What makes one religion right?
Why do people follow the bible?
why do people believe that the bible is the written word of God?
wasn't the bible written by humans for humans, if so then what did God have to do with it?

There is not one religion that is better than the other, at least not in my opinion.

Religion is simply a self-reassuring mechanism used by people who fear their ignorance.

Right. Religion is a way to deal with one's inevitable mortality and to explain the unexplainable. I do believe in some higher "being" or maybe that isnt quite what I mean...maybe a higher "enlightenment" I could be quite easily swayed by the ideas taught in Buddhism. Right now I could only consider myself agnostic.

I agree also. I have asked these same question to other people. I've asked catholic, born agains, etc..., They seem to always have the same answer, Have faith. That is when they do answer me, sometimes they get very offended and call me nice words like a**hole, or jacka**. I find relgion interesting, but I also find most of it to be mans imagination.

So - why do you keep coming back if it's that bad? You could always post an interesting topic yourself

No religion is 'right'. I personally believe that religion is only a suggestion that people follow because they cannot accept the fact there may be no life-after-death.

I believe that after death, instead of heaven (eternity in utopia), you are in a state of constant sleep, dreaming for eternity. Depending on the kind of life you lived...you will have nightmares, pleasant dreams, or any other kind of dreams. Maybe instead of hell and heaven are only dreams, no one can say I am wrong, but no one can say I'm right. That's what's so great about religion, there is no wrong or right, it's only belief.

DrewM I'm sorry if I offended you. The reason I keep going back is like I said I find religion interesting, I like to see what people believe in, that's it nothing more. I find it interesting that people go to war for religion when there religion tells them that violence is wrong. I find it interesting that a person can get so mad because I don't believe the same as them. I also find it interesting that a person can pick up the bible and believe everthing thats in it, but they can't believe in what is in front of there face. I find it interesting that when something good happens people say "thanks to God", but when something bad happens people say "God works in mysterious ways".

While i would describe myself as atheist, I also consider religions may learn me a lot of things. Reading the Bible, the Koran or other religious text can make us think about many philosophical issues.
I agree with many teachings of christianity even if I do not believe in god. In fact, people like Jesus or Buddha were philosophers rather than religious leaders.
Religions as institutions are able from the worst as well as the best. I appreciate the pope's position on some points but think the catholic church has a terrible responsibility with aids and safe sex, as well as regard to women's rights.

Astro-

I have to disagree with you about the Pope (As you should now by now, I like ol' John Paul). You need to criticize the Catholic church's position on aids and safe sex in context of all the Catholic views, since Catholicism is not intended to be followed in part but as a whole. And the Catholic church also condones abstinence from sex until marriage. You might this view is impractical, but the Catholics are not the ones having problems with aids and other venereal diseases, are they?

I remember reading a short story once, titled "The Nine Billion Names of God". I think of that title when reading these posts.
It's really tough to accept the complete idea of the big-bang theory of life, as a solitary idea. Creativity alone is no picnic either. A blending of the 2 makes the most sense, some (thing, GOD, Jehova, CPT Picard, person, creature, name your own) thing got the ball rolling to get it all started. Sure, we can draw all kinds of lines of various types of evolution, without a doubt. It took more than a cosmic roll of the dice a gazillion years ago to get us here today.
Read your Bible and learn from it. While it is presented as the Word of GOD, remember also that it has been handed down, copied, translated, copied and translated again, any number of times in the last few thousand years. Not all the answers are found in those pages, not by a long shot.

Originally posted by Leper
Astro-

I have to disagree with you about the Pope (As you should now by now, I like ol' John Paul). You need to criticize the Catholic church's position on aids and safe sex in context of all the Catholic views, since Catholicism is not intended to be followed in part but as a whole. And the Catholic church also condones abstinence from sex until marriage. You might this view is impractical, but the Catholics are not the ones having problems with aids and other venereal diseases, are they?

I do not say the Pope is not coherent. He is. His point of view makes sense for a catholic.
I agree with many things the Pope says, such as his position for peace… I respect him for that. But I also disagree with his position on safe sex.
The problem is that he is being listened carefully and obeyed by millions of believers, specially in Africa and Latin America, where his prohibition of contraceptives literally cause the death of thousands. Of course many, many catholics die of aids ! If the pope said safe sex is acceptable under some circumstances, he would help all those who are fighting aids.

