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| Why I dislike the ideal of religion; I finally figured it out for myself. | |
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| Topic Started: Jul 22 2008, 06:37 AM (1,602 Views) | |
| The Departed | Jul 22 2008, 06:37 AM Post #1 |
^^Give back my watch dammit!
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A note to all religious nuts, I'm not here to bash any of you, and not here to start bullshit, I'm just here to express an opinion and confessional break through I sought out when I was driving home tonight. It had been irking me a for a while, why do I dislike Christianity? Buddhism? Islam? My own religion? Why? Was it the ideals behind each religion? Let me recap that. A set of completely different rules and views which define what is moral and what is Hell departure worthy: Christianity, which constantly spreads its word to those it considers "Godless", has a holy 10 Commandments, before I continue, may I quote the great late George Carlin for a moment please? I am not trying to sound like an asshole, but this quote of his had me thinking long and hard the first time I heard it: "Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man, living in the sky, where nobody can see him, and the invisible man, has a special list, of ten things, he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place where he sends these people, where there is fire and smoke where you will be tortured and choked and screaming and crying for ever and ever until the end of time!! ...But he loves you." Such a strong and intolerably difficult paradox. A God who makes you follow 10 rules, none equal at all, many that are over and beyond the pale in comparison, and if you break any of those rules, eternity of torment, but through it all, he is incomprehensibly forgiving and understanding? The 10 are obviously created to create a level of control and stability within religion, in my opinion, to spook people into being "good." But there in lies my qualm. How do we define good? Through what the bible, a book which holds scriptures made thousands of years ago? And what about Muslims? My own people, what about us? Do we believe that women must be so constricted in certain regions of our homeland? Do we believe that abuse, pummeling our children into submission is the answer of discipline? Because it is our way? You see, this in itself is the main crux of my entire point, this right here. The world is built up of entirely different and various religions, all as different and as frustrating as the next. Yet, they all hold a sense of "nationalism" in that they are the one true religion, and that all other religions may have valid points, but are not the true religion. With all these countless followers believing such a thing, I simply find it impossible to believe this for myself. How can I believe in one solid religion when there are so many other religions telling me that mine is wrong? How? The way I see it, either all religions are right, or they're all wrong. How can we possibly define one as the true religion and the others as obsolete? Maybe all religions are fractions of one large entity of a true religion, one that would unite us and give us a sense of unity. That, or they're all bullshit. Simply one or the other. And I have enough on my shoulders, religion simply will not be joining my shoulders any longer. Which is why I have faith, undoubted faith in a higher being known as God, but absolutely zero belief in religion. So I will repeat, the reason I no longer believe in religion, is because as I grew older, I came to understand that either they're all right, or they're all wrong. |
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| xAlwaysOpenMouthx | Jul 22 2008, 06:44 AM Post #2 |
Hi-Tech Soldier
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You have a very good examination here. And quoting the late, great, George Carlin was amazing. I always loved his religious rants. As well as his government ones. One thing that's always torqued my motor was how many people insist this is a nation built on Christianity and it's beliefs. I do believe it and I think that needs to be changed more than anything here at home. For being such an open and accepting country, you sure still have a lot of people complaining about immigration and foreign people that are different, and these same people are most likely descendants of immigrants. This country needs to open its freaking mind to things that aren't so different from themselves. ESPECIALLY CHRISTIANS!!! |
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| GrayFox | Jul 22 2008, 07:24 AM Post #3 |
Lord of War
