In the physical sense, No.
There is no "supreme being", no "supernatural". Please don't argue with science.
Did Moses part the Red Sea, and was Jesus resurrected from the dead?
No chance. Please don't argue with science.
Why do we live our lives with such passionate adherence to such false doctrine?
Why do we choose to argue with logic?
In our age of science and technology, we walk into church, and temple, and mosque, and give our souls to nonsense.
The establishment of Religion is outdated, and we need to stop being ignorant.
We think we have the right to dictate others lives because a compilation of fallacies and tall tales demands our adherence, and abstractly has a opinion on every aspect of our lives. What gives us the right to tell two men they can't profess their love for each other? What gives us the right to prevent medical breakthroughs through the use of stem cells? What gives us the right to tell a women she must have a baby?
The Bible?
God?
Are you kidding me?
We are going to let ancient fictional literature dictate and affect how we live our lives?
And what about when religion goes beyond social issues?
What about when religion is used as justification for hijacking planes and flying them into buildings? What about when religion is used as justification for violence and murder?
But wait, I can't say that, because religion brings people together... it unites, it heals, it accepts, it creates community. Well I'm sure that is the intent, but does it really?
Walk into almost any church and I bet you money you will find rooms filled predominately with the same race. 90% White, 90% African-American, or 90% Latino. I will also bet you the majority of the families in the church are either rich or poor.
So is religion really universal? Does it really create community? Or does it just isolate, and segregate our society even more?
I mean just think about it logically...
Say you are Christian... you have different beliefs then Jews, which have different beliefs then Muslims, which have different beliefs than Hindus.
Also taking into consideration... Protestants practice separately from Baptists, who practice separately from Catholics, who practice separately from Presbyterians.
Granted Iraq is on the brink of a civil war between Sunni's & Shiite's, and they are part of the same religion!
It is like a math problem, you multiply the number of different religions, by the number of different sects of each religion, and you find yourself with a lot of differences, a lot of separation, and a lot of problems.
And another thing... if religion is meant to teach morals and ethics, what is the functionality of having multiple religions and sets of beliefs?
Shouldn't morals and ethics be universal? Shouldn't they transcend differences in scripture, practice, ethnicity, country of origin, etc, etc?
Shouldn't the right and wrongs of human behavior be the same for all souls who walk this earth?
And do you really need an establishment of religion to teach you those morals and ethics?
You don't need to listen to biblical scripture every Sunday to be a good person.
You don't need to force yourself to accept the illogical in order to be part of a community.
You don't need to pray to a God in order to reflect and have hope.
You don't need religious justification to give back to those who are in need.
Religion is false. Religion is outdated. Religion is harmful. And Religion segregates.
But you know what...
If you need it to have hope and faith, then practice it.
If you need it to be a good person, then embrace it.
If you need it to give back to the world, then accept it.
So if you need religion to live a full, moral, happy life, then ignore my bantering, and forgive my big mouth.
But promise me,
If you do need it,
Don't let your needs affect and hurt the lives of others.
You have a right to believe, but not a right to impose your beliefs on others.
With the upmost respect,
The Grip Doctrine.
31 comments:
Finally someone had the balls to say this shit
damn that does take guts to post this, and props on your points
it is weird taking this criticism since i have gone to church since i was a baby,
but sadly some of your points are logical and make a lot of sense, and ring a lot of truth,
but you are harsh at some points
it really does seperate us if you think about it, and it a lot of the stuff they teach about the history and shit its unbelievable
good points in the article. credit again for standing up
Amen brotha.
What say you and me go down to the promenade and argue with the militant christians? You know the ones that have the whole setup with the mic and a list of scientific evidence somehow disproving atheism as a viable thought process?
I guess the biggest is is that when you say, "don't argue with science", there is still no real scientific proof about the origins of the universe.
Theories, yes, but not 100% certainty. You can't prove their is no supreme being, just like a person can't prove this scientific theory....in both cases it takes a little faith.
The other points have to do with people misinterpreting the teachings of their religion. People use religion for violence...and those people are crazy.
but the teachings of religion are bullshit anyways... its all bullshit and lies... they brainwash you
Well your totally missing my main point....
religion separates, not unites.
In defense of organized religion, for myself and most people I know, the point isn't the factual basis behind the stories. Most, if not all, Old Testament stories (the basis for my religion) were made up as part of a c.600 BC propaganda campaign by a King Josiah to justify his invasion of Samaria.
However, the point of these stories isn't literal. What they do is allow for my family, myself, and anyone else who wants to, to come together into a sanctuary, both literal and physical. When I go to Temple and pray, it isn't because I think some old man is going to give me what I want. It is because religion gives me a place, both a physical and mental place, where I can put aside all the shit that goes on in my daily life.
When I pray, there are no AP tests. No cell phones, iTunes, blogs, or limit problems. II can take the time to use a thousands-of-year-old tradition and focus on what should be my priorities. Religion gives me a place where I can talk to my image of God and decide how I, as a human, want to live my life.
In my opinion, that is the true beauty of religion. Far from entering "into church, and temple, and mosque, and [giving] our souls to nonsense," I think that by entering a place of sanctuary, be it a Temple, a party, or a bubble bath, we can connect to who we are once the modernity is pulled away.
Granted, that has nothing to do with flying planes into buildings, but I think it's why most of us like religion.
To echo your comments, if you want to be atheistic, more power to you. I invite you to come to my Temple and talk with us about peace, love, harmony, and all the other non-religious topics we discuss at length.
Just remember: by blanketly saying that religion is an evil while ignoring the help it gives to many of us when we go through hard times, you are just as bad as any crazy fundamentalist who says you'll go to hell.
