The Credibility of Religion - General

[QUOTE=Mooman;29660014]Believing you are your own god is satanism guys. It actually has nothing to do with "satan" himself, very interesting religion and honestly I agree with a portion of it. But regardless I do not believe in everything therefore I remain separate from any religions.[/QUOTE] Satanism is actually pretty chill, a very reasonable philosophy about how to live your life. I usually try to defend it when it's brought up.

[QUOTE=Mooman;29660014]Believing you are your own god is satanism guys. It actually has nothing to do with "satan" himself, very interesting religion and honestly I agree with a portion of it. But regardless I do not believe in everything therefore I remain separate from any religions.[/QUOTE] Satanism? :wtc: And me saying the mind is god, doesn't mean I said "my mind is god.

[QUOTE=Machina;29660107]Satanism, the LaVey kind, is just silly. It's meant to be a satire and intentionally doesn't take itself seriously...yet requires you to pay for membership. Ave Satani.[/QUOTE] LaVeyan satanism is like TF2 hats. A silly idea you can get for free, that the developers let you pay for if you're stupid. [editline]6th May 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=AK'z;29660132]Satanism? :wtc: And me saying the mind is god, doesn't mean I said "my mind is god.[/QUOTE] Grammar isn't you can't understand posting you write?

Oh look another religion thread.

[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;29660147] Grammar isn't you can't understand posting you write?[/QUOTE] :smith: This thread is losing my interest. Keep whining with the mormons, I'll go listen to my music (it is a godlike expeience) :iia:

[QUOTE=fenwick;29660207]Oh look another religion thread.[/QUOTE] Lighten up, they're always good for a laugh.

[QUOTE=Mr. Scorpio;29659857]I just want you to know that the Book of Mormon is the most obviously false load of bullshit pushed through the anus of the most transparent charlatan this side of Peter Popoff. But continue believing in your crazy, racist, backwater crap.[/QUOTE] I doubt you've ever even picked one up, and if you have, I doubt that you actually read any of it. And where did you come up with it being racist? Because the cover is sometimes black? [quote]By that logic, you can't really know that the guy spamming your inbox in [I]not[/I] a Nigerian prince until you put some money up.[/quote] No. If what I said was an equation, it would be something like "reader+common sense+reading material+faith=prayer". If what you said was an equation it would be something like "reader+reading material+money=transferring of funds to Nigerian bank". It's not the same principle. You omitted the whole aspect of common sense and basic knowledge. You don't lose anything (except perhaps a few minutes of your time) by praying, but you would clearly lose valuable money if you did what the Nigerian prince asked. Anybody with a decent amount of common sense could figure out the pros and cons as it were. Sorry if that is convoluted but it is late and that is the best way I could think of describing it. [quote]Ah, the lovely self-serving bias of prayer. The man was such a fraud he makes L. Ron Hubbard look credible. Seriously, it's no longer the 19th century. You can't include things we know to be false in your holy books and expect to be taken seriously. [/quote] If you read up about Joseph Smith, you will find that he definitely did not benefit from the church. He was constantly persecuted, ridiculed and demeaned from his teens onwards. He went through the excruciating pain of being tarred and feathered by an angry mob, and was eventually murdered with his brother in a jail. (to name a few of his hardships). [quote] Faith is ignorance. Reason is what separates us from beasts, and to ask one to suspend reason is to intentionally retard and even destroy the mental facilities that make us human. [/quote] Faith is not ignorance. For me, reason tells me that there is a God.

Jesus was the biggest scam in the history of the world (Given that he actually claimed to be the son of God, which is something I doubt). Religion is all about political and social control anyways. If you can't think for yourself of out of small little box of religious ideology feed to you by authorities then you're not really alive in my opinion. [editline]7th May 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Caesar;29661953] Faith is not ignorance. For me, reason tells me that there is a God.[/QUOTE] Praying is far more than a few minutes of your time. It's giving up thinking for your self. For me, that is the worst crime you can commit. Reason cannot tell you that there is a God. You however, are entitled to postulate his exsistance without ridicule since you can prove and disprove his exsistance. Kant already closed this debate.

