Human technological advances and such may aliviate some of these problems though. We can already run cars off excrement and produce power without fossil fuels. As the saying goes, 'There is enough for human need, but not enough for human greed'.
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Is Religion a Necessity?
- Thread starter Jeremiahcp
- Start date
When technology solves them, I'll revise my optimum population number upwards.
Greed, even if it is the problem, will not be eliminated....there will always be people of my ilk.)
Jeremiahcp
Well-Known Jerk
I can agree with that.
RESOLUTION
Active Member
You believe food, water and procreation make the lives of atheist rich and full?
You see what you did there? Are you saying atheists do not get sick, mentally ill or without hope?
Your question was not about rich full lives. It was
"Is Religion a Necessity?"For the purpose of this discussion, if we consider a necessity as an absolute need for the continued survival of humankind, such as food, water and procreation: Would you consider religion a necessity? Why or why not?
Will a rich full life whether religious or not make the survival of humankind a dead cert?
Your question is clear and my answer was clear.We are not discussing if atheists can live a full rich life without religion.
Is Religion a Necessity?
Yes and No, religion is beliefs and teachings that are highly valued or sacred. To illustrate my point on the religion of what or who, compared to a religion based on the belief in Jesus Christ. Read the 3 or 4 chapters in Exodus about the plagues in Egypt. When the Pharaoh refused to let the Jews go to worship God, they were punished with terrible plagues. Each and every plague was directed toward one of the many gods that the Egyptians worshiped. It is surprising how many different 'things' they worshiped, but each one was overcome by the God of the Jews. SO, a religion of worshiping say a sun god, did them no good! As opposed to the religion of worshiping the God that controls and sustains everything! ronandcarol
Yes and No, religion is beliefs and teachings that are highly valued or sacred. To illustrate my point on the religion of what or who, compared to a religion based on the belief in Jesus Christ. Read the 3 or 4 chapters in Exodus about the plagues in Egypt. When the Pharaoh refused to let the Jews go to worship God, they were punished with terrible plagues. Each and every plague was directed toward one of the many gods that the Egyptians worshiped. It is surprising how many different 'things' they worshiped, but each one was overcome by the God of the Jews. SO, a religion of worshiping say a sun god, did them no good! As opposed to the religion of worshiping the God that controls and sustains everything! ronandcarol
Kilgore Trout
Misanthropic Humanist
Not necessary. Inevitable.
Scott C.
Just one guy
False religion is not a necessity. But, knowing the truth about who we are and the purpose of life is very important. It may not be essential to our physical survival however. But it seems obvious to me that we are better off with the truth than without it.
In practice, yes. But I don't think religion should be construed in what is currently understood to be the typical Abrahamic mold.
It should be tolerant of theism, but never centered on it; it should not lend much significance to scripture; and it should have a healthy measure of skepticism towards its own leadership figures.
A lot like a mix of Hinduism with the Bahai Faith, except that it would think of its deities as basically allegories and let go of the insistence on subsumming other faiths that the Bahais inherited from Islaam.
It is the same as asking whether technology is necessary for the survival of humankind. Under some conditions yes. Under other conditions no. It could destroy us or save us.
Like viruses, eh?
On 2nd thought, since viruses play a role in evolution (gene transfer),
& might play an essential role in our health (remembering that most
of our cells are non-human micro-organisms), perhaps they're needed.
Jeremiahcp
Well-Known Jerk
If we where dumped in the middle of the wilderness with no food or water, and you had to choose between a knife or a Bible to take with you, which would be more useful to your survival?
When it comes to a question of pure survival I think tech is gonna win out a lot more than religion.
What sort of "psychological assistance" do you think religion provides that can't be provided some other way?
Or, having the knowledge and power to do so, could cure the tree of its problem so that it could bear fruit, rather than destroying it...
What does that saying have to do with religion and technology?
I was talking about human overpopulation.
Deathbydefault
Apistevist Asexual Atheist
No. Survival of humankind only requires that you can get resources and operate within a community.
A belief structure like religion may better unify a community, but I don't see how it could be considered a necessity.
I don't see the correlation between greed and need concerning overpopulation either.
Despite there being more people, if we only took what we needed there would be enough resources.
As an individual dropped into the wilderness, I'd take the knife, hands down.
But if as a member of a community dropped into the wilderness, it might be better to have a social order reinforced through a religion than having each man, woman and child having a knife and with no sense of responsibility to the group (the extreme case, of course), in order to ensure survival of the group.
But it also depends on the group, the religion, and the environment as to what might be the best tool to ensure survival.