Cant we all just get along?

[Antibush5]

All religions do tell the same story at a fundamental level. Be kind to your neighbor and what not. eternal life and all that. Perhaps the details aren't similar, though I haven't read the Quoran entirely. Maybe there is a giant fish in there to.

I'm sure someone told you this, but in some religions you do die. If you believe in Ragnarok, your going to die.

 

[waitasec]

Oh, absolutely. The way I see it, we shouldn't worry about what our past lives may have been; what's important now is this life. I have no idea who or what I may have been in a past life, and I don't believe I have the capability to know, so it doesn't matter.

you came to this realization , however many haven't. so much so that this, unfortunately, is a common perception of the religious from the point of view of the unreligious...the self appointing moral superiority and the inheritance of earthly privileges

 

[Riverwolf]

you came to this realization , however many haven't. so much so that this, unfortunately, is a common perception of the religious from the point of view of the unreligious...the self appointing moral superiority and the inheritance of earthly privileges

It's very unfortunate. Thing is, appointing oneself as morally superior to people because of x, y, and z is EXTREMELY easy to just naturally do without even trying. I have to deliberately and somewhat constantly remind myself that I'm not "better" than other people because of my own moral code.

 

[waitasec]

It's very unfortunate. Thing is, appointing oneself as morally superior to people because of x, y, and z is EXTREMELY easy to just naturally do without even trying. I have to deliberately and somewhat constantly remind myself that I'm not "better" than other people because of my own moral code.

oh i agree with that it's just makes it even harder to get into a discussion of "why" people have formed their world view... because god is on their side after all

 

[corythesuit]

Okay what I meant is that all religions have similarities. Things like explaining where we came from, and where we might be going. In this sense Buddhism is like Islam and whatnot. Not when it comes to details but on the the most fundamental level They are all religions. That might be an over-generalized statement but whatever. Also, this is all irrelevant to my original point.

 

[waitasec]

All religions tell the same story essentially, however I never see any of them getting together to help people. Couldn't they do more common good working together?

i've asked that question many times...
the thing is they can't get along because each religion (the big 3) claim the other religion is wrong...actually islam and christianity...
i pretty much think judaism has moved on...it has matured and is older than the other 2...

 

[Gaura Priya]

Anyone wanna hold hands with me? I don't bite... that hard...



*plays 'Imagine'*

 

[MissAlice]

Pushing the subject of religion aside, I'm willing to get along with anyone who is willing to get along with me. This of course coming from an individual level and may be too general for a topic that has so many woven ideals about what it means to get along and respect. I guess if I were to define respect, it is not treating the person as if they were below them, in other words humiliate, degrade and treating them less than you'd want to be treated. My problem with some religious people (not all) is they use such behavior to uphold their own ideal of moral. Morality for me is what I define as respect with boundaries. You cross the boundaries and degrade, humiliate even kill without provocation, it is hard to get along. I can only imagine in countries where religion is not only the rule but of many living side by side how this would play out in the scenario I just put.

 

[bigNavySeal]

I am (currently) agnostic; I live in a predominantely Buddhist country (Bangkok, Thailand); my girlfriend (thinks she) is Christian; one of my best friends is Malasyian Muslim; his wife is Australian and Atheist; his mother is married to an Indian Hindu; one of my best friend is an academic Christian scientist; my parents are partial atheist/evolutionist. The chairman of my charity organization I work for earns my greatest respect and is attracted to the same sex. I can confidently say all friends/relatives/acquintenances around me that i know lead or intent to lead a good life and undoubtedly do something good together, through eg charities. From the top of my head I know plenty of charity organizations, some binding together without distinguishing between faith/believe. When disasters strike around the world (think about eg Japan Earthquake) immediately thousands of people initiate relief funds and solutions to help the afflicted victims. Who says people of different faiths/believes don't do something good together....? Cant deny wars and atrocities happening, but I have absolute faith in humanity, one way or the other. As to our final destiny I don't have an answer as anybody else but I trust the good outways the bad. Only the beauty of nature already portrays this.

 

[rusra02]

I didn't say they weren't sectarian.

