Do you have anything against Religion and WHy?

[Agenator]

I was wondering, do you either tolerate love or hate religions? I personallly belong to a religion but I was wondering how some people could find it offensive that people talk about Bilbical and Christian things in public. Is it because the feel that these religions are trying to force their opinions on the general public? Is it because that they believe that the Bible is just a book of fairy tales? Also, If your an atheist, what turned you away from a religion? Where you not raised in a religious home? Do you think religious people tend to be hypocrates? DO you view them as generally repulsive? Do you have anything against a particular religion? If so, which one? Why?
Sorry about all of these questions but I am just wondering why so many people find religious thinks in public so repulsive and offensive. So I guess the main question is: Do you find religion in public offensive? What about religion in the government? In our coruts? Do you believe that the ten commandments should be removed from our court rooms? Should the be permanently installed? Should our country totally ban religion? What draws the line between a religion you can tolerate and one that you cant stand?
Thanks for the info, and feel free to post any Biblical or Darwinin references in here, I wont be offended...

 

[KowKing]

One thing.

Yeah, that should sum up my feelings quite well.

 

[Agenator]

Okay, well the exposure part I must say is defenitly not toward all people. I was raised in a christain home, and so far I haven't experienced anything in that column (Too long to list) Can you explain to me how the bible causes hatred bigotry etc.? Yes I must admit the content adisory extion is pretty accurate but The work of fiction part is slowly dying out as scientists find more and more information that support creation, the flood etc. Also I have a deep question for you... What if your wrong and God does come. What if God does come and your left where ever it is that you go... To hell to purgatory just dead blah blah blah I dont kare... But what if just because you accepted Jesus Christ today, and sure maybe you miss out on drinking or smoking, then you are saved from that... Now just think about it, what really do you have to loose. The absolute worst is that you would be wrong and dead in your grave until our world blows up right? So, why not have that extra little insurance in case God is real, the Bible is real, and he comes back again.
Just wanted to see what you would say to that...

 

[VictorySkateShop]

Okay, well the exposure part I must say is defenitly not toward all people. I was raised in a christain home, and so far I haven't experienced anything in that column (Too long to list) Can you explain to me how the bible causes hatred bigotry etc.? Yes I must admit the content adisory extion is pretty accurate but The work of fiction part is slowly dying out as scientists find more and more information that support creation, the flood etc. Also I have a deep question for you... What if your wrong and God does come. What if God does come and your left where ever it is that you go... To hell to purgatory just dead blah blah blah I dont kare... But what if just because you accepted Jesus Christ today, and sure maybe you miss out on drinking or smoking, then you are saved from that... Now just think about it, what really do you have to loose. The absolute worst is that you would be wrong and dead in your grave until our world blows up right? So, why not have that extra little insurance in case God is real, the Bible is real, and he comes back again.
Just wanted to see what you would say to that...

Very true, but it isn't simple philosophy that can change a person's mind. That's God's job . And to the Bible pic w/ label. None of that has yet to happen to me. While I can guarentee you'll call me crazy, let me tell you what exposure has caused in me. Healing(I was a drug addict. The very instant I came to Christ, withdrawal symptoms left.), mental therapy(the year or so before I found Christ I was depressed and within about a month of suicide. When I came to Christ, that instant my mind was restored. No more depression, no more suicidal thoughts, and all that with no medical treatment or counseling of any kind), freedom from pornography(I was a porno addict before I came to Christ, afterwards I had no more desire for it), and a lot more than I can name on a small label, nor even in a post. I myself can convince you of nothing in that book, but when you start looking for evidence of God throughout the world, you'll see things you could never believe, but see that they're true. No offense intended by any of this .

 

[Agenator]

Yea, i agree with victory, nothing can be solved in as simple philosophy as what I stated but many times simple questions can spark another person to ask questions back but also success stories like yours are even better at getting people involved in a religion, Thirdly I think God's working hand is the most powerful way to turn people to God. Again I dont mean to impose my view on anyone in this forum topic.

