What is the purpose of religion?

Why do people even observe a religion?

What is the good, the bad, the purpose, the reason for 'believing'?

Why do you observe the belief system that YOU like?

 

Control the people. In the ancient times an intent to explain the things and as I said control people.

 

Nah, its clearly just to bugger atheists.

 

In an earlier age - as for journalists now - everything had to be personalised, so that forces became super-people, gods. Some people who were thinking more about proper human behaviour were caught up in this thought-pattern, which is why we need to work hard as understanding what they meant in human terms.

 

　
　
Without a doubt organized religion is a social enigma.

 

No offense Iolo, but the stuff in most religions is not complex or difficult to interpret in human terms.

"28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[e] 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[f] 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[g] There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)

 

did you notice that the 'people' are who asked, just as Iolo did? An interpretation was rendered by jesus (a contributer) and that is what YOU hold but there is more to unfold and what the 'awaiting' has always been about.

it is why 'no false witness' is so important. if no one lies and misleads, then misguidances can and will fade, eventually.

That concept of knowledge evolving it is exactly why torah, midrash, to bible then quran as bodies of literature, theological application and the diversity of sects currently exist. Knowledge is evolving within the given environments throughout the world.


But i also asked, Why do you observe the belief system that YOU like?


my reasoning: what are the items that are of equal footing to all?

 

reconnect with Allah (God).

know.
love.
be grateful.​

serve only Allah (God).

 

There being no God, we then find some equivalent - 'truth', perhaps - and concentrate on the second, and all sorts of interesting questions like whether people brought up in 'religion' love themselves enough to make this sensible. The key point with Jesus is the equivalence 'other people (in practice) = God as traditionally treated'.

 

Why is it sensible to believe that we don't love ourselves enough to know how to treat ourselves and others?

The concept of selflessness is not complex.

Neither is God.

Indeed, if we are wondering about the concept of love and humanity, we must begin with the question about why 'religious' humans are the ones that are delienated in your view.

That indicates a flaw in your human centered view does it not?

 

never left. Every breath, every step, every action............... it be!

when knowing 'all ah' it as HIM, then no worries: The experience is Love!


Take my word for it, what you are seeking, you live within. You are capable and just dont know it!

 

never left. Every breath, every step, every action............... it be!

when knowing 'all ah' it as HIM, then no worries: The experience is Love!


Take my word for it, what you are seeking, you live within. You are capable and just dont know it!

 

Many of the Christians around me were brought up to hate their 'selves' (with the whole force of their selves) and (by sheer self-will) to become, yes, 'selfless'. I wasn't: I was brought up a christian socialist, but even then that seemed a complicated idea. We need to learn from the Buddhists that 'selves' are just a boring illusion.

You two seem to be into the idea of 'God'. It seems to me that it is not so much complex as too simple to fit with what we know of the universe(s), but if it works for you, fine.

I was brought up within a religion, and it shapes my assumtions, doubtless, and the way I express my thoughts. I can't see any particular flaw, but then, I am happy to be imperfect.

 

we have to reconnect.
because we fell apart.
we are not in our natural homeland.
we are abroad here on this material world.

and this world might take you away from your creator,
makes you feel the absence, which in fact isn't true.

although he is the nearest to us,
and he knows us better than anyone,
we may run after this world and loose our priority.

our priority to serve him.

connect with him...
not how we want it, how we feel ok with it...

but how Allah (God) wants us to.
live our lives accordingly.
with deep love and gratitude.

islam.

you are correct. we live within.
love is important and fundamental correct too.

we should think about love.
how it makes us feel.
and then think about the one who created love.
how beautiful and perfect he is.

and then maybe think about us loving him more than anything.
because he already loves us.

in islam;
whoever loves Allah (God), becomes your brother/sister.
i love this idea too.

 

The purpose of religion is social control. Society wants people to behave in a manner that is consistent with the health and longevity of society and religion is the best method yet devised to do that. Religion defines harmful and healthy, right and wrong, positive and negative. It helps keep people from descending into chaos. Every singe society in human history has had religion. That's how effective it is.

 

Not according to the Hebrews who insisted on having a King (Societal Overseer) as opposed to being subject to the control by God through His ministers. The Hebrews were adamant in their demand for an earthly king. Of course God warned them of the effects of having an earthly king, but they maintained in their demand. So, control was turned over to the earthly king(s)... The history since that point is self explanatory. Religion was ousted as the controller.... long time ago.