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Firstly, thank you for not being an asshole about this. I dont have alot of time right now. Ill be back later to pick this apart, but for now, lemme comment on Carlins somewhat legendary quote. First of all...religion hasnt convinced people of anything. As I said a million times, I have no love for religion, I simply seek the truth. Religion itself is to some degree a tool of Satan. Its the classic divide and conquer tactic. There was never meant to be all these different sects, just one singular truth. Over time, people lost that truth. It became completely distorted. By the time Jesus walked the Earth, the Jews themselves had virtually no understanding about the true nature of GOD. This was the reason for Christs coming. To fulfill the law by writing the truth in our hearts. Jesus said that when he ascended unto his Father, the Spirit of Truth (the Holy Spirit) would come unto us. But you have to be willing. This is why a non-believer can read the Bible all day. Pick it apart with a fine tooth comb. But never really gets the message. Its just word on paper. But with the Holy Spirit as the guide, these truths will be made clear. Im not going to debate the existence of the Holy Spirit. But I can give my word that Ive experienced it. Now, about the invisible man in the sky. I frankly dont understand whats so unbelievable. I myself cannot (I mean literally, Im not capable) believe that there is NOT a GOD. If you look at the world around you, there are plenty of hints. Dont you notice that we have laboratories full of petra dishes containing microscopic civilizations? Dont you wonder about what the world must look like from that point of view? You can trace all of human history back to a cosmic event dubbed "The Big Bang", but then youre at a loss. Theres nowhere else to go. There has to be a creator. Think about it like this. What if you built a model of the world, and even created life that ruled that world, and locked it in your closet for a year, watching it from a monitor as the creation grew, evolved, etc, and then at the end of the year, you opened the door and destroyed it. You yourself are human, and mortal. But to the civilization that you created, you were Alpha and Omega. You were the beginning and the end. You know everything that happened in that worlds existence. Can you understand the concept of GOD the Father/Creator, a little better now? Thats what I try to do. I try to explain things in a way that makes GOD real to people, instead of it just being a fairytale. Now as for the 10 Commandments. Remember, the commandments werent given to Adam. Why? Because originally there was no need. Satan had already corrupted man long before Moses received the law. The 10 Commandments were given to the Israelites because obedience would result in the righteousness of GOD (immortality). Once man defied GOD, he became mortal because of sin. You talk about the fairness of GOD. Well...What if GOD hadnt cut off the Garden of Eden? Mankind in its entirety would be forced to live immortally in sin. Pain. Suffering. All the shit we put up with in this life, but for eternity. The Kingdom of Heaven is one of GODs righteousness which no evil or sin may enter. Its not a matter of GOD being a jerk. Its the simple fact that you either take his advice, and receive the method of eternal paradise, or you reject the Creator, and theres nothing more that can be done. He gave the law to Israel, but they turned to sin also. Therefore everyone else, the Gentiles, were grafted into the tree of life through the method of faith. Thats why Jesus came. Thats why he died. Thats why he was resurrected. To give us, sinners since Adam, a chance to receive the gift. How is that anything BUT love? GOD is all light. So when he returns for his elect, those who have chosen to love him, and takes them off to paradise, whats left? Just darkness. Empty, lonely, shallow. Separated from GOD. And in total desperate agony because its too late to change your mind. This is why we are to live our lives in the Spirit rather than seeking after the flesh. Because flesh will die and rot, but the Spirit continues. The gift of life itself is the chance to be redeemed, so that we can one day return to our Creator. I will return. EDIT: This was at the bottom of the page. Seemed appropriate. Also makes me realize how funny it is that Christians are the ones most commonly referred to as "self-righteous". Although it would seem they are the only ones who arent. I also recommend you check out a book called Mystery of the Ages. It goes into much greater detail than I can. Edited by GrayFox, Jul 22 2008, 07:35 AM.
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 Hideo Kojima...King! Alice Cooper...King! JESUS CHRIST ... KING OF KINGS!!! DISCLAIMER: The preceding post is the opinion of the poster. | |
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| The Departed | Jul 22 2008, 07:40 AM Post #4 |
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^^Give back my watch dammit!
