What is the point of God?

[Michael S. Azrael]

As an atheist I do not understand religion. For years it has been the moving force behind wars like the Holy Crusades, Islamic Jihads and Holocausts. All the religious book are deeply embedded with contradictions and preach messages that condemn people for being different.

Religions always seem to cause strife; in China and chinese controlled areas buddhist leaders have been exiled. Some Chritsians fundamentalist go out into the streets looking for Gays, Muslims, Jews or anyone who does not conform to their religion a viciously bash them. Islamic extremists have wage jihad on the western world of not being Islamic.

I know it is not religion itself that causes strife but it leader who bend the religions teachings as sevre as a means to their own ends.

I just do not understand religion, it goes against basic human instinct, which is to learn, understand and accept but religion tells that somethings that are different and doesn't conform is wrong and must be destoryed. Religious groups are usually violent and vicous to anything that may oppose them or want to ater the way things are. For example take the Knight Templar, a powerful organisation that nearly rivalled the Church but instead of trying to understand it, the Church destoryed because they thought that the Knight Templar threatened the Church.

I am not condemning religion, I know many people faithfully believe in their God and I respect your beliefs. I'm not trying to start a fight, all i'm trying to do is understand why we need religion? What useful purpose does it sevre? Why does society not just abandon it?

I wish to hear your opinions on religion, whether you be Christian or Jewiish, Islamic or Buddhist, I would even be willing to hear from a Scientologist.

As an addendum I apologise if I have caused any offence, I did not intend too, I am merely attempting to understand.

 

[thewerebuffalo]

they don't like the thought of being alone and losing their selves when they die. God was created to comfort people who couldn't cope with the emptiness and who wanted to live after they died.

but that's just my opinion

 

[Dragon_of_red]

Im going to save you the trouble of reading comments and skip straight to "Bam, flame war"

Well, im a christian, and i think in the early days we needed the idea of an all powerful God, or else they might have revolted or done something stupid, back then it was probably better to have an understanding of "all this was made for us" than some long answer made my science.

Also, for the record, I tihnk God is real and he made gace evolution a nice little shove in our direction and made the big bang.

 

[Clyde]

I'm curious what happens when I die. I would also like a good outcome, if possible.

 

[Echelon_3]

I can only guess at the reasoning since I'm a decidedly secular person. I would hazard a guess that people need religion to:

- Make them feel like a part of a greater collective (the same reason people go batshit with nationalism, etc.)

- Answer their questions, from "What is the meaning of life" to "Who should I vote for?" to a satisfactory degree

- Allay their fear of death

 

[hyrulegaybar]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife. And it is not, as you stated, human nature to understand and to learn. It is human nature to attempt to make sense of the confusing and random events around it. And that's precisely why religion exists. This is a cold and indifferent universe. For most of us, that is a difficult concept to grasp and frankly I'll admit that most days I don't want to think about it myself. Religion offers comfort in the form of order, which we as humans are naturally drawn to.

Religion has been used as an oppressive tool and a coercive tool as well in the past, true, but it's no reason to get rid of it. Philosophically, it provides an explanation for existence for many, and I feel that's important to them if they feel it's important for themselves.

 

[MoganFreeman]

The idea of God and the afterlife gives people hope and purpose in the face of their awareness of their own mortality.

Granted, it is a hope and purpose built off of a false premise, but it is hope and purpose nonetheless.

 

[Michael S. Azrael]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife.

But all religious texts tell us what is allowed and isn't allowed, anything out side these bounds should not be allowed. Your right difference does cause strife but religion was the first institution to really say what is normal and what is different.

 

[Skeleon]

I'll say what I say every time such a question arises: Religion has no place in politics whatsoever.
The examples you brought, though valid, are mostly results of political influence of spiritual leaders. We must remove this influence completely and restrict religion to a purely personal level. We might still get the occasional suicide bomber or murder of an abortion doctor, but large conflicts such as the Crusades or Jihad could be hampered.

What is sad is that many people still want religion in politics, nay, demand them, particularily in America.
An openly atheist politician has automatically much lower approval ratings there (or at least that's what I read).
Whereas religion doesn't even come up in politics in Germany and (I'm assuming) most of Europe.
I have no idea what religion Merkel follows (she's part of the Christian Democratic Union but that's just a historical name) but considering she was a scientist before entering into politics, I'd assume she's atheist. But I don't know and I don't care! I care what she plans to do and votes against or for her should be based on that!

