Buddhism has the equivalent of deities in bodhisattvas. Pure Land Buddhism in particular is a deity-based sect. Buddhism also recognizes the existence of deities, but declares them to be trapped in the same cycle of samsara as humans and lower beings. One question I've always had about Buddhism is the seemingly impossible goals of the bodhisattvas that promise to stay behind and enlighten every soul, when doing so is functionally impossible. Given the amount of time it would take to enlighten every living thing, and knowing we only have several billion years until Earth can no longer support life, it just doesn't make sense. Of course since bodhisattvas are omniscient, they should know that it's impossible. But they are also supposed to be free of deception, so there must be a secret plan to somehow enlighten everyone on the planet simultaneously before our sun dies and all life ceases to exist on planet Earth.
I am an atheist so what I say has some bias. However... ALL organized religions are complete farces. They seek money and power through fear. And every single one of them that I have studied has major inconsistencies in their doctrines. Anything truly created by God would be infallible. At least as God is generally defined. That said, believe what you will. Just don't use your religion to try and dictate how others live their lives. And could we just stop starting wars about it all? "God wills it!" is a piss poor reason to kill each other.
Ah, Marcus Aurelius put it so nicely. Just live your damned life! Who gives a damn if we are here by creation or due to...atom smashing! Personally, I think organized religion hurts more than it helps. Now for a reference that only the most badass among you will catch. In this world, is the destiny of mankind controlled by some transcendental entity or law? Is it like the hand of God hovering above? At least it is true that man has no control; even over his own will.
I do not believe in any God, I have yet to find any evidence of the existence of one, all the claims made about God can be explained by natural phenomena. Religions in general are both internally incoherent, and externally as well as really make no sense.
Good Gods, I have opened the Pandoras Box :lol: Hmm, interesting. I kind of approve, except with the fact that the muses would actually exist. Theres propably still some artsy part of the brain helping us out. What? This is the first time I have ever seen anyone making this sort of a statement. Please explain, I just had a Religion exam a few hours ago, and Im extremely interested
I believe he is talking about the Council of Nicaea, in which supposedly the biblical canon was discussed and voted by the attendees, resulting in a 'compilation' of the texts accepting/affirming the divinity of Jesus, and excluding the ones affirming he as only a human. As far as I know, there isn't really any document proving this. ps: never read or watched The Da Vinci Code? =O
The bible wasn't thrown out of the sky by God, it is in fact and we know it to be an anthology of various works from 2000 years before Christ (assuming he existed at all) all the way to years after his death. It was written by men and as such it is very easy from an outsider perspective either as an atheist/agnostic such as myself or someone who is any other religion apart from Christianity exactly why there is so much sexism & bigotry generally as well as morally abhorrent situations which were either a direct result of God or God gave them the thumbs up to do it. For religious people they have to justify why they pick and choose passages in the bible without completely nullifying the ability to trust anything within it and calling into question the moral value of the document as well as the timelessness of it, and while some passages can be interpreted in a way which makes it conform to our society the bibles position on slavery for example really cannot be re-interpreted in a less harsh way. For me it's all or nothing, the bible is either wrong in places and therefore, it's position on anything is moot as evidence for God, not because being wrong makes all your opinions moot for us everyday folk but because not only unlike us in real life does the bible not provide any evidence for what it claims but it also is supposedly the infallible works of God or inspired by him and therefore, it should be when I read it the most fantastic book I have ever read that should make perfect sense, not contradict itself and provide me with an understanding of the universe which is correct, it does none of those things. It says that the world is flat, it implys a young earth and creation (notice I said implys), it allows for slavery, genocide, infanticide, it is intolerant to homosexuals as well as other groups and inspires millions of people to give up there mind in order to become sheep. If there is a God rest assured he is nothing like the God of the bible. Although there probably isn't a God.
I think we should first ask ourselves how to define God/ a god. Are we just using the term to describe a (living?) being beyond our comprehension or do we specifically refer to one of the Gods described in any religion on this planet. If we're refering to the religious version of God there is no such thing. If we're refering to a godlike something there is a chance that there is something... but since it is beyond our comprehension we cannot.. atleast not yet.. understand it.