Well, taking a quick look at this one event 60 years ago, I'm not surprised that there was violence; great changes were being made, and people don't like it when the status quo changes. But as far as I can tell, they've been living in nonviolent tension ever since, occasional groups nonwithstanding.

Horrible, yes, but not the cause.

At best, they were the flimsy justifications, but not the core motivation. If religion didn't exist, they would find some other flimsy justification.

After all, if religion were the cause, then we'd expect wholly secular societies to be more peaceful, right? But the USSR was hardly a utopia. North Korea isn't a paradise. If religion isn't the cause of the problems in these two countries, then what was it?

Aum namah sivaya:namaste

False religion takes many forms. One is worship of the State or some leader. While (false) religion is not the only cause of evil and murder, it is certainly the most outstanding cause, and continues to be. Making excuses for false religions doesn't change the facts of history and current events. But denial probably helps one cope a little better, at least for a while.

 

[Riverwolf]

False religion takes many forms. One is worship of the State or some leader. While (false) religion is not the only cause of evil and murder, it is certainly the most outstanding cause, and continues to be. Making excuses for false religions doesn't change the facts of history and current events. But denial probably helps one cope a little better, at least for a while.

So, now you're shifting the blame from actual religions to political fanaticism, and labeling it "false religion" to prove your point? The only way "religion" can be applied to politics is via metaphor.

I'm making no excuses: I'm demonstrating that there is no inherent link between religion and the evils of the world.

 

[Jeneshisu]

All religions tell the same story essentially, however I never see any of them getting together to help people. Couldn't they do more common good working together?

Mostly it's abrahamic religion that people fuss about. And it's because people of abrahamic faiths GENERALLY don't want to get along.

And then you have the trend atheists who just want to antagonize people.

Those are the main culprits so you'd have to ask them.

Oh and Reconstructionalist Pagans. They often don't like to try and get along with others either.

It's actually a very small number of groups/religions that make a big fuss. Most religions/practitioners get along.

 

[Orias]

All religions tell the same story essentially, however I never see any of them getting together to help people. Couldn't they do more common good working together?

I agree that all beliefs should be united for something common and more beneficial to man and his resurrection.

Though philosophical aren't always easy to reconcile with, especially by those who are taught to follow only one way.

 

[Adramelek]

It may be a sad state of affairs, but I cannot see any way in which the extreme differences between any Left-Hand Path philosophy/religion (Setianism/Satanism) and fundamentalist Christians or radical Muslims could be peacefully resolved - do you? The former and the later will always reside at the farthest extreme opposite ends of the metaphysical philosophical spectrum.

Xeper.
/Adramelek\

 

[rusra02]

So, now you're shifting the blame from actual religions to political fanaticism, and labeling it "false religion" to prove your point? The only way "religion" can be applied to politics is via metaphor.

I'm making no excuses: I'm demonstrating that there is no inherent link between religion and the evils of the world.

Of course, the facts of history prove you are wrong. Hitler was worshipped by his followers, as are many other despots and tyrants. Nationalism is religion just like any other. And asserting that religion is not linked with evil is simply dishonest.

​

g89 11/8 p. 19 "Since 1914, two world wars and over a hundred smaller conflicts have spilled an ocean of blood. A century ago, French writer Guy de Maupassant said that “the egg from which wars are hatched” is patriotism, which he called “a kind of religion.” In fact, The Encyclopedia of Religion says that patriotism’s cousin, nationalism, “has become a dominant form of religion in the modern world, preempting a void left by the deterioration of traditional religious values.” (Italics ours.) By failing to promote true worship, false religion created the spiritual vacuum into which nationalism was able to pour.
Nowhere was this better illustrated than in Nazi Germany, whose citizens at the beginning of World War II claimed to be 94.4 percent Christian. Of all places, Germany—birthplace of Protestantism and praised in 1914 by Pope Pius X as home of “the best Catholics in the world”—should have represented the very best that Christendom had to offer.
Significantly, Catholic Adolf Hitler found readier support among Protestants than among Catholics. Predominantly Protestant districts gave him 20 percent of their votes in the 1930 elections, Catholic districts only 14 percent. And the first absolute majority for the Nazi Party in state elections was in 1932 in Oldenburg, a district 75 percent Protestant."
However, Catholics climbed aboard the Nazi train quickly as their leaders threw their support to Hitler.​

 

[ryanam]

I'm making no excuses: I'm demonstrating that there is no inherent link between religion and the evils of the world.