I was raised Roman Catholic and became more and more disillusioned by the teachings, women are definitely not equal to men in the catholic church and I have many other problems with the Catholic Church. I no longer consider myself Catholic and am being swayed toward Buddhism. I could make a personal grievance list a mile long that I have with Catholicism. What I had to go thru to get my children baptized, what my Mom is currently going thru to get an anullment (my father left her! and it seems the burden of proof is on her!), original sin, I could go on and on.

Another Recovering Catholic I see. I've been down that road, even had the most important job during Mass (as an altar boy) and that was ringing the bells to let everyone know when God was there. I broke off with the church many years ago. We could probably compare notes!

LOL, yes es, we probably could compare notes. Unfortunately my Mom still has such a pathetically unwavering faith in Catholicism that she is still waiting to hear if she is "worthy" of an anullment after 2 years! I know quite a few "recovering" catholics" (that is the perfect term for it!)

Annulments are a nightmare. Friend of mine went through that drill some years ago. Multiple interviews with priests, multi-page forms full of questions regarding the most intimate details of the applicant's sex life. Oh yeah, a real picnic. Given what we now know of the recent sex scandal, ....well, let's not go there. I've long maintained that the catholic church has no business being involved in birth control: be that by abortion, pills, IUD, vasectomy or any other accepted method. Same goes for pre-marital & marital counseling. Since there are no female priests, no married priests, and none permitted to procreate, they have no business nosing around there. Basically, "if you don't play the game, then don't try & make the rules"

"Organized religion is the opiate of the masses." - Karl Marx
Whatever religion makes you happy is the "One" true religion. Faith is what you make it...

What makes one religion right?

i suppose if a religion were correct in its theories then it would be "right." but no one knows if one religion is really the one with the correct beliefs. maybe all of them have a little bit of truth to them, but i dont' know the truth so who am i to say. maybe it's all just bullshit.

Why do people follow the bible?

i guess it's meaningful to them. or it's what the were taught to believe. or it provides them with answers to questions to which no one has the answers.

why do people believe that the bible is the written word of God?

probly cause they were taught to believe that.

wasn't the bible written by humans for humans, if so then what did God have to do with it?

if the bible was written by humans for humans, then god had nothing to do with it. if there is a god. which i doubt.

Not all religion is right, as a matter of fact most religions are wrong. I believe that christianity is the only true religion, but I like to hear what you believe and why you believe it. I believe through 100% pure faith, nothing more, not by evidence, but by faith.

I do not follow the bible I follow God, I use the bible as a tool.

According to the bible, Jesus Christ has been the bible since the beginning of time. It sounds weird, and I'm still trying to figure this one out.

Religion is a way on how people try to reach a higher spiritual level.

Elementlight I am a practicing Druid.

How do you know your religion is right, I would bet if I asked someone that believes different from you if there religion was right they would feel they are correct and you are not.

I don't understand your sentence about Jesus being the bible sense the beginning of time?

How do you know the bible is really a tool of God? God did not make the Bible the only "real true tool" of God is what we see around us that is not man made.

element, i think i've spotted a contradiction.
you say that christianity is true and right, but then you say that you don't follow proof but instead faith. so you have faith that christianity is true and right but no proof that it is. however, your faith won't make this true.

and i have a question for you and that question is: why? why believe in something when you have no proof for it? why go on faith, what good does it do? im really curious as to why people are religious, and why religion exists at all.

The word "believe" precisely shows that there is no absolute certitude. When you say that you believe in something, that precisely mean that there may be doubt about that thing but that you think it is true anyway.
Even Jesus on the cross doubted about His Father.
(No, I have not suddenly becomen a believer myself but I just had this conversation with a christian friend and I liked he way she explained it).

Sputnik I know your young but when you meet mister right don't you think you'll go on faith as knowing him? After all who really knows another, faith is important. You must have faith in things everyday, otherwise you'ld run around waiting for the end to come. Everyone has faith in something it's just that some have a faith in a higher power. Faith turns into believe, believe turns into a type of reality.

