going to be okay and that the mysteries of the world could be explained away with one fell swoop of the divine. Had I been an atheist since birth, I would probably be no better off. So all in all, religion is good if you don't want to search the answers for yourself and want to believe w/o verification (or if you are a child). Had I known more about the creation story of Christianity and some of the logical arguments against a god (none of which were presented at church for obvious reasons), I would have become an atheist sooner. Most intellectual Christians (as well as Jews) probably believe in God because of one of my previous points, because a god helps them live a moral life with purpose, etc... Very few believe Genesis literally, and Christianity does give a sense of purpose to the majority of its believers, my personality, however, refuses to plan ahead and just takes things as they come, so results may vary.

Long story short: religion gives many good things emotionally, but is almost always inconsistent factually, it's all about what you value more: the facts, or greater happiness.

dance.

They get the belief that their lives are something special with a purpose. The origin of religion is co-existing with humankind. As a species we have always wanted to know Why?, and the fundamental way was to express a belief in something outside of our realm. I have no problem with people believing that, I just don't like closed-minded people, which it seems most zealots are.

It is important to drawe a distinction between religion and spirituality. Religion basically equals crowd control, and most of them--surely the Abrahamic ones--are based on fear and denial.

Spirituality, however, gives me a sense of unity with all, peace, serenity, freedom from fear, and radiant happiness.

^^^ Qft

I recently had a disccusion with a friend of mine. He is baptist and I am a witch. I will never tell him that because i'm sure he'll try to burn me at the stake:D J/K
I asked him what it felt like to belive in god. Now that I've just writen that I can see now why he didn't have a good answer. All he could respond with was random insainitys from the bible. It is a difficult question to answer because it requires deep self reflection.
I know how I would have answerd.

" How does beliving in god make me feel? Well first I don't belive in god. As a witch thats tricky because there are so many but I prefer to view my "gods" as metiforical repersentations of the energy that is everything. I feel this energy. I have a spot in the California mountians that I go to meditate. When I quiet my mind and stop listing with my ears, all I can hear is my heartbeat for a minute or two. Then I feel a kind of "tinggle" in my gut and then BOOM. It's like my mind opens up and streaches to the horizion and I can FEEL the "spirit" "energy" "god" whatever you want to call it. I feel one with everything. That only lasts for a short time because the sensation is so overwhelming that I lose my focus on staying unfocused. Thats how "god" or whatever you whant to call it makes me feel."

I share this with all of you in hopes that someone, regardless of his/her faith, can share an answer with me. An answer that would help me better understand what it is that does it for people who belive in the judao-christian concept of god.
Please share with me.

A god or goddess whose only justice appeals to one's feelings alone is not worth following.

A simple answer for everything I don't feel like actually thinking about.

people these days tend to rely on religion as a failsafe. even if i fuck up my life here, the diety/ies i believe in will pluck me from hell, which they also just happened to create for everyone who didnt believe them.

it has been said here, but i still think that its a good point that a god who throws you away if you did not stand for something that was crammed up your ass and down your throat during your youth is not..worth living for?

I don't know if you were referring to me, but that's not what I said at all. If the laws of God have been crammed up your ass and down your throat since your youth, and those laws happen to be right, I wouldn't care - and I'd probably volunteer to cut the throat of any faggot that thought otherwise.

My point was, a person who only believes in God because they get all fuzzy and moist inside when they pray should be beaten for hours, hung publicly, and then forgotten forever.

I don't know if you were referring to me, but that's not what I said at all. If the laws of God have been crammed up your ass and down your throat since your youth, and those laws happen to be right, I wouldn't care - and I'd probably volunteer to cut the throat of any faggot that thought otherwise.

My point was, a person who only believes in God because they get all fuzzy and moist inside when they pray should be beaten for hours, hung publicly, and then forgotten forever.

What would America look like with half its population in a noose? *hides away to his secret place to contemplate*

It would look like a job half done.