Can you give an example of one good, morally decent thing a monotheist can do but and atheist CANNOT do?

Whilst you spend the rest of the day thinking about that, think of one evil thing a believer can do in the name of belief (and has done) which an atheist would never dream of doing. Remember... we're talking about in the name of beliefs here.

Thought of one already? Thought so.

 

[BaronVonKaiser]

Organized religion has spent thousands of years suggesting, initiating, and organizing some of the most heinous crimes against humanity that we'll ever know, and the only reason that the individuals are able to carry through with these crimes is because religion takes away personal responsibility (God said this ok, it's His will). So no, we cannot all get along until these religious organizations and their teachings are disbanded. Once everyone is forced to accept personal responsibility for all their actions will we finally see the morality and humanity come out in people that will allow us to all 'get along'.

 

[England my lionheart]

Organized religion has spent thousands of years suggesting, initiating, and organizing some of the most heinous crimes against humanity that we'll ever know, and the only reason that the individuals are able to carry through with these crimes is because religion takes away personal responsibility (God said this ok, it's His will). So no, we cannot all get along until these religious organizations and their teachings are disbanded. Once everyone is forced to accept personal responsibility for all their actions will we finally see the morality and humanity come out in people that will allow us to all 'get along'.

I agree,i think many religious people shun responsibility IMO,you often hear when people question why there is so much suffering in the world that God does nothing,the reply is God moves in mysterious ways or you can't question God or God will provide the answer, the reality is we hold the answer,we all have the responsibility but most never accept it.

 

[Riverwolf]

Of course, the facts of history prove you are wrong. Hitler was worshipped by his followers, as are many other despots and tyrants. Nationalism is religion just like any other.

It takes more to make a full religion than worship of something.

And asserting that religion is not linked with evil is simply dishonest.

No, it's my observation.

g89

11/8 p. 19 "Since 1914, two world wars and over a hundred smaller conflicts have spilled an ocean of blood. A century ago, French writer Guy de Maupassant said that “the egg from which wars are hatched” is patriotism, which he called “a kind of religion.” In fact, The Encyclopedia of Religion says that patriotism’s cousin, nationalism, “has become a dominant form of religion in the modern world, preempting a void left by the deterioration of traditional religious values.” (Italics ours.) By failing to promote true worship, false religion created the spiritual vacuum into which nationalism was able to pour.

Excuse me, but what are those sources, and why should I take them seriously?

Nowhere was this better illustrated than in Nazi Germany, whose citizens at the beginning of World War II claimed to be 94.4 percent Christian. Of all places, Germany—birthplace of Protestantism and praised in 1914 by Pope Pius X as home of “the best Catholics in the world”—should have represented the very best that Christendom had to offer.

Why?

Significantly, Catholic Adolf Hitler found readier support among Protestants than among Catholics. Predominantly Protestant districts gave him 20 percent of their votes in the 1930 elections, Catholic districts only 14 percent. And the first absolute majority for the Nazi Party in state elections was in 1932 in Oldenburg, a district 75 percent Protestant."
However, Catholics climbed aboard the Nazi train quickly as their leaders threw their support to Hitler.

So? Correlation does not equal causation.

 

[Riverwolf]

Can you give an example of one good, morally decent thing a monotheist can do but and atheist CANNOT do?

So, just because monotheists and atheists are just as capable of doing the same moral things, automatically means monotheists are evil?

I'd think it would mean they're on the same moral ground.

Whilst you spend the rest of the day thinking about that,

Hardly, my response was determined in less than a minute. I've already been asked this question before, and I spent about... 2 minutes thinking about it before determining my answer which you see above. It hasn't changed my stance on religion one bit.

think of one evil thing a believer can do in the name of belief (and has done) which an atheist would never dream of doing. Remember... we're talking about in the name of beliefs here.

Nothing. Atheists are just as capable of evil as theists. Little things like circumcision (the only somewhat legit example ever provided to me) pale in comparison to other evils in the world committed by both.