Is Religion A Crutch?

[Lightkeeper]

I also think religion can keep you from having crutches, i.e. food addiction, alchohol addiction and many others.

Then why does there exist a multitude of obese, drunk theists?

I can ask the same question about atheists. Not everyone gets it or is succcessful in developing their higher self. Actually people with these addictions have a spiritual problem. I have an atheist cousin who is 150 lbs overweight and has a money addiction.

 

[(Q)]

Developing a 'higher self' comes from education, not prayer.

Addiction is a medical problem, not a spiritual problem.

So, we can conclude that in order to abate addiction, one must learn about it, understand it and then proceed to seek the appropriate professional help in order to combat it.

All religion tends to accomplish is to replace the addiction.

 

[Lightkeeper]

Developing a 'higher self' comes from education, not prayer.

Addiction is a medical problem, not a spiritual problem.

So, we can conclude that in order to abate addiction, one must learn about it, understand it and then proceed to seek the appropriate professional help in order to combat it.

All religion tends to accomplish is to replace the addiction.

All of the twelve step programs would highly disagree with you and so would the millions of people helped by these programs. No one said prayer develops the higher self. I agree that education does, but not onesided education. We very much need to be educated on our inner workings and live right.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

Lightkeeper--

Which is easier in your opinion:
1. To quit an addiction with religion
2. To quit an addiction without religion

Both of course are possible, but one may be easier and one more difficult.
Follow up question:
If #1 is easier, how is that not a crutch?

 

[Lightkeeper]

Lightkeeper--

Which is easier in your opinion:
1. To quit an addiction with religion
2. To quit an addiction without religion

Both of course are possible, but one may be easier and one more difficult.
Follow up question:
If #1 is easier, how is that not a crutch?

A deeply spiritual person knows religion is not crutch. If you have not experienced spirituality, then no one can explain it to you. Questions like these are like sand in an oyster. The truly spiritual person internalizes them and creates an inner pearl.

 

[(Q)]

If you have not experienced spirituality, then no one can explain it to you.

Thats a contradiction. How do you know its spirituality that you're experiencing if you can't explain it? You have nothing to reference to so your statement is merely supposition.

The truly spiritual person internalizes them and creates an inner pearl.

Are we supposed to guess what this means?

 

[Lightkeeper]

If you have not experienced spirituality, then no one can explain it to you.

Thats a contradiction. How do you know its spirituality that you're experiencing if you can't explain it? You have nothing to reference to so your statement is merely supposition.

The truly spiritual person internalizes them and creates an inner pearl.

Are we supposed to guess what this means?

No one can do this work for you.

 

[(Q)]

Then it must simply be a matter of whatever I can conjure up in my imagination must be spiritual. The imagination is the only place such things can exist.

Of course, my imagination can conjure up invisible pink unicorns as well.

So, whats the difference?

 

[Ceridwen018]

A deeply spiritual person knows religion is not crutch.

Yeaahhh... you know, it seems to me that 'deeply spiritual people' 'know' a lot of things...

By the by, what 'work' exactly, is Q supposed to be doing? Seems to me that you're the one with your work cut out for you here, what with all this questioning going on!

 

[Lightkeeper]

You are looking for answers outside of yourself. You could ask yourself these questions.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I hate to gang up on you here Lightkeeper but....

In response to my last post, you didn't answer my question. You just restated your opinion.

I have experienced spirituality, by the way. I used to be very religious.

 

[Lightkeeper]

I hate to gang up on you here Lightkeeper but....

In response to my last post, you didn't answer my question. You just restated your opinion.

I have experienced spirituality, by the way. I used to be very religious.

You can anwer your own questions better than I can.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

No argument here! :mrgreen:

 

[Rex]

A deeply spiritual person knows religion is not crutch.

Yeaahhh... you know, it seems to me that 'deeply spiritual people' 'know' a lot of things...

By the by, what 'work' exactly, is Q supposed to be doing? Seems to me that you're the one with your work cut out for you here, what with all this questioning going on!

Your stereotyping now. I could point fingers at various other non spiritual groups and make assumptions.

But we all know what assumptions are, an excuse for an arguement you can't create.

Why not try learning what Lightkeeper has to say rather than playing these games?

 

[Ceridwen018]

Ok, yes I see. I think I was in a bad mood when I wrote that last post and I definatly took the wrong approach. Lightkeeper, I am sorry.

So then for my question: Explain how you know that religion is not a crutch?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Good evening, Lightkeeper.

A deeply spiritual person knows religion is not crutch.

Perhaps, instead, a truly spiritual person knows that religion need not be a crutch.

If you have not experienced spirituality, then no one can explain it to you. Questions like these are like sand in an oyster. The truly spiritual person internalizes them and creates an inner pearl.

Permit me a question: Do you insist that spirituality be God-based?

 

[LCMS Sprecher]

People try to view religion and Christianity in particular with a post-Enlightenment thought process. (We can solve anything through logic.) However this is not possible. The human mind is flawed by sin, and we can never hope to fully comprehend God and His unbelievable love for us.

 

[(Q)]

LCMS

So. according to your reasoning, we can never understand nature using logic and we can never understand gods and the supernatural.

We might as well turn our brains off as they are no use to us.

 

[Ceridwen018]

LCMS,

"People try to view religion and Christianity in particular with a post-Enlightenment thought process. (We can solve anything through logic.) However this is not possible."

So what you're saying here is, that PRE-Enlightenment thinking was more useful?
"We've found a witch may we burn her?"
"Well, how do you know she is a witch?"
"She looks like one!"

The Enlightenment was a period of time filled with great learning. I'm sorry that Christianity and other religions seem to have a problem coping with advancing logic and ideas, but that actually sounds like a personal problem to me.

"The human mind is flawed by sin,"

The human mind is not *flawed* by sin any more than a child's imagination is hindered by their recognition of reality.

 

[LCMS Sprecher]

No, what I merely state is that it is impossible for us to attempt to fathom all the mysteries of God because of our tainted human minds. In order for this argument to have merit you must recognize sin. If you believe that man can do no wrong and he does not need to be saved then we shouldn't discuss things anymore. If man can do no wrong, why discuss religion? Why not just let us all stew in our "misplaced belief." The recognition of sin makes the argument for God so easy however without i you can say whatever you want. If you don't need God to save you then why does religion matter?