[QUOTE=Caesar;29661953]Faith is not ignorance. For me, reason tells me that there is a God.[/QUOTE] I know you probably already went through this but give this reason. Real testable proof.

[QUOTE=newbz;29662795]Jesus was the biggest scam in the history of the world (Given that he actually claimed to be the son of God, which is something I doubt). Religion is all about political and social control anyways. If you can't think for yourself of out of small little box of religious ideology feed to you by authorities then you're not really alive in my opinion. [editline]7th May 2011[/editline] Praying is far more than a few minutes of your time. It's giving up thinking for your self. For me, that is the worst crime you can commit. Reason cannot tell you that there is a God. You however, are entitled to postulate his exsistance without ridicule since you can prove and disprove his exsistance. Kant already closed this debate.[/QUOTE] Let people do what they want. It's not like you're doing any better. Wow, so useful to the world that you're posting on a forum. :downs:

[QUOTE=newbz;29662795]Jesus was the biggest scam in the history of the world (Given that he actually claimed to be the son of God, which is something I doubt). Religion is all about political and social control anyways. If you can't think for yourself of out of small little box of religious ideology feed to you by authorities then you're not really alive in my opinion. [editline]7th May 2011[/editline] Praying is far more than a few minutes of your time. It's giving up thinking for your self. For me, that is the worst crime you can commit. Reason cannot tell you that there is a God. You however, are entitled to postulate his exsistance without ridicule since you can prove and disprove his exsistance. Kant already closed this debate.[/QUOTE] "I am right, you are wrong."

Religion is a waste of time and effort. So is discussing it. Be happy with what you believe/know.

Leave everyone to believe what they want to believe, don' force your beliefs onto anyone else. You win.

[QUOTE=Caesar;29659725]Towards the end of the Book of Mormon (a sacred text which we use similar to the Bible but concerning people in North America), the Prophet Moroni asks the reader to pray about it sincerely to see if he and others have said is true, and he promises that if you do it you will get an answer, and that the Holy Ghost will manifest its truth to you. That is why we believe it. And faith of course.[/QUOTE] Yeah, that's [I]really[/I] convenient. The method by which they prove they're telling the truth [I]is something that isn't verifiable.[/I] It seems like with most religions, people only get to hear from God or see God after going to heaven, but on Earth? Never a fucking word.

Such a tired, worn out subject. Why do we even trouble ourselves with discussing it?

[QUOTE=devcon;29664056]Such a tired, worn out subject. Why do we even trouble ourselves with discussing it?[/QUOTE] Yes, why bother discussing anything that has already been discussed?

[QUOTE=AK'z;29663521]Let people do what they want. It's not like you're doing any better. Wow, so useful to the world that you're posting on a forum. :downs:[/QUOTE] Someone's insecure. :smug: Way to take a completely unrelated action and compare it to a belief structure. [QUOTE=asdfghjkl';29663539]"I am right, you are wrong."[/QUOTE] That hardly describes the content of my argument.

Don't get me wrong - I don't hate religion. Just its most common application - conservative propaganda. The Religious Right is neither.

In my mind any religion is falible, since every religion was started by a man. It may say otherwise, but it was man who wrote the first scripts partaining to said beliefs.

[QUOTE=devcon;29664056]Such a tired, worn out subject. Why do we even trouble ourselves with discussing it?[/QUOTE] Because it's one of those demons retreating through the ever disappearing shadows of existence, and it's about time we ripped them out of the shadows and threw them into the light. If it has no logical basis at all and require your faith, your unbending unquestioning unwavering faith then it is a cancer that needs to be incinerated.

Religion is necessary. Yes, I say religion is necessary. for simple minds that need a light, that need hope when all seems dark and they can not find courage in their own hearts, religion is necessary. For others, it helps greatly to come to terms with the death of a loved one to believe that there is some existence beyond physical death, and that they may be reunited someday. For these, as well, religion is necessary. Would you take it from them?

Yup. If they need to believe in their imaginry friend when they are supposed to have matured into an intelligent being then yes. Call it cruel, call me a bastard, I don't care :v:

When will you guys learn that Facepunch is not the right place for this. Everyone is already an angry atheist and opposition will be crushed under the sheer amount of people backing up the atheist arguments. Go argue about shit like this on christian forums.