Not very effective. If religion were that effective, then governments around the world would still be under the control of the Church, instead of the church (here in the US) having to contract with the state and Fed for tax exemption. If the churches were in control, the states would not bar the pulpit from making recommendations on political candidates.

 

Yep and every society has had wars. Care to try for a better society? One w/o war and religion, or are your stadnards too low?

 

No, most Christians are brought up to hate sin. For example, when we lie (and most people do) we actually feel bad about it - as opposed to just saying, "Oh well, people lie - so what the hell!", we actually acknowledge that it was wrong and .... here's the kicker ... we apologize. That is called being humble, not self loathing. Its a good thing.

God is indeed very simple. In fact, the more we learn about the universe, the more God makes sense. The Big Bang? Its true. So where did it come from? A super massive, super tiny ball of pure energy that just pops into existence and explodes for no apparent reason? You see a lot of exploding universes out there? Do you see a lot of purposeful natural explosions out there? It indicates design.

But what really makes the most sense, and something that no science can answer is the why. Why are we here, what is our purpose? The idea that all this exists as some kind of cosmic accident, a by product a random chance makes little sense and indicates that we are here for no reason to do nothing. Well, God says otherwise.

But this is complicated to you? That you live to learn and find truth? That you exist to explore to learn to care and grow? To become MORE like God?

So complex that billions get it? Atheists, apparently, do not? Therefore its complex? Or perhaps its just complex because atheists are twisting it into something it was never intended to be?

 

The point is Religions are an old concept, that exists since we had the first cultures. Monotheism is also relatively old. Religion were there to strengthen social bonds of a group. It also helped control people and explained the stuff that couldn't be explained.

Now a days Science explains many of the things that we're attributed to God(s). Therefore the draw of religious teachings got weaker. With the rise of the catholic church in Europe Christianity became a way to control people and extort them. This in turn led over the centuries to the Idea of separation of state and Church, because Church led states we're problematic. Many of the early american Settlers we're prosecuted in their home country.

Religion was and still is to some extend a effective tool to rally a group of people and to forge a group identity.

 

Were you there to witness why religion was formed? No? Then all you have is hearsay contributions from others. Where is your objective empirical evidence to support your claims?

So you are saying now that Science is the controller of religious matters? Where is your objective empirical evidence to support your claims?

So are political campaigns; Girl Scout Cookie drives; Save the Children foundation; Stop Smoking campaigns; etc. so what is your point?

 

I guess it was an early human attempt to understand the world around them. We still get the occasional frog-rain and flock of birds falling dead, adverse weather, droughts, floods etc... I figure early man seeing the Northern Lights put two and two together and got five.

Later, individuals realised they could gain notariety from it (witch doctors and the like), then organised religion came and could really control the masses and gain huge wealth from it. Hell, it was only in the 1996, when the last Catholic work house in Ireland closed. It's purpose was to incarcerate young women their whole lives and force them to labour for the church, which the church would be paid for.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magdalene_Asylum

Watch the The Magdalene Sisters to experience the horror of it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magdalene_Sisters

 

No i wasn't, were you there when the events of the Bible took place or the Qua ran ?
I came to the conclusion after reading up the topic. There are people that study such topics........

About you're objective and empirical evidence, i read you're position on Science text so lets get a bit further and dismiss observable facts because as soon as we have an observer the system is not same as without one. So basically we can't know anything.....

No Science is not the controller, but since there are less and less gaps in our knowledge. There is no need for Religion to explain Thunderstorms, Rainbow, How the solar system works etc. Science produced evidence that contradicted the Religious teachings on such subjects and therefor made them unattractive to a part of the population.

Yes so are Sport events etc. Those things are not inherently bad, same for Religion.

 

Nothing remotely like us could be in a personal relationship with every human (let alone every thinking being, let alone know all their private thoughts). Leaving aside the scientific arguments, the notion of such a - what, process? being? notion? - being in a 'fatherly' relationship with us (yet demanding constant praise like a non-okay fifth-century B.C. tyrant) is a metaphor a good deal too far in my book.

 

In Genesis, omnipotent god's personal relationship with the early humans was so detatched that he was surprised to find out about the sinning going on. Hell, he didn't even know (when there were only two people on the planet) that one of them had broken the only rule he gave them, until Adam confessed.

 

you wouldn't know common sense

scientific matters control you being on this forum and the proof is you really dont matter

it looks like he said, 'the weak minded dont have to be alone'