Do people get so hung up on the theological side of religion, rather than the philosophical and sociological concepts? I couldn't care less whether there was a big man in the sky telling us all what to do sims-stylee.

Jesus seemed to me like he was just trying to give people a reason to actually give a shit about one another. So he ran off a lil bull in an attempt to make a bit of peace, but now people fight over how to worship the same damned fairy tale.

All religions share similar behavioural concepts, such as the supression of greed, honesty, and belief in your abilities and fellow man, but the majority seem to ignore these parts and concentrate on the less important, more far fetched areas of religion.

Why?

Because the people who do believe in those far-fetched aspects would feel insulted to have someone who doesn't believe in them identify as a member of the same religion. In the more extreme religions this would lead to violence.

Do people get so hung up on the theological side of religion, rather than the philosophical and sociological concepts? I couldn't care less whether there was a big man in the sky telling us all what to do sims-stylee.

Jesus seemed to me like he was just trying to give people a reason to actually give a shit about one another. So he ran off a lil bull in an attempt to make a bit of peace, but now people fight over how to worship the same damned fairy tale.

All religions share similar behavioural concepts, such as the supression of greed, honesty, and belief in your abilities and fellow man, but the majority seem to ignore these parts and concentrate on the less important, more far fetched areas of religion.

Why?
Because those areas have important implications for the rest of the religion, and for the rest of existence. If a religion says it is immoral to do action a, but action a seems perfectly acceptable and even helpful, it'd help to know if the religion actually was the moral standard of our universe and the revealed word of an omniscience, omnibenevolent God, or if we can safely ignore that part.

Its as simple as this, no one is born with a knowledge of god, no one is born with a kowledge of anything. Its all to be learned and experienced and than in the end its up to you to decide for yourself.

My problems ARE with the philosophical and sociological sides of religion. Believe whatever you want about the rest.

However, a lot of these philosophical and sociological concepts would be silly and a waste of time, were it not for the theological side of it. Their only solid footing is because of the theology.

OP--religion per se IS theology. There is really no other side. People being people, however--that is, being largely ignorant and fearful--they seek to justify their actions, and often pervert religion to do so.

The big message from Jesus can be stated thusly--"do unto others as you would have it done unto you." Christians en masse ignore this however--if they practiced it, there would be no more wars, hunger, rape or poverty in their world. Things like racism and gay rights would no longer even be issues in the US.

no one is born with a knowledge of god

I'm not sure that I personally believe that.
Maybe you wouldn't be aware of the label "God", but I think you would have an instinctive sense of what god is.
But as time passes your instinctive understanding of god is shadowed by the teachings of others, IE: People who say "God is what made the universe and he is like this".
Your instinctive understandings and the new "taught" explanations are the same thing, but the man-made labels and methods of explaining it just confuse what was already a perfect understanding.

In other words, language cannot describe god.

I'm not sure that I personally believe that.
Maybe you wouldn't be aware of the label "God", but I think you would have an instinctive sense of what god is.
But as time passes your instinctive understanding of god is shadowed by the teachings of others, IE: People who say "God is what made the universe and he is like this".
Your instinctive understandings and the new "taught" explanations are the same thing, but the man-made labels and methods of explaining it just confuse what was already a perfect understanding.

In other words, language cannot describe god.

I think you would have to ask someone that was born and raised their whole life completely cut off from other people to find this out...and that would be a pretty harrowing experiment to put a person through. Otherwise, it seems all speculation.

I think you would have to ask someone that was born and raised their whole life completely cut off from other people to find this out...and that would be a pretty harrowing experiment to put a person through. Otherwise, it seems all speculation.

I was a young child too once. I have strong memories of what my experience of life was like before I began to learn "labels".
But you're right, it is mostly speculation. Makes sense to me tho.

All religions share similar behavioural concepts, such as the supression of greed, honesty, and belief in your abilities and fellow man, but the majority seem to ignore these parts and concentrate on the less important, more far fetched areas of religion.

Why?

Perhaps it's in our nature? Observe the majority. We humans love fantasy, we love adventure, many of us think being scared out of our wits by Freddy in a ski mask with a chainsaw is fun! On the other hand maybe the "more far fetched" ideas appeal to those of a gullible disposition. Could it be they are the only ones likely to submit to a priest?

Do people get so hung up on the theological side of religion, rather than the philosophical and sociological concepts? I couldn't care less whether there was a big man in the sky telling us all what to do sims-stylee.

I think about it, I research it... I know something about it.

Jesus seemed to me like he was just trying to give people a reason to actually give a shit about one another. So he ran off a lil bull in an attempt to make a bit of peace, but now people fight over how to worship the same damned fairy tale.

Well from my POV hardly Bull, but for sake of finding common ground, yes that's true...

All religions share similar behavioural concepts, such as the supression of greed, honesty, and belief in your abilities and fellow man, but the majority seem to ignore these parts and concentrate on the less important, more far fetched areas of religion.

Why?

Most religions do, the religions that suppress "honesty, and belief in your abilities and fellow man" are the dogmatic religions everyone bends over to. However, the spiritual traditions don't, they want you to come as you are and to have faith in yourself (Christos, from an esoteric Christian POV) while you come to the awareness of self-knowledge and self-realization.

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Its as simple as this, no one is born with a knowledge of god, no one is born with a kowledge of anything. Its all to be learned and experienced and than in the end its up to you to decide for yourself.

Couldn't say that any better... You have the experience you decide for yourself... Keep your decision to Thyself.