 

[Aquilus]

What if God does come and your left where ever it is that you go... To hell to purgatory just dead blah blah blah I dont kare... But what if just because you accepted Jesus Christ today.....

Religious terrorism at its "best", and one of the many reasons that I dislike religion. Other reasons are obviously that they tend to fuel hostilities and start wars, and that they claim to know the meaning of life and how the universe was created.

 

[porky101]

I hate all religon it causes so many people to go crazy!!!!!

 

[Agenator]

Hmm, so you mean by:

Religious terrorism at its "best"

That Im trying to scare people into religion right? I can see why someone wouldnt like that. Okay, so heres a question for you, Aquallius, what tactic would you feel a religious person should take to avoid having this sense of fear or should we just mind our own business and let you mind yours? And Proky, why do you think religious people go crazy (besides Islamic extremists)? As far as I know there haven't been many cases of people going crazy becuase of religion in fact it even helps people like victoryskateshop :

Healing(I was a drug addict. The very instant I came to Christ, withdrawal symptoms left.), mental therapy(the year or so before I found Christ I was depressed and within about a month of suicide. When I came to Christ, that instant my mind was restored. No more depression, no more suicidal thoughts, and all that with no medical treatment or counseling of any kind), freedom from pornography(I was a porno addict before I came to Christ, afterwards I had no more desire for it),

So why do you think it causes people to go crazy?

 

[DarkDragonLord]

One thing.

Yeah, that should sum up my feelings quite well.

ROFL i loved this pic. It shows everything.




And a thing i think:
To me, Bible's History is like a D&D Campaign. Full of deaths, fights, magics (yay to Ressurrection!) and everything else.

Yes, i do hate people that read them in public, speak of them in public. It is an offense to me. Like anyone dont want to hear a crazy guy yelling bad words, i dont want to hear lies and stupid fairy tale things. Bible was wrote by humans, used by an Iron Handed Church that just wanted to rule over the world, and translated by humans. A translation NEVER will be like the original since one word always can be translated into one or more words, so depends of translator feelings.

Other thing: People say "Oh, i was saved from Death by God's Bless". Good for you, i still think was you will-power to live and the doctor's ability, not a Holy power from nowhere. When poor people keep saying "God will bless me and i'll be no more poor". They will keep in disgrace.. Praying dont solve anything, working hard and trying to make your life change, yes. So praying and keep still just makes people fanatic.

I will stop here if not, my opinion will create flame wars and i hate when people that like / love etc religions reply to my opinion. They never open the head, just keep saying "im right, god is the savation" and brambling stupid things that i'll never listen.

 

[Agenator]

Okay, so Im just going to make this point right here, DDL I agree with you on two points, one people must work hard no matter what. If there is prayer involved it may help them but they still must work. Prayer wont solve their problems for them. Also, poor people who think that God is just going to cause money to fall from the sky are sadly mistaken, they are not going to recieve a job unless they go and look for it no matter how hard they pray. Actually Im not trying to say in this posting that you all should love God and pray, Im just trying to hear your opinion. But her you must clarify things, why did you post:

They never open the head, just keep saying "im right, god is the savation" and brambling stupid things that i'll never listen.

Well, aren't you keeping your mind closed by saying

ill never listen.