[QUOTE=Falchion;29673676]When will you guys learn that Facepunch is not the right place for this. Everyone is already an angry atheist and opposition will be crushed under the sheer amount of people backing up the atheist arguments. Go argue about shit like this on christian forums.[/QUOTE] When will you guys realise that you don't have to read the thread if you don't want to.

[QUOTE=Megafanx13;29663856]Yeah, that's [I]really[/I] convenient. The method by which they prove they're telling the truth [I]is something that isn't verifiable.[/I] It seems like with most religions, people only get to hear from God or see God after going to heaven, but on Earth? Never a fucking word.[/QUOTE] If it was completely verifiable, then it wouldn't take any faith. Most religions teach that faith is a quality that helps you to reach a happy afterlife (or something to that affect). I really don't understand why people have such negative opinions about religion. Even if my religion turns out to be completely and utterly false, I am still glad I was brought up in it. I have been taught only good things in it: honesty, charity, being a good citizen, the importance of family etc. Yes, there are some religious people who are complete and utter weirdos/nutcases, but those kinds of people are present in virtually every category. This is the kind of thing I am talking about: [quote]I just want you to know that the Book of Mormon is the most obviously false load of bullshit pushed through the anus of the most transparent charlatan this side of Peter Popoff. But continue believing in your crazy, racist, backwater crap.[/quote]Stripped down to its basics, the Book of Mormon teaches very good principles, similar to the Bible. A comment like that is completely unwarranted and frankly just shows his (Mr. Scorpio's) ignorance of it. [quote]Praying is far more than a few minutes of your time. It's giving up thinking for your self. For me, that is the worst crime you can commit. Reason cannot tell you that there is a God. You however, are entitled to postulate his exsistance without ridicule since you can prove and disprove his exsistance. Kant already closed this debate.[/quote]How in any sense of the phrase, is praying "giving up thinking for your self"? In fact, it promotes thinking for yourself, as the only reason you would continuously pray is if you thought ([I]for yourself[/I]) that you would like to pray. Thoughts precede actions. And yes, I reason that there is a God. Just because I haven't come to your conclusion, doesn't mean I can't have my own.

[QUOTE=archangel125;29672405]Religion is necessary. Yes, I say religion is necessary. for simple minds that need a light, that need hope when all seems dark ad they can not find courage in their own hearts, religion is necessary. For others, it helps greatly to come to terms with the death of a loved one to believe that there is some existence beyond physical death, and that they may be reunited someday. For these, as well, religion is necessary. Would you take it from them?[/QUOTE] How about "finding hope" in a family member or something you love? Isn't that better?

[QUOTE=Lufttygger306;29678900]How about "finding hope" in a family member or something you love? Isn't that better?[/QUOTE] And for those without families?

[QUOTE=archangel125;29672405]Religion is necessary. Yes, I say religion is necessary. for simple minds that need a light, that need hope when all seems dark ad they can not find courage in their own hearts, religion is necessary. For others, it helps greatly to come to terms with the death of a loved one to believe that there is some existence beyond physical death, and that they may be reunited someday. For these, as well, religion is necessary. Would you take it from them?[/QUOTE] Religion isn't necessary. Yeah, it makes people feel better and it seems to explain the world for them, but if it were taken away the majority of people would go through some stages of emotional instability and then turn out fine. IMO anyways.

I don't see how people believe in this religious bullshit. I mean, I believe in the moral values the Bible taught us, be nice to your neighbor, etc. But expecting me to believe a cosmic jewish zombie died twice to save people 2,000 years in the future's souls for a "sin" that they didn't commit (supposed "Original Sin") is out of the question. I agree it's necessary for some people, because let's face it; everyone's scared of dying and people want to believe that we'll live forever.

I'm agnostic, I'd say. I have a lot of religious friends, in fact, I'm very good friends with several Catholics. There's always religious tension underneath, but we can put it aside to be good friends. I do (occasionally) question their faith and my lack of. It's very interesting, unfortunately (if I don't sound too pompous) I like to think I "win" most of the times. Eh, I just think that you should let the people who believe it and don't be and go on. I don't believe in anything like that because...well I don't have time to pester and worry myself with things like religion, y'know?