Religion - fear of the unknown?

[PennyKay]

If you for example took the "laws of nature" as it was supposed 1000 years ago or even 100 years ago or even 5 years ago you would have to agree that Scientist find miracles everyday.

The Scientific model is constantly broken and reshaped in a desperate attempt to find consistency. Thousands of years down the line we have uncovered more confusion that solutions.

For example: Quantum theory is currently ripping through the current scientific model. Its unravelling at the seams faster than they can tie it up.

At the same time if someone were to walk on water who is to say its against the natural order. Just because its very hard to achieve and the knowledge of how to do it is unexplainable is no grounds to call it contradictory.

I'm not too sure what you're trying to say. Do you not think the 'miracles' in the bible are miracles then? Or just a lack of scientific knowledge of that specific age?

 

[Caladan]

An interesting point to make. Although, I'm not too sure I agree that ethnicity and religion are bound together, or not as much as they have been in the past.

Perhaps not when it comes liberals and Christianity. they see themselves as caucasian and liberal. and there's no issue with that, that's where I spend most of my time.

What is your view on countries such as Britain (my home country) where the population is increasingly diverse in a multitute of religions. The first generation children from these families born in Britain might consider themselves British to a certain extent but may not necessarily be christian, maybe they will grow up to have a conflict of faith.

as long as people understand that religion is an extension of culture, it will reduce the chance of conflicts of faith. what you describe applies to many cultures today. my philosophy is, that you might as well enjoy the historical significance of religious institutions, religious monasteries, and other religious phenomena and activities.
put religion on a lens of study. it will show you that it is a field of study, of scriptures, of documents, sites, and encompasses segmeants of society and political spheres, present, and historical.
a cultural phenomenon.

 

[PennyKay]

Perhaps not when it comes liberals and Christianity. they see themselves as caucasian and liberal. and there's no issue with that, that's where I spend most of my time.


as long as people understand that religion is an extension of culture, it will reduce the chance of conflicts of faith. what you describe applies to many cultures today. my philosophy is, that you might as well enjoy the historical significance of religious institutions, religious monasteries, and other religious phenomena and activities.
put religion on a lens of study. it will show you that it is a field of study, of scriptures, of documents, sites, and encompasses segmeants of society and political spheres, present, and historical. it is a cultural phenomenon.

I completely agree that it is a culture phenomenon, that all religions encompass a historical account of the cultures associated with them (albeit alterered over time). I'm just not too sure about them being bound to ethnicity.

 

[Caladan]

I completely agree that it is a culture phenomenon, that all religions encompass a historical account of the cultures associated with them (albeit alterered over time). I'm just not too sure about them being bound to ethnicity.

To millions of people it does. in India, in Israel, China, Japan. their major religions are and were typically linked to their local demographics.
even in the previous century, major cultures attempted to link historical religions to their ethnicity, some to inspire Germanic unity, others in defiance against the Russians and later the Germans.

 

[otokage007]

Religion nowadays is a complete chaos to decipher. There's some people who are religious because they fear death, there are others who just believe in what their parents do, etc.

But I don't think religion came out from the mind of someone in the first place because of "fear of the unknown". I think it started as a "humanization" of the nature. For example, instead of thinking the river that provides water to your land goes big or dry because of a natural and incontrolable process, "hope" could make you think the river can someway hear your prays and, consecuently, now you feel you DO have control over the river, and that's much more confortable. Eventualy, the river would be represented as a humanoid God.

I think religion born that way.

 

[painted wolf]

Well as my title implys -

Is religion simply a remedy to the important unknown questions regarding life and our place in it?

Does the value of religion become lesser, the more science discovers?

What do you think about the 'God of the Gaps' argument? (I've attched a youtube link below for those unfamiliar).

p.s. all thoughts and comments welcome

Not for me.

To me religion is as much an expression of cultural identity and values as it is about faith. Humans are a result of their evolution and need a "tribe" to identify with. I've just chosen one that suits me better than the rest.

And I think the "God of the Gaps" argument is silly... if you simply plug God into unanswered questions, you only show your lack of intellectual curiosity and lack of respect for your chosen deity. Any person who's faith relies on shoving it into little nooks and crannies to keep it alive, needs to question why they claim faith in the first place.

wa:do

 

[ManTimeForgot]

I think that as more things become explained in a manner that the common man can relate to that you will see the dogmatic aspects or requirements of religion shrink.


I don't need the water cycle explained to me in the Bible when an elementary school science textbook does just as good a job or better at doing so. But, I think it would be remiss to suppose that the only utility function religion satisfies is one of explaining the world around us (or at least the currently accessible portions).

Maybe divinity is found "in the gaps," but I don't think that this is an actual recrimination of religion. Speculation on the deeper aspects of cosmology is something that should be encouraged since we don't know anything about it. Some day when we do finally obtain some evidence about what is beyond the universe (assuming there is such a thing), then I want to have as many and as varied a set of possible explanations as I can possibly have prior to obtaining the evidence so that my paradigm is not likely to have discarded the "truth" as impossible or beyond conception.


Divinity is not the only feature to religion though; it might be an extremely important part, but not all religions assert divinity (or at least a divinity that is separate in some way). Community and value formation are also important parts for religion (at least currently), so these are also features we have to contend with.

MTF

 

[Hari Krishna]

Well as my title implys -

Is religion simply a remedy to the important unknown questions regarding life and our place in it?

Yes, but so is science.

Does the value of religion become lesser, the more science discovers?

No, the value of religion is found in the experience of transcendence that it gives us, and ultimately in gaining liberation from suffering and death.

What do you think about the 'God of the Gaps' argument? (I've attched a youtube link below for those unfamiliar).

God of the gaps is valid in the sense that we shouldn't use lazy excuses for why we don't know something. But at the same time, the scientific method is limited and it's possible there will always be gaps. It's possible that those gaps or limits of science will make some objective statement about god's existence.