? Isn't that contradicting yourself? Im open minded and I would like to hear your opinion. I doubt weather my opinon will change your opinon or weather your opinon will change my opinion but at least im not trying to start a flame wars and I would like to hear some of the reasons why you (that means anyone) hates religion. Im trying to keep my mind open and not start any flamewars here. Again to another point, how can you say the Bible is untrue if youve never read it? Its the same thing as me saying that "I absoluetly think that Evolution is false even though Ive never read a book about evolution". Which reminds me, I actually probably should read an evolution book, just to keep my mind open, but thats off the topic. Anyway I agree with you, I wouldn't like to hear a person on the street always bringing up things like evolution and stuff which is probably how you feel when I talk about religion. Anyway with that said, Im willing to listen to evolutionary theories and after I listen to them, I compare them to things that are scientifically proven and see if its possible. Okay and one more point, if the Bible was untrue, then why would people still believe in it when they were persecuted and put to death? Its a historical fact that people were put to death for believing in the Bible so if they knew it were fake, and Im talking about people who lived in the same time fram that Jesus did and probably had seen him, then why wouldn't they just admit that the whole thing had been fake and had been made up by them? Wouldn't they just back down and save their own skin if it were all made up, I know that I would if it were a lie?

 

[DefecTalisman]

I dont as much hate religion, more dislike the ways they operate. Religions have almost single handedly been responsible for all the wars and down points in humanity.

I refuse to be preached to, weather it be a daily life thing or something such as religion. I take that which is told to me and use my ability to reason. I therefore come to my own logical conclusion.

Religion is bias, the only one i know of that isnt is Tibetan Buddhism. Loosely it says live your life how you see fit. All the others tell you "do this, dont do this". It is like saying dont push the red button. Someones curiosity is bound to get the better of them and they are gonna push it.

I belive, as do many that it is just a way to control the masses. This played a far greater part in the history books than present day though.

As to talking about it in public, its like politics is it not? Would be fine if everyone wasn't so opinionated. Due to the fact that most religions are bias, they say its there way or the highway and conversation such as this at a dinner party, a smoke up or what ever it would be is just blood boiling. If it where to be more along the lines of, " I am a (religion here), but i love the concept behind (religion here)" then things would be a little more light hearted. It always ends up going " I am a (religion here), and you are damned for being (religion here)".

Sheep is the best way of putting it. You are all sheep. I have had a brood view on different religions and come to my own conclusion which is this:

Life your life without affecting any others life without their consent.

 

[Agenator]

you know what, one of the things I hate most about my religion is exactly put as you said, that it seems we are intolerable of anyone but ourselves. We even have doctrine in our church saying that we are the last good people on earth. Do I believe this doctrine, NO! Do I think that doctrine is a load of !@#$ YES! Okay so now that I have that cleared up, I don't believe that religion should be just do's and dont's it should be more of a personal relationship with our God. The do this and dont do this are mostly mans interpretation. IMO You can do nothing right in your life, never help the poor, always smoke etc. etc. and you will still be saved as long as you love God. You could go so far as to never go to church, never read the Bible, etc. and you still would be saved. Thats all that really matters. That you love God and that you love your fellow human being. If only religions could see that... But its all too sad that religions tend to focus on the do's and dont's. The do's and dont's are strictly guidelines, if you dont follow the guidelines then your health may be affected (smoking cuases cancer) but it will effect nothing about wehter you will be saved...

 

[swirly]

I'm religious. I go to church. I was/am raised in a christian home. I dont force my religion on other people. I have no problem with people expressing how they feel about religion. If you don't believe what I believe then fine. But dont push it on me and I won't push it on you. This country was founded on Christianity. This country was founded on religious tolerance. But something that does dumbfound me is why at my school the keyword Christianity is blocked but the keyword satan etc is not. Strange eh?

 

[Agenator]

I agree, there is something wrong with any public place that blocks the word God (except maybe a courthouse/other government agency) because it says on our money "In God We trust" and yet its blocked in the American public school system???? WAT THE HECK? Also, its removes our right for free speech to block praying/saying God from the public school system. It should be tolerated, not abolished. You know, why do we have civil rights activists up in arms every time a newspaper gets banned for having a swear word in it but our public schools still ban God from the campus and nobody cares except christians. Thats screwed up.

 

[Aquilus]

Hmm, so you mean by: That Im trying to scare people into religion right? I can see why someone wouldnt like that. Okay, so heres a question for you, Aquallius, what tactic would you feel a religious person should take to avoid having this sense of fear or should we just mind our own business and let you mind yours?