 

[ottenni]

It offers comfort, a sense of purpose. It also offers a reason for why things happen. Think of it as a very very old hypothesis, one that has been that way for a long time. For all we know in the past there could have been a choice of belief in an all powerful deity or the belief that all things are made up of tiny things (atoms of course), and the belief in god won out because it is more appealing to people who probably had a life expectancy of 40. And it has simply endured. Although now we can see, if viewed correctly, that it is an unlikely concept it probably made a lot of sense when it was conceived. Of course in time things could turn around on us again and we could find out that god is more likely than we now know.

 

[hyrulegaybar]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife.

But all religious texts tell us what is allowed and isn't allowed, anything out side these bounds should not be allowed. Your right difference does cause strife but religion was the first institution to really say what is normal and what is different.

If you want to go there, then actually the Code of Hammurabi did that. It codified and normalized the institution of slavery as well as class-based institutions. Religion was not the first, however.

 

[GDW]

Without religion then there is no fear of a higher power.

Without fear of a higher power, there is, essentialy, fear of nothing.

If death is truly the end of all, then why should someone have morals? Why be a good person? Why look out for one another? Because you're told too? That makes you as pre-programed as the God-fearers... perhaps worse, still, because you have no real reason to feel such a way.

I don't believe necisarilly in God. I don't follow a relegion.

I do, however, understand why both are necisarry. Without atleast some sets of people providing a medium, for some reason, throughout the centuries, there would, probablly, be no real focus on morallity.

I'm a very immoral man. I know very well that if the world were full of people like me, then there'd be no society left. Or, atleast nothign that could be considered civilization.


Though, I agree with another post: Differences cause strife. Even without God, there'd still be wars, they'd just have even more impractical reasons.

 

[Michael S. Azrael]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife.

But all religious texts tell us what is allowed and isn't allowed, anything out side these bounds should not be allowed. Your right difference does cause strife but religion was the first institution to really say what is normal and what is different.

If you want to go there, then actually the Code of Hammurabi did that. It codified and normalized the institution of slavery as well as class-based institutions. Religion was not the first, however.

Thank for that interesting fact and I may have been mistaken about it being the first but religion is still the most widely spread system that dictates what is normal.

 

[Samurai Goomba]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife.

But all religious texts tell us what is allowed and isn't allowed, anything out side these bounds should not be allowed. Your right difference does cause strife but religion was the first institution to really say what is normal and what is different.

Prove it. Next time you try to make crap up, understand that people will call you on it.

Edit: "Religion's still the most widely spread system that dictates what is normal."

Great, one made-up fact exchanged for a different one. Again, prove it. When you make claims, you need to back them up. And what, is it ALL religions? Because they all have different standards for normalcy. Just like DIFFERENT CULTURES do. Wow, imagine that!

A lot of our laws today are derived from Biblical rules of conduct. To look at only the bad that has come from religion is to see a whale and ignore an aircraft carrier. Carrying whales.

 

[Carbonic Penguin]

I beleive religion was started for comfort and a reason for living to people. However, like most other things, people used it for their own ends, which it wasnot originally ment to be used for. For example, the Crusades. Even though he Bible preaches love and tolerance, the crusades were wars waged in the name of God, that guy that loves everyone like his children. Contradictory?
Religion is also used as a general guide to morals and ethics. It tells people how to live better lives and what not. For example, muslims have alms-giving, in which they give to the poor every week.

 

[Serge A. Storms]

I just typed out a whole response in that thread and it got locked five seconds before I posted. Why do you hate me, invisible bearded man on the cloud?

 

[Michael S. Azrael]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife.

But all religious texts tell us what is allowed and isn't allowed, anything out side these bounds should not be allowed. Your right difference does cause strife but religion was the first institution to really say what is normal and what is different.

Prove it. Next time you try to make crap up, understand that people will call you on it.

A lot of our laws today are derived from Biblical rules of conduct. To look at only the bad that has come from religion is to see a whale and ignore an aircraft carrier. Carrying whales.

But why don't we then remove the damaging rules and beliefs from society?

 

[Iskenator67]

To give faith to the people who need someone in authority to give them a yes or no and have no free will of there own.

What's up with all the religious threads lately? It's like a virus or something.

 

[hyrulegaybar]

As I posted in another thread, religion doesn't cause strife. Difference causes strife.

But all religious texts tell us what is allowed and isn't allowed, anything out side these bounds should not be allowed. Your right difference does cause strife but religion was the first institution to really say what is normal and what is different.

If you want to go there, then actually the Code of Hammurabi did that. It codified and normalized the institution of slavery as well as class-based institutions. Religion was not the first, however.

Thank for that interesting fact and I may have been mistaken about it being the first but religion is still the most widely spread system that dictates what is normal.

Actually, again, I will point out that LAW is what dictates what is normal, and there are more secular governments in the world today than there are religions. And religions may dictate what the laws are in some places, but the laws came first, not religion.