I am just beginning to understand how interesting this site could become. Let's see, try to include a question about the subject. How about a non controversial subject like "RELIGION" I fail to grasp how seemingly intelligent people can believe in something that makes no common sense at all. I guess it has something to do with having it crammed down your throat (sometimes literally) since you were born. I keep thinking that at some point in your life that everything else you have seen and been involved with, tells you that none of this stuff that you have been reading and hearing about, has ever happened to you in the real world. It has to be happening all the time, and I would love to have more people admit it instead of thinking, oh well, it's just religion, what harm can it do? As far as I am concerned "religion" is the biggest cancer on our planet! Any thoughts...
9
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
24 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.My thoughts are that religion poison’s everything! Good comment, thanks for posting.
Redheadedgammy
Level 9
Dec 18, 2019
5
I can tell you my story. They get you when you are young. They brainwash you to think that if you don’t get saved you’re going to hell and if you even question anything you’re going to hell. When majority of people around you think the same then you just fall in line. You can also hypnotize yourself into believing it works. When something good happens the praise god but when something bad happens then god is testing you. If something doesn’t make sense then god works in mysterious ways. And if you don’t get what you want then it wasn’t gods will. Hell is the biggest part of it. When you fear He’ll you disconnect your rational brain.
Also you have to understand that for centuries not being a Christian meant living in hell. Not in afterlife but in this world. People were killed tortured and looked down upon if they weren’t christians
abyers1970
Level 7
Dec 18, 2019
5
I agree.....Millions of people have been murdered in the name of God. Trillions of dollars have been diverted from useful projects to build huge cathedrals, churches, temples and shrines. Humanity would be much better served if their were no silly religions. Look at all the wars in history....most were religious wars.
nicknotes
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
4
You might not find too many more fresh thoughts on this. We've hashed it over so many times here that most folks are sort of bored of it now. Suffice it to say 90% or better of us seem to agree with you. So there's that.
Here's a thought that I started to flesh out in another thread: I think skepticism most often derives from distrust of authority. There are a great number of people on this planet who wish to be led and cared for. I think many of those people need a belief in order to feel safe and secure in themselves. That's not to cast judgment on those willing to believe in fairy tails and magic - it's a powerful emotion generator and the allure is understandable. It's like bathing in a pool of warm chocolate syrup. Once submerged comfortably in its rapture, why get out of the pool? Begone, those who would make waves! You'll ruin it for me!
And then there are those who have experienced enough bullshit in life they start to get a thirst for better data. Who is that man behind the curtain? Why should I believe in him?
A healthy distrust of authority is really all it takes.
Shawno1972
Level 7
Dec 18, 2019
3
@Leontion Here's the link: [agnostic.com]
My little comment is in there somewhere. I didn't really say anything there that I didn't better say here, though.
I'm of the same opinion as Hitchens overall - it could very well be that some deeply rooted need to believe in religious explanation (read: irrational) is inherent in our species. It makes certain types of people feel safer, in spite of reason.
@Leontion Also, to your comment about those certain religious folks who want to be leaders, e.g. the Jim Jones syndrome...I suspect a great number of them are not actually believers, and rather wish to use religion as a tool to engorge the hunger of their narcissism.
I know of one specific Catholic priest in my old neighborhood who I estimate is clearly not a believer. His concern was only for the increase in membership of his church, ostensibly for the increase in tithe income he would be able to report back to his superiors.
While I do not personally see a benefit to religion in my own life, unfortunately I’ve seen several people who have to have it in order to be a decent human being. Most don’t read the Bible in its entirety, and listen only to the sermons for their lessons. Until morality is main stream, some people will only be “good” if they have fear of a sky daddy.
InkedMaiden
Level 4
Dec 18, 2019
4
It's easy you don't have to think
It's relatively cheap
It doesn't make you fat
It gives you a get out of hell free card no matter how evil you are
It tells you all the right people to hate and praises you for doing it
And it lets you feel you are somehow better than everyone else
For most people that is enough to throw you life away on being thought of as a sanctimonious imbecile
LenHazell53
Level 9
Dec 18, 2019
4
Religion is corrupt. Unfortunately there are people out there that only behave because of the fear of what religion preaches, burning in hell or a reward in heaven. People who preach that belief don't follow what they teach. They do all the bad things that they tell their parishioners not to do. The people who follow the religion have never read and try to understand the whole book to see the contradictions. It is a money making business. It is a way to control the population. They are devoid of the ability to think critically.
noworry28
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
3
Just the normal human desire to explain who we are, where we came from, and the meaning of it all.
Plain as the nose on your face.