Yeah, if all the religious people would just mind their own business most of the problems would be solved. However, all the three large religions that originate in the middle-east specify that you're supposed to convert everyone to your religion, though judaism does this to a lesser extent than Christianity and Islam. Another thing that annoys me about religion is that most of them claim that theirs is the one and only truth, and if you don't follow them, terrible things will happen to you.

Religion can be a minor form for entertainment as well. I find it quite hilarious what some people believe in and devote their lives for, just because of a promise of eternal life and/or threats of hellfire or something similar.

The reason why religious people annoy me is probably because of their refusal to think as an individual, and instead of living full lives they waste their (most likely only) life following some ancient teachings with more plot holes than a ton of swiss cheese.

 

[Agenator]

Well, I certainly think for myself and just b/c I agree with a group of people (meaning my religion) doesn't mean that I dont think individually. THere are also benefits to a religion that go along withe not burning in hell (actually I dont believe in hell but thats a different discussion)... Being in a religion can often emphasize things that will help someone live a better life. I dont refuse to think as an individual, I embrace it when people dont conform to a group b/c of popularity etc. I really get annoyed when people think one way but they still go along with the group just b/c the think it looks cool. Thanks for the stimulating discussion.

 

[KowKing]

Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?

I find the whole business of religion profoundly interesting. But it does mystify me that otherwise intelligent people take it seriously.

If I were not an atheist, I think I would have to be a Catholic because if it wasn't the forces of natural selection that designed fish, It must have been an Italian.

- Douglas Adams

 

[vAx1oNe]

I turned away from religion because i guess god and all that stuff of the bible was created by the own man and it has been taked very seriusly, and now lots of "ignorant" people plea to some kind of person who doesnt exists trying to get eternal life.

To my guess: religion = ignorance

 

[Aquilus]

Well, I certainly think for myself and just b/c I agree with a group of people (meaning my religion) doesn't mean that I dont think individually. THere are also benefits to a religion that go along withe not burning in hell (actually I dont believe in hell but thats a different discussion)... Being in a religion can often emphasize things that will help someone live a better life. I dont refuse to think as an individual, I embrace it when people dont conform to a group b/c of popularity etc. I really get annoyed when people think one way but they still go along with the group just b/c the think it looks cool. Thanks for the stimulating discussion.

This is another thing about newer religion that astounds me. How can you accept a religion as *the* divine truth when you just cherry-pick the pieces about it that you like and ignore what you don't? I'd say that by disbelieving any part of the canon of a religion, you disbelieve all of it. How can you be sure that something as incredible as what's written in most of the religions holy doctrines when you accept that a lot of what's written in it doesn't apply at all or isn't real?

 

[faolan]

Well, as I stated in a previous thread I am a religious individual myself... just not a Christian. I have no problems with others believing how they will. Indeed, that's one of the rights that we have here in the US. The problem comes from when people try to ram their beliefs down the throats of others simply because their way is the 'one true way'.

I do have a problem with street preachers and other such evangelists simply because it seems that they *are* ramming their ideals down the throats of others. It's even more disconcerting due to the fact that they rarely seem to agree with each other on what they are trying to get across.

As for the Ten Commandments in the courts: yes, remove them. The law system of the US was based on the English Common Law system, which in turn was based on the Ten Commandments, yes... but that is still no reason for the court to support *one* religion only via visual represenation. As we have it listed in our documents, the government is not supposed to form a state religion, thus there should be no religious symbols in any federal building... excepting a chapel, of course.

Now, that all said, I firmly believe in an 'live and let live' policy. It shouldn't matter one whit what I believe, what you believe, what the neighbor's dog believes... shouldn't matter! Will it matter? Yes, just due to the fact that we humans always like to find a reason to be 'down' on someone else. Base human nature I'm afraid.

Just my $0.02, adjusted for inflation.