Does it break your heart that we have that hideous war going on, innocent people and children are being slaughtered...all in the name of God?
It breaks mine. I think of my old beliefs fondly, like a dear friend I’ve lost, but having become agnostic puts my POV of that war in a whole different light. They’re slaughtering each other over a figment of their imagination. It hurts my heart.
I’m starting to think all religion is inherently bad.
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I’m starting to inherently strain to find something good about religion, we all seem to force our views and beliefs down the throats of others in the name of God, I definitely don’t think God wanted it that way, or he wouldn’t have given us freedom of thought.
Nothing new. In that area of the world it has been going on for 30 centuries or more (King David).
It is a shame but that will not stop the killing.
All in the name of “You are worshiping the wrong God!”
It is the sad disconnect between religion and spirituality, the violent difference between the undeveloped unthinking mind and the enlightened embrace of a forgiving loving God. It does break my heart, if those filled with righteousness followed the heart of their own belief system, this continual struggle would transform into peace for all.
Yeah, it’s insanity. War in general is insanity, at least for the “reasons” we do it anyway. I don’t think all religion is bad but I do think that it’s taken waaay too seriously and that all extremism is bad EVIL.
“With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil—that takes religion.”
—Steven Weinberg
God’s been good to me & a good influence. Humans always twist thing’s in ugly ways.
Many things break my heart, the current global and environmental state of affairs, evil sadists that cement kittens into pipes, throw their children from moving cars, starve their horses, beat their spouses, rape and pillage and purport atrocious cruelties of all kinds. The raging California wildfire scene is a sad situation as well and It also breaks my heart that I, a good woman, who has done everything right has ended up sacked by this fucking government and economy the last few years, but…what’cha ya gonna do? It is what it is.
Right now I am hanging out at my soon to be new home, “Twelve Trees Ranch” and going down to feed the horses and smell me some alfalfa breath and get a nuzzle or two. I just came in from watering all the geese and ducks and walking the dog, all there is, this moment in my current reality.
If I bleed out over the worlds misery I will deplete what little resources I have left to do my own bidding at this time. Compassion, like charity, begins at home.
You’re moving back to the country @Coloma??!!!
I know it’s popular to denigrate all religion but it’s not all religion that is at fault. The Christians aren’t killing anybody nor are the Buddhists. Even the Jews are arguably, defending themselves. The slaughter seems to be primarily in Islam and even there, it’s restricted to a few groups that are barbaric killers.
Like you I have little religion left in my life but I can’t help but admire those that believe so strongly that they risk a horrible death rather than give up their beliefs. It’s not religion that is the culprit here but rather the desire for world dominance. World dominance has been the culprit before and whether it is in the name of God, the master race, or anything else, it is the tyranny of evil men that creates this problem.
Which war? The land war between Israel and the Palestinians? The terrorism war that Al Qaeda has waged on western society? What exacty are we talking about?
@Jaxk The Christians stopped about 15 years ago. Still pretty recent, but I agree they seem to be fairly calm now. Unless you count Bush going into Iraq? That might count as Christians starting a war to some people. A lot of Christians also support Israel for religious reasons, so when they want to help Israel it might be religiously based. Not everyone, but some.
@Jaxk is not wrong. The official reasons for war and genocide may be religion, but the real reasons are often irreligious. Imagine learning that the civil war in the Sudan is in part a war over resources. Much of the disequilibrium in the Middle East arises from poor governance, but it has to be said that the interference of oil consuming countries, in their pursuit of fuel, has not helped at all.
My favourite story about one of the great Caliphs goes like this. A travelling holy man – Muslim – began a religious re-awakening on one of the great cities of the caliphate. In the course of his teachings he managed to inflame the Islamic citizens against the Christian citizens. In the riots that followed, much of the city was destroyed by fire and many people died. Because he was a holy man, he was not put to death: he was expelled from the city. Evidently the governor felt that different religions should co-exist peaceably. Christians and Jews lived very well under the caliphate. If different religions could live together without conflict then, why not now? Current evidence suggests that the reasons have little to do with religion, but more with the drive to power.
Yes. One of the main concepts that drove me to Atheism.
In the name of god or no, it used to, and to a point that was psychically crippling, but it doesn’t anymore, and a spiritual journey of sorts is what changed that for me.
When one identifies as we commonly do as persons living in a world of people, then it’s easy to be overwhelmed by these things, especially if one has a sensitive disposition.