Religion happened when someone somewhere wrote one explanation down and declared it THE explanation.
Why everybody else AGREED is another story.
Storm1752
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
3
@K9Kohle789 , Money, politics, and power. That's the history of religion.
@K9Kohle789 well the first three automatically give the people in power control 
@K9Kohle789 I read the Romans invented Christianity, not disaffected Jews!
@Storm1752 Actually, according to UNTAINTED Scholars the foundations of Christianity were written by Flavius Josephus in his writings about the " Divine Trinity" i.e. Flavius Vespasian, his son and his Grandson ( The Father, the Son and the Divine Spirit) whereby and from those writings Christianity 'created' their Holy Trinity.
Flavius Josephus was originally a turn-coat to his own Hebrew peoples, a slave to the Flavians, granted his freedom and adopted the name 'Flavius' and wrote his "Divine Trinity" to heap praise upon his 'adopted' family and to attempt to have them Deified.
Personal/Familial Deification was one of the major things that the Roman Noble families always strove to have endowed upon their family.
@Triphid Very interesting...I hadn't seen that specific item, but have read a lot about how they structured the Jesus myth around Titus' victorious military campaign versus the Jewish revolutionaries who for a time successfully threw off Roman rule.
To become deified, an emperor had first to accomplish a 'heroic' military victory and bring riches and honor to the empire.
Plus, the Flavians were quite aware of the shame and debauchery of the previous emperors, who had thoroughly discredited the old gods...the empire was ripe for a total overhaul of their spiritual myths.
Since Rome had a 'media monopoly,' it explains how Christianity spread so quickly throughout the conquered lands, though it would take centuries for the transformation to be complete.
I intend to delve more deeply into this subject, but it is absolutely fascinating.
Amen!! Religion has ruined my relationship with family members and hurt me terribly. It divides and separates. I've never been so judged as by religious people I know.
2muchstupidity
Level 6
Dec 18, 2019
3
rising above the judgments is the goal.... stop caring about them... they will likely never end and will only drag you into a Maelstrom ...
Religion is used to control the followers. People use religion like a baby blanket, because they are scare of leaving religion.
xenoview
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
3
I agree. After experiencing a plethora of religious cultures, I found it more liberating to not seek for a savior or deity to feel “blessed “ or whatever. I have been on a journey to learn for myself and remove the mysteries they forced on me as a youth.
I agree.Throughout most of history many wars and violent acts were done because someone basically said " you are not worshipping God like I think you should". That is why religion is dangerous! People believe they have divine right to force their views poo n others.
Tommcphillips
Level 4
Dec 18, 2019
3
I find Religion as a topic of discussion somewhat tedious... even among like thinkers... my current group of friends have all crossed over to the dark side and it never arises in our general conversations and I have little to no desire to travel that well worn road.... I thought we all here had passed that mile post..
blzjz
Level 7
Dec 18, 2019
2
I don't discuss it with friends either, but it is all around us and causing harm to what could be a beautiful world. I am going to keep speaking and writing my opposition to this nonsense, and hope that more and more people will start to feel comfortable speaking out about this harmful nonsense...
Great marketing ploy has become exactly what it claims to rail against. This should come as no surprise, human nature/man created it, what could possibly go wrong?
silverotter11
Level 9
Dec 18, 2019
2
I think a basis is the fear of death and the unacceptable idea of ultimate non-existence. Our intelligence has grown to such an extent that we cannot comprehend that someday we will just disappear forever...
seattlepanda
Level 7
Dec 18, 2019
2
"I fail to grasp how seemingly intelligent people can believe in something that makes no common sense at all."
My life-long observation as a High Functioning Asperger's Syndrome person is that "normal" human thought processes are heavily colored by emotion at the expense of logic.
dahermit
Level 7
Dec 19, 2019
1
I see it as a sort of willing suspension of disbelief. For example:
I absolutely love the movie Dogma (and I recommend it as an example of great humor, drama, and religious criticism). For the 100-something minutes I'm watching, I completely believe and accept, in the film's terms, the existence of angels, prophets, disciples falling from Heaven, a God who likes to manifest himself as an old man and play skee-ball, and all the rest, because it's so damn well done. And then, when it's over, I blink a couple times, and then go back to the real world.
I think believers suspend their disbelief all the time. It's unbelievable that a voice would speak from a burning bush, or that someone could raise their hand and part an body of water, or return from the dead; but because they want to believe it, they do.
Paul4747
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
0
I'm an enigma.
I'm a big fan of the Jesus Christ Superstar movie. Love the music, and it's a great fantasy tale. A god sends his son down to live among mortals and try to teach them how to live. Those mortals end up torturing and killing him but Whoa! He comes back to life, and other stuff happens. Did I mention I like the music?