God exists for one reason because people want to know what's going to happen if they die. Death is scary when you think about it one day you can be living it up then boom your dead believing its ok i was good so it will be cool but how can you do that to your selves. nothing thats it nothing religion is like a drug that ups you when your thinking about death but in all reality sure i Want to Believe that my fathers watching me and my mom is too but i really believe that if god is real he exists in one place your heart. thats were your dead relatives are and loved one's the worlds a scary place because of the big guy in the sky there was a great war where many catholic and muslim good men died because some guy was born there religion keeps us back we just have to realise were all of one thing the earth im not a hippie but if there was a god that would be it the planet that would be the one "creator" the earth is already proven to be a sentient being that supports life and the sun and moon created it I really dont like forcing people my beliefs but there thats what i think if the illusion of god is gone ther wouldnt be a reason for difference maybe even war because if all of us just get together and realize the planet is our creator we should treat it as such and share the "creator's" resource's in one big pot. Oh god I really Hate Hippies But now I sound Like one
Ive never been really afraid of death. I mean, come on, eternal life? Sounds bloody boring. I just want to die when the time comes.
lol reminds me of a joke when watching a comedian on television when they talked about druids being recognized as a religious faction in England the comedian went 'That is bollocks! Nature exist!' I am an athiest, as a Chinese conservative I denounce religion and the belief that there is a God up there, regarding the different religions I have my own theory that they are merely some very wise people intending to encourage people to achieve moral superiority. The people who comes up with religion knows psychology quite well, human beings are often not very rational, particularly in times where rationality is not praised as it is nowadays, the idea of having an invincible being on top of us is obviously a very tempting idea, particularly in times where science is yet as sophisticated and developed, hence the influence of this diety on the people is a lot greater then than nowadays. The God card is merely a tactic to those who came up with the religion. Many religions are pretty extremist in both their stories and the morals they teach, take Christianity for example, the acknowledgement of one God and no other is one that creates quite a lot of conflicts, but it keeps you believing in him/her/it, particularly when religion is a belief not rational understanding. You see that there are teachings that make sense but ultimately it is the emotion of believing in the diety that is making you follow them. Emotion is a lot more effective as a driving force than rational thinking. My take on the existance of 'evil' is pretty much the same as Christians do, that it is a challenge to the believers and they are to 'prove' themselves and strife for moral superiority, only that the challenge did not come from God but is simply mother nature which does not always act in our favour. One of the more challenging criticism on Christianity is when you go to hell for not believing in God. My take on that is it encourages the spread of the religion by the people who already believe in the certain religion out of good will, that they want other people to live in heaven as well instead of suffer in hell. As mentioned many of the rules are pretty extreme, for example the idea of loving everyone, the people who come up with the idea weren't expecting to create this utopia of everyone loving each other, they are not that idealistic, but they know there are people who are that way and they will try their best, try being the key word. It is the strife of moral superiority that is important, not actually achieving it. Here we have a bunch of very wise and genuine people who seek to improve human life and moral standards, but there also exist less genuine people who unfortunately are intelligent enough to use religion to achieve certain less genuine purposes. I have full respect to all religions, apologies if I have accidentally used strong words that offended anyone.
I am fairly devout Roman Catholic, but still very open to other interpretations of faith and existence. I say, lets all get along and see who has the last laugh in the end.
Religion (and science) is a sign of intelligence. Whether there is or is not a God it shows that the human race has progressed enough to understand its own existence. Just a way to explain why we are here.
No kidding. When it's your time, it's your time. And I really have no issue with it all just ending. Eternal life would get a bit boring after a couple of centuries. How done with it would you be after a couple of millennia? This is the only time you have. I personally choose to not waste any of it worrying about what happens "after".
That's actually a question that both intrigues me and frustrates me. It intrigues me, because no-one can say for 100% certain what's going to happen to your conscience when you die, and frustrating because the only way to find out is...well, to die, which (hopefully) won't be happening to me for a long time.
