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is religion bad for us?
- Thread starter chriscs
- Start date
Father Heathen
Veteran Member
Depends on the religion and how it's practiced.
What is the willful ignorance standpoint again?
My faith has been beneficial to me. I think it depends on who's running each "group" and not the various religions themselves.
AmbiguousGuy
Well-Known Member
I passed on becoming an OB/GYN. I didn't want familiarity to steal the magic.
psychoslice
Veteran Member
Religion is like a weapon, it depends how you use it.
The day that the human pursuit of truth, meaning, and purpose in life peters out to an afterthought is the day the human species becomes a footnote in the fossil record.
Pegg
Jehovah our God is One
thats a very broad question. Of course some religions are bad for us....think of the occult for example.
Religion in general is a good thing if it teaches us good morals and standards and if we are motivated to live by the teachings and if it produces good fruits in us.
otherwise its like anything...its only as good if it makes us better people.
Mycroft
Ministry of Serendipity
Religion is not necessary to achieve all of the above. Religion is a man-made institution. Spirituality, faith and belief would survive such changes.
Great Post
I... apparently don't define religion the same way you do. I do not define religion as an "institution." If I did, then I have no religion because my religion is not institutional. Following that, my way of life is not protected under my nation's freedom of religion and others can legitimately persecute me for belonging to a non-institutional religion (that, by your standards, isn't a "real" religion, right?). That would be more than a little bit... inconvenient.
Mycroft
Ministry of Serendipity
Religion is a social institution. I find no evidence that spirituality and faith would be in any way adversely affected by the 'petering out' of this social institution. I refer to the 'Jesus was not religious' adage.
Our English word “religion” comes from the Latin “religio” which means “a taboo, a restraint” and bespeaks of a system exercised by the will of man designed to gain favor with God. The word broken down is “re” (return) +”ligare” (to bond with a restraint). Simply stated the word means… RETURN TO BONDAGE
Taboo is a perfect illustration of religion is doing to God’s deep and awesome Word.
Main Entry: 1ta·boo javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?taboo101.wav=taboo')
Variant(s): also ta·bu javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?taboo101.wav=tabu')/t&-'bü, ta-/
Function: adjective
Etymology: Tongan tabu
1 : forbidden to profane use or contact because of what are held to be dangerous supernatural powers
2 a : banned on grounds of morality or taste <the subject is taboo> b : banned as constituting a risk <the area beyond is taboo, still alive with explosives -- Robert Leckie>
Religion restrains God’s Word instead of reaching out to God’s anointing or the Christ with in. Anti Christ/Anti Anointing means the same thing. Notice every time I present hidden in scripture; something on the edge; that does not fit a religious bias I am totally wrong. This is my point; either God is dead; and has absolutely nothing to say; or His Word is alive and is progressive. It is sad to say it is so dead in religious dogma; I had a brother tell me the other day that there has been no revelation sense the 3rd Century. I guess if you are dead spiritually you can no longer hear God’s spirit. A dead man cannot hear, see, touch or smell; this is double true of a spiritual dead man; or religious man (same thing).
Taboo is a perfect illustration of religion is doing to God’s deep and awesome Word.
Main Entry: 1ta·boo javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?taboo101.wav=taboo')
Variant(s): also ta·bu javascript:popWin('/cgi-bin/audio.pl?taboo101.wav=tabu')/t&-'bü, ta-/
Function: adjective
Etymology: Tongan tabu
1 : forbidden to profane use or contact because of what are held to be dangerous supernatural powers
2 a : banned on grounds of morality or taste <the subject is taboo> b : banned as constituting a risk <the area beyond is taboo, still alive with explosives -- Robert Leckie>
Religion restrains God’s Word instead of reaching out to God’s anointing or the Christ with in. Anti Christ/Anti Anointing means the same thing. Notice every time I present hidden in scripture; something on the edge; that does not fit a religious bias I am totally wrong. This is my point; either God is dead; and has absolutely nothing to say; or His Word is alive and is progressive. It is sad to say it is so dead in religious dogma; I had a brother tell me the other day that there has been no revelation sense the 3rd Century. I guess if you are dead spiritually you can no longer hear God’s spirit. A dead man cannot hear, see, touch or smell; this is double true of a spiritual dead man; or religious man (same thing).
psychoslice
Veteran Member
Even if I agreed with your unrealistic restrictions on what religion constitutes, to suggest that religion (or what you're calling "spirituality" and "faith" I guess) would in no way (a very extreme statement!) be adversely affected by the lack of social institutions is not tenable. Humans are social animals. Any area where humans lack an institution or organization in their social structures has an effect, though I'll grant whether or not you call it "adverse" is a subjective value judgement. And as a member of a non-institutional religion I can tell you an awful lot about the "adverse" effects that suffered by religions that refuse to organize and institutionalize themselves. And also about the "beneficial" effects.
I believe we must not give up in our search for God. What the apostle Paul said to idol- worshipping Athenians applies with equal force to us today. "so that they would seek God, if they might grope for him and really find him, although, in fact, he is not far off from each one of us. For by him we have life and move and exist, ...God has overlooked the times of such ignorance; but now he is declaring to all people everywhere that they should repent. Because he has set a day on which he purposes to judge the inhabited earth in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and he has provided a guarantee to all men by resurrecting him from the dead. (Acts 17:27-31)