@ronnie40356 For music, I prefer Life of Brian. Always look on the bright side of life....
@Paul4747 everyone's different.
Not all religions are cancerous. None are evidence based, but some are life affirming.
The most malignant, cancerous, death-worshiping "religion" is political Islam.
PBuck0145
Level 7
Dec 18, 2019
1
"Religion" and "Political Islam" are 2 opposing things, it is racist xenophobic fools like yourself that confuse them & try to scapegoat them. Truly tiresome, can't you find something productive to do?
@AnneWimsey Denial of reality manifests itself again.
@AnneWimsey Maybe I AM a racist fool, but from everything I've read, seen, and heard, 'religious Islam' and 'political Islam' are one and the same thing.
The Koran is not only a religious screed, but also a political blueprint for EVERY aspect of a person's life, and for how society should be governed.
Sharia law is not a vague religious prescription, but a specific set of rules and regulations with detailed punishments for transgressors. It is THE Islamic law regardless
of whatever country a devotee lives.
Sort of the Old Testament on super steroids, with fangs and claws.
Wake up to reality.
There are forms of religion that are meaningful. I consider myself to be a Religious Naturalist.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
0
Religion ... pure and faultless is this: to help widows and orphans in distress and avoiding worldly corruption. James 1:27
Why refer to something as helping widows and orphans etc. as a cancer?
Word
Level 8
Dec 18, 2019
0
Because that is not the religion that the cults follow, they are judgemental, biased, oppressive and hypocritical.
It could very well be that cancer does something beneficial to some part of the body for some period of time, too....before it chokes the life out of you.
Community is the only positive with any religion. Everything else with religion is toxic.
Just because that nonsense line was written, sure doesn't mean it is true.
The bible also tells us we can own slaves, beat children, kill women, rape women, etc.
Yeah, I'd call that cancer.
It is a false belief that does not help anyone. It gives false hope to everyone, why pick out widows and orphans?
Word:
@heymoe2001 do you not understand evolutionary processes? Can you not understand the documentation of early people more so animalistic Jungle minded as compaired to what worldly mentalities are today?
@Word , way to be insulting.
I understand that comparing religion to cancer is appropriate. I understand that a few lines in any book are meaningless.
Word:
@heymoe2001 United States of America [the government and its laws and functions established by its constitution that it is in violation of] is a religion. And cancerous to the origional indigenous inhabitants that's been here for 1000s of years prior to the European invasion of 1492 and the Masonic lodge secret religion racist devil worshippers freedom from England July 4th, 1776.
"avoiding worldly corruption"
And led by many of the most greedy & corrupt people on the planet.
Word:
@ronnie40356 leading the people or is it that people use it to do the evil things they do?
Consider illogical atheist Jim Jones using religion to get people out of religion then to kill over 900 of them.
@Word Or Donald Trump using religion to fleece the rubes, or Jerry Falwell, Jr. using religion to get the pool boy, or any other televangelist ever born, or .. We could go on and on....
Word:
@ronnie40356 what you call religion is just a form of government. It is a lot about controlling and hoarding people like sheep. Never heard of the good Shepard?
Yet, there really are those people with a followers mentality. It's not totally the leaders fault. I am rather certain that if people really didn't want to follow, they wouldn't.
Rock stars, movie stars have a lot of fans that follow them and the stars get rich. Politicians and these religious people are not too far different, just something of a different genre so to say.
Word:
@heymoe2001 just to make clear, the old testiment laws you quote wa sd the nation of Israel government laws over 2000 years ago. They are not considered the current laws.
However, yes, people do look at them as a means to justify their slavery and such. People do not understand it is basically ... antiquated? Old laws, that could be used in the right teachers hands as to show examples of laws not to make.
@Word , I didn't quote any laws. You assumed. And nothing in the bible, any version thereof, is accurate. It is a book. A badly written book. A book written by men with an agenda. It is a ridiculous book. Your arguments are ridiculous. Just because it says in the book to help widows and orphans doesn't mean anyone is helping widows and orphans. That isn't in any way the main gist of that repugnant book.
Government isn't a religion. Some governments are theocracies. The US government is not supposed to be. If it is pretending to be, and it is representing itself as christian, then christianity is clearly NOT about helping widows and orphans because benefits to widows and orphans and folks with disabilities has recently been slashed to the core.
I have no idea why you continue to argue such nonsense. I can only assume you have neglected to take your medication.
Enjoy being online again!
Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.Create your free account
Share this post
Categories
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.