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You're missing the point though. I never once said I don't believe in God, I, like you, am incapable of doing such a thing. Hell, at one point, I didn't think I believed in God, but I was dead wrong. But that's just it, all I do believe in is the creator, the one who made all of this and left it for us to evolve with. The scripture, the belief structure in religion, so various, so paradoxical, so hypocritical, so nationalistic, that we have to have a set path to God and Heaven, that is what I refuse to believe in. If God is as loving and caring as I think he is, I doubt I would need to follow any set path to get to him when I die, perhaps the path is carved in various portions of every religion which follows back to my point of all religions being connected to one true religion. But I myself am on the other side of my opinion, the "none of them are right" side. But I still have undying faith in God, just no religion what so ever attached to my faith any longer. |
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| GrayFox | Jul 22 2008, 07:57 AM Post #5 |
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Lord of War
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But dont you get what Im saying about men establishing our own righteousness? Man is imperfect, and in sin from the very moment we are cast into the world. Our very blood is cursed since the fall of man. We all fall short of the glory of GOD. He wants us to put our faith and trust in him. He sent himself in human form to be humiliated, beaten, battered, and executed as a sacrifice to pay the debt for all of us that no human being could ever pay. As a human, believing that we can establish our own righteousness and enter Heaven by our own merit is prideful. Its not our works, but by faith that we are saved. Faith spawns good works. Dont you think its ironic that even though most of the other religions preach the same morality, none of them have a promise of Heaven? Because they all rely on a persons merit. Christ is the only savior. On top of that, no other religion is as divided as Christianity. Now you may say that makes it somewhat void. I look and see the opposite. That evil has attacked Christianity more than any other religion. All the more reason to believe its the right one. Look deep inside and ask yourself, and answer honestly, if theres a GOD in Heaven, would he want us to put our faith in him, or try to achieve his kingdom on our own? |
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Hideo Kojima...King! Alice Cooper...King! JESUS CHRIST ... KING OF KINGS!!! DISCLAIMER: The preceding post is the opinion of the poster. | |
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| OuterJaccob | Jul 22 2008, 09:05 AM Post #6 |
loves you
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You're very well entitled to your beliefs about Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but none of what you said really applies to Buddhism at all.
Many people, myself included believe that the three Abrahamic religions all lead to God, Islam, Christianity and Judaism are incredibly similar, shit, Jesus is the most dominant prophet in the Holy Qur'an. And the one important factor you seem to have missed: George Carlin was a cock. But yeah, like GrayFox said, you could've been a total prick about this, but you weren't, so nice one there. |
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| Soriddo Suneku | Jul 22 2008, 10:25 PM Post #7 |
Because J. Moses Browning didn't invent a .46
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He was a very intelligent, charismatic cock, because apparently he could get away with such a statement, but when you do it, it just looks like cock envy.  And as to the reason of "Why we are here" that everyone keeps going on about...plastic. |
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| GrayFox | Jul 22 2008, 10:32 PM Post #8 |
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Lord of War
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Thats the very reason why GOD said in Issac shall thy seed be called. The blessing was given to Issac, not Ishmael(?). Which is why Islam is wrong. Also, dont you find it funny that even though Islam preaches the same messages of peace and love, they are the ones so filled with hatred towards the Jews. The war thats going on right now, for example. Its undeniable that if the nation of Israel stopped fighting, they would be destroyed. But if their enemies put down their guns, there would be peace. Religion is one of Satans most powerful tools because he can lead people into a false sense of comfort. The easiest way to end a persons search for GOD is to make him think he already found him. If Jesus is a mere prophet, then none of our sins are forgiven. The sacrifice was in vain, and we are all dead in sin. Theres no other promise of eternal life given to mankind other than the resurrection of Christ. |
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Hideo Kojima...King! Alice Cooper...King! JESUS CHRIST ... KING OF KINGS!!! DISCLAIMER: The preceding post is the opinion of the poster. | |
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| Shyne-Bryght | Jul 22 2008, 10:32 PM Post #9 |
Feeling Completely Undermined.
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I can understand where you are coming from, would I be right in saying you're fine with most things about religion, but you're major issue is with what many people have turned it into? |
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| The Departed | Jul 22 2008, 10:42 PM Post #10 |
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^^Give back my watch dammit!