When one identifies as (to put it one way) a spirit in a material world and sees the universality of this spiritual basis for our existence and extrapolates a step or two further, then all this war and strife can be reduced to karma being played out by beings that are holding fast to their imagining and experience. If it’s all a story on the big screen, the way to stop being hurt is to stop believing in the story.
And by karma I don’t mean payback for something that happened in a previous life. I mean a spirit-level fascination with an experience that engenders its repetition.
I puzzled this problem (various manifestations of humans subjugating humans) out for about 20 years starting in college, and this is where I’ve landed. I’m totally satisfied that this is what it’s all about, and as a result I’ve been more at peace with the world and myself than I’ve ever been.
Which one? Nearly every war in the history of the world was a religious war.
The sad news is that it isn’t religion’s fault. It is people. People suck and make the world a crazy place. I used to blame religion, until I realised it was just a social construct…. ideas on paper. People are the ones sending the bombs and pulling the triggers.
It breaks my heart that anything is done in the name of God.
Yes, It really hurts especially when innocent children are involved.The conflict in Gaza has killed more than 400 children and injured over 2,500. In Dubai most of the people have been boycotting Israeli products and companies supporting Israel. I consider this would be a peaceful means of putting international pressure on apartheid Israel.
With or without religion, people are still going to fuck one another up. If religion didn’t exist, another reason to wage war would be found, as violence is in our nature.
Either way, yes, it most certainly sucks.
Agreed @Symbeline,.Historically religion has been used as a way for the government to control their citizens. That’s why the crusades happened. The Roman rulers wanted to convert Muslims to Christianity so they could control them.
And war has existed long before Christianity. Not sure how fixated the Romans were on their gods before Christ was big, but just look on how they came, saw and conquered.
I think Rome’s original religion was pretty much like the Greeks. “Christianity” presented a way to rule the whole world.
Before organized religions, mystic Shamans have always been held with high regard, fear and awe.
If I’m not mistaken, the Romans pretty much ripped off their gods from the Greeks, indeed. I will gladly stand corrected if someone knows a lot about that stuff though.
@symbeline There were “gods” long before any form of religion. Everything unknown at the time was attributed to an unhappy/happy entity.
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Yes, but what she is saying is our current version of religion (Catholicism / Christianity) was stolen from the Greeks and modified from there.
The Greeks had a bunch of different gods and goddesses. However, the basic tenant of Christianity (going back to Abraham) is that there is only ONE god, so we had to invent saints to take the place of the multiple gods of the Greeks.
@DItchess Saints are basically humans that strive for Jesus perfect love & compassion for mankind. :)
I thought only the Catholics and a couple other Christian sects believe in the Saints? Don’t the Baptists, methodists, and the other evangelical born again types think the saints are part of why the Catholics aren’t real Christians? Because they pray to the saints?
@JlEslie i explain it as venerating saints through the prayers but it is Catholics. Mary & the Pope freak Baptists out.
Catholicism is the oldest Christian religion. They spun straight out of old Pagan Rome, which had a whole bunch of gods. I was speculating the having “saints,” instead of “gods,” filled that void for the new religion, which only recognized one God.
that is why they invented the “trinity”
I always think of Catholicsm as coming from Judaism. The Pope wears a yamaka afterall. LOL. Then I thought to convert the Pagans the Catholics lined up the holidays and incorporated rituals into their own celebrations.
It makes sense that the saints maybe took place of the multiple Gods and Goddesses that were common in other religions. I had’nt thought about it that way before. Makes perfect sense.
I always thought of it like this: it’s like a corporation, the CEO is a really busy guy, if a VP can take care of the problem the CEO need not worry, he can just oversee the operations. At times a problem needs to go all the way to the top, but if the people under him can handle it that’s good delegating. The saints have their specific talents, their specialties, like doctors, and you pray to the saint with the most experience in the particular area you need help with.
Well, it did come from Judaism. I mean, Jesus was a Jew. A radical one, too! It just kind of mixed Judaism and paganism together. I just wonder how much the Roman rulers modified the bible to suit themselves.
Probably a lot was to suit them.
I think of Jesus as being a a very spiritual Jewish boy.
Trying to give you GA, @JLeslie, but it won’t do it. Consider yourself GADED!!
YEs that is a good way to explain saints @JLeslie! My family tripped when I converted wooooeeeeee.
Yarmulke yamaka, same thing.
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