I have a question for atheist you believe there is no God, or Gods so where is your proof? Atheist can no better tell where things started from then religious folks can.

Originally posted by mad dog
I have a question for atheist you believe there is no God, or Gods so where is your proof? Atheist can no better tell where things started from then religious folks can.
I for one realize that there is no proof and probably can never be...this may make me somewhat of an agnostic rather than an atheist, but such titles are subjective anyhow. Besides which, in any debate, the burden of proof lies with the "pros" rather than the "cons". And yes, we can't tell the beginnings of the Universe that well, but we can make educated guesses (theories) based on observations of the Universe now, this is how the Big Bang theory and also the theory of evolution came about.

mad dog, i'm not claiming to know how things started. but if i ever do find out for sure then i'll let you know.

Thanks Sputnik, but I imagine if something like this ever happens everyone will know with in a short time :)

Borg I agree with what you are saying, but lets say we can prove that the earth started "big bang theory". Now lets say evolution is also proven, we still need to fiqure out were the first ray of life came from???? How did the first living thing come to be? This is the question that needs to be answered, not did we come from monkeys or Adam and Eve, but what is life and where did it start?

i've read the first few books of genesis and that isn't exactly clear about things either. kinda like, god was always there to begin with, though we don't know how long, he just starts there. then he says all these things are and then they appear. doesn't answer very much. i know this wasn't your original point but i'm just pointing it out.

Quote: people like Jesus or Buddha were philosophers rather than religious leaders.

How can you say that Jesus was just a philosopher rather than a religious leader?

I would agree that Jesus was certainly against the religious rulers of his day. His strongest woes were directed to them, but he claimed to be the "son of God."

In essence, he was either telling the truth, or he was a lunatic. How could you justify that he was just a philosopher?

Religion are for persons who want other person to think for them

Then again maybe those that aren't religious don't have enough brain power to see what religion means.

Oh this is directed to Trunkks

Originally posted by trunkks
Religion are for persons who want other person to think for them
Religion is, quite simply, a crutch. People lean on it in times of hardship, and they use it in times of uncertainty. It explains things that are unexplainable, comforts people in times of need. That is the function of religion, as I see it.

Borg I disagree, some what, not all religions are a crutch, and not all people use religion as a crutch. I believe in God, but I do not think he is around to baby sit me. He invented life we evolved to were we are right now on our own. You are correct though some folks do just turn to religion because that is the "in" thing to do. They also have a fear of dying and are afraid of not going to a happy place.

Originally posted by mad dog
Borg I disagree, some what, not all religions are a crutch, and not all people use religion as a crutch. I believe in God, but I do not think he is around to baby sit me. He invented life we evolved to were we are right now on our own. You are correct though some folks do just turn to religion because that is the "in" thing to do. They also have a fear of dying and are afraid of not going to a happy place.
I'm sorry, you are correct. I would be more accurate in saying most religions. Christianity, certainly, and Judaism and Islam, the big 3.

Well I think the reason there are atheist's in this world is that people have chosen to put themselves above God. I think atheist's feel superior intellectually than christians and their non-belief is in actuality an attempt to deify themseves on some level. Almost like a "Look at me, no hands" kind of thing.

Yet, for all atheists "vast" intelligence, they still do not know how humans were created. What caused it all. They put their faith in science hoping that science will confirm that they are in fact "godly" because of their disbelief. Yet science itself is not exact. You have to make logical "conclusions" about how we were created. These logical "conclusions" are an atheists faith. That is the function of atheism the way i see it.

I think science and religion have to work together, even when science proves something it still has not proven NO God.

those are pretty strong words you chose, havok. a lot of generalizations. i don't claim to have any great intelligence, or high status, i'm just living how i believe. i don't see any proof of a "god," so i chose not to believe in one. i didn't say that beyond a shadow of a doubt there is no god. i define myself as an atheist because i disbelieve god. i can only speak for myself. and i don't claim to know about how humanity started. and that is one of the things that makes me an atheist instead of a theist, that i am fairly comfortable for the time being in not knowing everything. i'm not going to accept the bible as 'The word of truth because quite frankly from what i observe i don't think it explains very much at all. it doesn't have anything to do with my ego, and i know many atheists who would challenge what you say because it's stereotyping and generalization.