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I'm afraid not, because to me, it is the religion itself. That they are all just so down right different, often paradoxic, and hypocritical when compared to one another and compared to what we deem right and good, causes me to just find it impossible to follow a religion. The idiocy of many of the followers is just another reason, not the primary reason. @OuterJacob, about George Carlin, you can consider him whatever you want, tut the fact is he was an incredibly enlightened man who refused to allow himself to be restrained by such things. I'm not saying I agree with everything he said because he was straight up atheist, and I am just religionless, but I will say he was a great man who helped comedians whenever he could to see the world for what it is, and always called bullshit when he saw it, which was why I loved his work and the man himself so profoundly. |
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| OuterJaccob | Jul 23 2008, 10:22 AM Post #11 |
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loves you
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Off topic but completely untrue, who broke the least ceasefire? Israel. Who has the heavy firepower? Israel. Who is keeping the Muslim people locked in the world's largest open air prison? Israel. |
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| The Departed | Jul 23 2008, 04:31 PM Post #12 |
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^^Give back my watch dammit!
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This topic is about religion, so keep it about religion please. |
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| wraith shadow | Jul 23 2008, 06:29 PM Post #13 |
Master of Karate and Friendship.
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Im not happy with the catholic religion because half the shit thats bad is just shit some pope came up with. For example, a pope came up with the seven deadly sins. Satan was blown out of proportion cause of a poem. I just think we should take it seriously but you know theres a point where this is just wrong. I also love how they say if you don't go to confession, your bound for hell. According to the Bible, God is a forgiving god, not a vengful God. Makes you want to hit the preist (oh wait, I can't do that either cause I'll go to hell.) BTW I am catholic. Edited by wraith shadow, Jul 23 2008, 06:30 PM.
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| GrayFox | Jul 24 2008, 10:38 PM Post #14 |
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Lord of War
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You do realize that the Catholic Church was established by Peter, of whom Jesus said, "Upon this rock, I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against thee"? Confession isnt a necessity for all, but some feel the need to confess their sin to another person in order to move on and have a clean conscience. So what Im saying is, confession is there for those who need it. Same logic applies to levitical law like dietary restrictions. There are some who believe that they should abstain from pork. These are weaker in faith. But those who are stronger shouldnt throw a stumbling block before the weak. Nor should the weak condemn the strong. |
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Hideo Kojima...King! Alice Cooper...King! JESUS CHRIST ... KING OF KINGS!!! DISCLAIMER: The preceding post is the opinion of the poster. | |
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| The Departed | Jul 25 2008, 01:35 AM Post #15 |
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^^Give back my watch dammit!
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^^Hahahahhaa!! Oh that makes my day complete. But again, to respond to a not banned member, it isn't also about Catholicism, I admit there's more public hypocracy shown from Christianity versus the rest of the religions, but it still isn't any different from the others right? Edited by The Departed, Jul 25 2008, 01:38 AM.
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| kisskissbangbang | Jul 26 2008, 06:59 PM Post #16 |
Fetish for you.
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Buddhism i think is basically hippies just having a religion...but since the asians did it then its a "legit" religion And interesting analysis departed, but have you took the time to research what all the religions believe (if you actually care that much) say in their books? |
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| The Departed | Jul 26 2008, 09:28 PM Post #17 |
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^^Give back my watch dammit!
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I took Catholic studies when I was attending Mitty for a year, I understand some fundimentals, I know Islamic studies from childhood, no matter how religion is worded, it will all be seen the same way for me. I can always research them, but doesn't mean my views will change. |
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| kisskissbangbang | Jul 27 2008, 10:27 PM Post #18 |
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Fetish for you.
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Uh ok then fair dooos |
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| trigz | Aug 26 2008, 02:36 AM Post #19 |
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Light Infantry
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YOu've mentioned what you dont like about Christianity, i mean like what you dont understand about it, but why dont you believe in Islam, Judaism or any other religion? |
 
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| OuterJaccob | Aug 26 2008, 02:53 AM Post #20 |
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loves you
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The three are very similar so it's pretty easy to figure out, also correct me if I'm wrong, but I think The Departed is a muslim or a jew, so he probably would believe in one of them. |
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