What If There Were No Religion?

Discussion in 'Religion Archives' started by Lord_Phoenix, Feb 28, 2005.

  1. Lord_Phoenix New World Order Registered Senior Member

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    I would just like to hear about your opinions about how religions really affect our lives. Would there still be these many problems and issues if there were no religions? Like for example the muslim nations are opposing US because they think US is anti-muslims. So if there were no religions, how do you think their opinions would change on these issues.
     
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  3. mustafhakofi I sa'id so Registered Senior Member

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    Cant say no wars, cant be sure but can say 99% less.
    so less wars, less killing, more scientific inprovements, humanity more advanced, a high quailty of life, living life to full as it's you only one, friendship and love abound, fun for all.
    a impossible utopia, because we still have religion.
     
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  5. Woody Musical Creationist Registered Senior Member

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    A world with the one and only "True" religion has no reason for a religious war, nor can it have one. In the end times the world, according to revelation, will chose the "False" religion, known as "the Harlot from Babylon." When all religions are taken away, man will be eager to follow her. There is only one "true" religions but an infinite number of "false" religions. The end times tribulation sufferers think the false religion will finally bring peace to the world.

    As for wars, probably many many more will happen. The book of revelation gives us a clue when it says:

    For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

    Also, the book of revelation says that a divine intervention by God will keep man from totally annihilating himself with war in the end times. Are we there yet? I don't know but it sure looks close. As one politician said, there are enough nuclear bombs and missles in the world to blow up the whole world and then bounce the rubble.
     
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  7. duendy Registered Senior Member

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    it all depends what you mean by 'religion'?

    if you mean REVEALED religions, which come with a prophet and are patriarchal then you can already see what a blight they are for all of Nature. constant conflict inner and outer and war. because they BEGIN dividing up 'spirit' from 'matter' so it's inevitable there will be endless conflict under such a world view

    But EARTH religion is different. This DOESN'T separate spirit/consciousness from matter-energy. and it is far older than patriarchal religion
     
  8. mustafhakofi I sa'id so Registered Senior Member

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    it was this so called divine intervention by god, that caused the wars in the first place, the problem woody is the god.
    also quoting the bible in answer, to a man asking, if there were no religions, is a bit f''king redundant, do you think.
     
  9. SkinWalker Archaeology / Anthropology Moderator

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    I think that if there were no "religions," that is to say superstitious organizations designed to appeal to the innate nature of humans to believe, that would indicate that "belief" is something that isn't hard-wired in our brains and DNA.

    If that were the case, we also wouldn't have superstitions, UFO nutters, believers in telekinesis/psi powers, astrology, tarot cards, a fear of ghosts, etc, etc.

    There are those that will use the circular reasoning of religious texts to ethnocentrically and religiocentrically support that theirs' is the "true" religion, but this, too, is a part of the hard-wired system of belief, and merely reflects the believer's desire to be right in his/her beliefs.

    There are those that criticize this hard-wiring as a flaw (Bill Mahr calls religion "neurological disorder!"), but I think it's a characteristic that can be either deleterious or helpful, depending upon the level to which the individual applies his/her belief. Overall, religions of the world have a positive side, which is to reinforce values and morality that are common sense to humanity and independent of religion. But to the extreme, religions can impose variations of morality that exclude those that do not subscribe to that religion's set of superstitions, rituals, and cult activity, but to those of another religion altogether (as in Islam v. Christianity; Christianity v. Native American religion).

    Religions can even apply extremes and variations of value and morality upon members within the cult. This could be to legitimize hierarchy, gain wealth, preserve fundamental beliefs, prevent progressive changes, etc. These actions can even exist because of misinterpretation of the cult's belief structure. Good examples of each of these includes the Inquisition, the Reformation, stoning adulterers, disallowing priests to marry, sacrificing virgins in cenotes, bloodletting, etc.

    But without this hard-wired belief, would humanity have progressed to the extent that it has? Could science exist without the innate system of belief that its greatest innovators must have felt about the nature of the universe? Would agriculture have emerged unless early Nartufians believed that the Earth was the womb of life and that seeds of wheat were the equivalent of the Seed of something like "Father Sky?" Would complexity have emerged in larger populations unless there were those in the population that believed that some were better or of a higher status than the rest?

    There are perhaps a million other questions that arise relating to the hard-wired nature of belief in humanity. There are many reasons to point out that his is a flaw in the Homo sapiens brain, but there are probably just as many reasons why this can be called our greatest characteristic. Undoubtedly, those that haven't tempered their belief-module (I don't actually think there's an actual, specific part of the brain that is responsible for belief, but rather a system of parts, based on what little I've read on this so far) with critical thinking that will call what I'm saying baloney, bunk, etc. It may very well be. But it provides a ready explanation, in my opinion, for some very curious things about humanity.

    So, back to the question of "what if there were no religions?" I think if there were so, then that would imply that there were no belief-engine or module within the human brain and, therefore, we might be intelligent but unmoved technologically. There are those that say dolphins are intelligent.... could it be that they simply aren't afflicted with religion?
     
    Last edited: Mar 4, 2005
  10. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Religion is just a collection of cultural assumptions. We have these without religion, too, so there would be little difference in anything if religions were to dissapear. We might lose a connection to history, though, and the accumulated wisdom of some historical figures.
     
  11. Medicine*Woman Jesus: Mythstory--Not History! Valued Senior Member

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    M*W: What we would lose without organized religion would be all the guilt it has promoted. We could actually enjoy sex, because it would not be a sin. We could eat anything we wanted to, drink anything we wanted to, and enjoy the pursuits of whatever makes us happy. There would be no such thing as sin. Our human nature would dictate to us what is right and what is wrong. There would probably be much less crime. Organized religions don't help socially anyway. Personally, I believe all organized religions should be taxed fairly just like any business. But, most of all, without religion, there would be no idiots on sciforums.
     
  12. SkinWalker Archaeology / Anthropology Moderator

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    You obviously don't tread into the Pseudoscience and Parapsychology sub-forums much...

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    But then again, I've, in the past, accused the UFO proponents of being nothing more than a budding religious cult.
     
  13. Xylene Valued Senior Member

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    It could be reasonably argued that it would go against Human nature to be without religion. It seems that we are genetically disposed to believe in the existence of something beyond ourselves. A GOd gene, if you like. There was a book written about recently, which I haven't got around to reading yet.
     
  14. wesmorris Nerd Overlord - we(s):1 of N Valued Senior Member

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    You can't just destroy a huge portion of the meme pool overnight. Religion is naturally occurring in that is a highly effective carrier of meme complexes.
     
  15. duendy Registered Senior Member

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    People are much MUCH M U C H Deeper than literalist religionists or mechanistic-materialistic scientists realizie in their myths and dogmas

    the fomer believe that people MUST be able to be satisfied witha bunch of dead old words, and the latter with cold hard 'evidence', and reason, rationality, logic

    not so

    i admit some people seem to be able to live like that, or they fool themselves they are. But i feel people NEEd ecstasy. they need CHAOS. creative inspiration, and play. All of that both camps above disprove of in their varying ways. the Church demonizing indivudl's ecstatic play with Nature as evil, and the science as 'mentally ill' or totally false, reducing it all to mere chemicals

    Yet the need will never be crushed by your extremely limited mindSETS
     

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