Religion

[Shadowshard]

I have a little intellectual topic to discuss (Wisemon, here's you're cue....)

Why does man have religion? And why are some alike,(e.g. islam, christianity, judaism) and others different(e.g. shinto, buddhism)?

Give me some of your thoughts.

[urban dream]

There's not much to discuss here, if you ask me. It's generally accepted that man has religion because it is in his nature to ask questions, and if he can't find answers, he'll just guess and start making them up. Some religions, such as Judaism, Christianty and Islam also have the additional function of keeping people under control with their moral codes and so on. The ten commandments, for example, were exactly the rules needed to keep what Israeli society was back then under control.

And as to the question as why some are alike and some not, there's really nothing at all to debate, because it's all facts. The first three all evolved from the same basics but parted somewhere down the line, so they're similiar but not identical. As for Buddhism (which Shinto is based on or at least closely related to) -- that was created in an entirely different part of the world where the basics of the three previously mentioned religions were mostly or completely unheard of.

[The Infamous Boss Reo]

Reassurance and piece of mind.

[Wisemon]

People want something greater to believe in than what they've been shown. They want something bordering on immortality, life after death, and a higher power. Deep down, they know it probably doesn't exist, unless they're really gullible, but only a small percentage of people will admit to themselves that they're faithless. As far as specific religions go, get ready to be offended.

And as to the question as why some are alike and some not, there's really nothing at all to debate, because it's all facts. The first three all evolved from the same basics but parted somewhere down the line, so they're similiar but not identical.

Yep, they parted ways, and I know where they parted. It started with Jesus and his Christians parting from the Jews. He took all the Jewish laws, and threw in stuff about loving your neighbor and not charging interest. Today is the day that people celebrate the resurrection, the "proof" that Jesus was for real. Historians now believe that the resurrection was a "Weekend At Bernie's" (this quote is another personal copyright).
Islam took the Jewish and Christian laws, changed the holy day to Friday, and in order to catch on with men (the rulers of the world), they threw in a part about having four wives. I don't know how they can have four wives when they keep killing all their women in honor killings, but that's their problem.
I believe that the older a religion is, the more legitimate it is, because supernatural religious stuff just might've happened further back in history, but we know it didn't happen recently. Based on this logic, Islam is a crock, and Buddhism, the oldest surviving religion, has its merit. From an objective standpoint, it's simpler than the other religions, and it kind of makes more sense. More importantly, it takes the fewest leaps of faith. My personal beliefs? Education, obstacles, perseverance, and a continued lack of meaning have forced me to believe in nothing but myself. These are my thoughts on religion.

[Red Mage Dragon Tiamat]

I don't think much about religion. Well it must be for some ppl like a hold on something.

[Rikaryo2000]

*shrugz* ........I've never really saw the need 4 religon

[Red Mage Dragon Tiamat]

well I have in my pass that i have a religion, but i think it only is there to fill the field on there, coz I don't care about that much

[Shadowshard]

Hmm...interesting.

Thank you for the input...I am Catholic, though it is forced upon me, and I didn't, and don't, see the point of it. Now for my opinion...

I believe that basically religion was born as either a way to tell people what to do without actually straight out forcing them to, or as a way to answer questions. But now, in this day and age, we have many scientific explainations for those questions, such as 'How was the universe made?', and it is obvious that we(here I am talking about the U.S. society) don't listen to the values that it has to say...so how are they still intact? I believe that after the previous two generations die out, many religions will die out in the U.S. as well.

And as for my second question that I had, the religions are the same mainly because many came from the same area; the Middle East. Shinto and Buddhism are from the Far East countries, so they have more of a value spin, and less of a single divine being.

[Wisemon]

Well, you wanted an intelligent discussion; you got UD and me, so you cued the right guy(s). I wanted to offend somebody, so now I'm cuing MDM.

[Red Mage Dragon Tiamat]

Somehow the intelligent talking in this topic makes my brain want to explore. (see, I offend myself XD)

well, how about this. Religion can be evil too if you look what is going on at the Earth right now. Religion is the reason for starting wars. Religion is the reason for act in a rassistic way to others (like some fuckers did 60 years ago)

Don't wanna say religion is bad, but religion is very often used to start fights and declare wars.

On the other hand can religion calm down and give people a save feeling. Well it might be a thing i cannot understand, coz I don't believe in it.