I have to agree with makshay5 on this one...I have never been able to see the benefit of of being a strong religious believer and church member. I was born into a churchgoing family, and wasn't getting answers that made sense to me when I was a teen...so I drifted away from the church and have never regretted it or felt any need to get back into the fold. My children have never been in a church except for the occasional wedding or funeral and have been able to make their way in the world pretty well. We often discuss religion, but from an observational point of view. I guess my biggest beef with all of the organized religions is that they hold immutable beliefs, which, however improbable, scientifically impossible or downright insane sounding they are, cannot be changed. They cannot be ignored. They cannot be interpreted differently. You either believe, or you're not "one of them". I prefer to foster the growth of ideas in my children and support network. Ideas are terra incognita. They are wide open to interpretation. They can change at a moments notice. They can be private or collaborative. They don't require tithing. They are limited only by imagination.
Yeah...I'll stick to ideas and eschew religious beliefs. Seems like a lot more fun, a lot less stress.
The rest of the post rocks...it's really a great list.
cheers
That's an interesting take on religion. Where I differ in opinion is whether the contribution made to society as a whole has been worthwhile when compared to the downside of religious zealotry. The organized religions can easily make the claim that they created a set of boundaries for their adherents that will allow them to claim a prize when they die (heaven for example). In return for their subservience, they got organized infrastructure creation, codified law, etc. However, if you are not a believer, you are an outcast and cannot win the prize offered when you die.
The easiest way to control large populations is to keep them hungry and scared by whatever means are available. Religion is a great mechanism for this because of indoctrination from an early age for most people. If someone tells you over and over again that the sky is green from the time you can speak, you will very quickly believe that it is green, and that anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
History offers some great examples of people who tried to advance thinking and novel ideas who were summarily dismissed by the church and exiled or worse. In many cases, they were later vindicated and in a sense pardoned by the church.
The idea that religious people are peace loving and god fearing productive members of society can be disproven in a thousand different ways. All religions are by design a control mechanism. When control is maintained, innovation and idea spreading are stifled. When a person prostrates themself before an invisible master because they are told to do so by a control manager in the church, they are giving up a part of their humanity. When they attack another religion because a control manager tells them to kill all the infidels because "god" wants them to, they not only lose their own humanity, they steal their victims and their families humanity in the process.
I could go on and on, but I have dragons to slay elsewhere....
thx for reading