Originally posted by sputnik
those are pretty strong words you chose, havok. a lot of generalizations. i don't claim to have any great intelligence, or high status, i'm just living how i believe. i don't see any proof of a "god," so i chose not to believe in one. i didn't say that beyond a shadow of a doubt there is no god. i define myself as an atheist because i disbelieve god. i can only speak for myself. and i don't claim to know about how humanity started. and that is one of the things that makes me an atheist instead of a theist, that i am fairly comfortable for the time being in not knowing everything. i'm not going to accept the bible as 'The word of truth because quite frankly from what i observe i don't think it explains very much at all. it doesn't have anything to do with my ego, and i know many atheists who would challenge what you say because it's stereotyping and generalization. I put my opinion out there FOR challenge sputnik. This is a place where thoughts should be expressed, whether you or anyone else agree with them.

then i am challenging them. i dont' believe what you say about atheists to be true, that we only believe what we do to feel superior to christans. i actually think it a bunch of broad generalizations and stereotypes. it's equivalent to me saying that all christians are arrogant and intolerant, which i would not say because it is a glaring stereotype.

Originally posted by sputnik
then i am challenging them. i dont' believe what you say about atheists to be true, that we only believe what we do to feel superior to christans. i actually think it a bunch of broad generalizations and stereotypes. it's equivalent to me saying that all christians are arrogant and intolerant, which i would not say because it is a glaring stereotype. I know that not everyone thinks as i do. But i base my opinions on the actual atheists that i have met in my lifetime. Not people who profess what they feel over the net. Words are cheap. As with everything, actions are what count. And if what i think about atheists is stereotypical, it also happens to be factual in my travels.

Originally posted by HaVoK
Well I think the reason there are atheist's in this world is that people have chosen to put themselves above God. I think atheist's feel superior intellectually than christians and their non-belief is in actuality an attempt to deify themseves on some level. Almost like a "Look at me, no hands" kind of thing.

Yet, for all atheists "vast" intelligence, they still do not know how humans were created. What caused it all. They put their faith in science hoping that science will confirm that they are in fact "godly" because of their disbelief. Yet science itself is not exact. You have to make logical "conclusions" about how we were created. These logical "conclusions" are an atheists faith. That is the function of atheism the way i see it.

you don't say anything like some athiests i have met seem to think....you just rant about how atheists want to put themselves above god. i have a good reason for thinking your post is stereotypical i'm not just doing this cause i'm pissed off that you're "dissing" my philosophy. i could definitely go into that too, but i'm trying to make the point that you seem to have applied what you think the beliefs of a few atheists are and tried to stretch it to cover the entire atheist population.

Originally posted by sputnik
you don't say anything like some athiests i have met seem to think....you just rant about how atheists want to put themselves above god. i have a good reason for thinking your post is stereotypical i'm not just doing this cause i'm pissed off that you're "dissing" my philosophy. i could definitely go into that too, but i'm trying to make the point that you seem to have applied what you think the beliefs of a few atheists are and tried to stretch it to cover the entire atheist population. Ok......you're argueing semantics here. I'll change my statement to say that " Every single atheist i have ever had religious/philosophical discussions with, some of whom i have close personal relationships with, try to put themselves above God". Is that more to your liking....or would you like me to word it even more politically correct for you so that i dont offend anyone in the entire world's sensitivity?

I made a statement. You didnt agree with the statement so you challenged what i said. I explained to you the reason why i felt the way i do. Now you want to challenge me because I didnt word my first statement the way you like? You sure seem pissed to me. :confused:

dammit havok this is getting tedious. can we get at each other's throats about something more interesting now?

Originally posted by sputnik
dammit havok this is getting tedious. can we get at each other's throats about something more interesting now? Yes sir! You dont happen to be a Cowboy fan do you? :D

ugh, never. i'm not a big football fan but if i know one thing it is that i despise the dallas cowboys. much like how i despise the new york yankees, who are evil incarnate.