Ed#2....
Here, here. common ground. very eloquently put...
Editor 2,
you are missing the point though,
we know religion does good for the inviduals,
but it does more harm, then good to society..
to society, and the world as a whole. all religion does is create barriers, boundaries, and differences.
You can have sanctuaries without religion.
grip editor 2,
while i see your point,
i think the author addressed taht in his last two paragraphs, about how if you need it in your life, thats fine, just dont let it affect others.
so take your religion, the author isnt trying to take that away.
but on the whole,
i think the author brings up a good point of how it brings people apart, and is used as justification with social and political issues, hurts lives, and segregates and causes problems in society.
your point is taken though.
Accepting religion and God as absolute and valid concepts is no more ridiculous than accepting evolution and the above article as valid concepts or truth. It is in our nature as humans to create order in life. Humans created language, and we constantly seek truth in the semantics of language. As you have made very clear, God as well as religion is purely fictional and should not hold any control on our lives. But why, sir, do you adhere to language-a man made concept-with such passion? Language dictates your life. Semantics make you feel in different ways, and your mind functions in terms of this artificial thing called language. When you say the word desk your mind automatically conjures up thoughts of a wooden mesa with four posts attached to it. But what the fuck about the word desk actually means desk? It's nothing more than a sound-a sound which we have manipulated into truth-a sound which is just as abstract and meaningless as God. It's all relative-your words, our words, and the bible's words-meanings come from the beholder. You may believe that the collection of words and sounds formulated in your article are more valid than the bible's words, but you must realize that you yourself are an ardent follower of an artificial doctrine as well. If you understand and acknowledge how insignificant language is, only then you may actually think for the first time. But as long as you blindly believe in the meaning of your language and the artificial constructs of the world created through your language, then it is impossible for you to even understand what religion is.
Your analogy is interesting and def. stimulates the mind.
But in context of this article, and this article, it is irrelevant.
Language is used as a means of communication, not as a means of guidance.
The analogy doesn't work.
And if religion is in the eye of the beholder, then why the fuck are people so insistant on talking there eyes and there beliefs and putting htem on others.
religion only does harm as a whole. not invididually
it doesn't matter that the words have nothing to do with our thought processes. They are a way for humans to connect and communicate, as it religion.
@sam. Amen. Your right to freedom of religion stops at my face.
the author is right,
it may be good for the individual,
but religion is bad for society. and illogical.
Eh. I'm not so sure about how unique religion is in creating boundaries. I mean, I think it was last season that a SF Giant fan was stabbed to death in the parking lot of Dodger Stadium after the Giants beat the Dodgers.
In my experience, religion can bring people of diferent groups together. We have a family friend who is devoutly Orthodox Christian (he has actually been credited by many with starting the radical evangelical political movenemnt after Roe v Wade).
While we disagree with him on religious and political matters, this doesn't affect our friendship. He still came to my Bar-Mitzvah, enjoyed the service, and I've been to Orthodox churches with him.
The only problem with religion is when people CHOOSE to turn it into a divider. However that is in no way unique to religion. Look what nationalism did to Europe last century; WW1 had zero religion and killed 10 million people.
Granted, there have been religious wars, but religion has the ability to bring people together. Unfortunately, many people use it, along with race, homeland, and sports team, to divide. Taht isn't per se religion's fault.
you are completely wrong...
baseball separates people when you take it to an extreme.
religion does it naturally.
just because he is your friend doesn't mean he isnt seperate
But being seperate isn't bad. That's the attitude that leads to racism. Saying that just because something seperates makes it a bad thing means that anything that seperates is bad.
The only problem with seperation is when it is taken to the extreme, whether that is in baseball or jihad.
yes. and thats why religion is so fucken ridiculous. and that is why the separation is such a big deal...
because people don't take it as baseball.
it is such a big deal to people. and they are so defensive of there religions, and are so into it, and because they ahve so much personal interest vested in there lies, it becomes a problem....
if people didnt take religion seriously, it wouldnt be a problem
but they do.
so the separation is bad
but the seperation is bad because people are intolerent. People are not intolerent becuase there are differences.
You're confusing correlation and causation.
The majority of world religions aim to give man a feeling of purpose, a philosophical direcection, and to quel our instinctive fear of death. Baseball, while it can result in violence and separation, is often not as important to people as a supreme being that can whisk them off the face of the earth on a whim.
I dunno... That "Supreme being" is sounding a lot like Ryan Howard on a hitting streak...
i had always considered myself to be a bit of cynical of the idea of religion in general for many of the same points you brought up. yet in the course of completing several interfaith vists/activities/discussions on behalf of my jewish confirmation class i was amazed at the number of people from not only my own religion but also christianity and islam (to name two) that fully and completely had pledged themselves to their god of choice, be it jesus, allah, or any other. to these people jesus HAD saved them, having a clear cut belief in something bigger than themsevles brought them from (excuse the cliche) the depths of despair or something similar.
people have found something to live for, something to give their lives meaning and fullfillment, simply from beliving in inanimate figureheads and very very old text. while we may not all share the same faith or even belief in something bigger than ourselves, i think it's necessary to recognize that religion serves a much larger purpose for millions of people daily.
which is exactly why josh recognizes and acknowledges that group in this article... at the end he talks about how if you need religion in your life to be a good person, be happy, etc etc, then go for it, embrace it... but dont put your beliefs on other people...
so whenever religion is used as justification for social and political stances it is absolutely ridiculous and absurd because religion is false, period.
if people need it in their lives to find meaning and calm... good for them, then they should use religion,
but its complete bullshit to take fiction and try and use it for anything other than your own personal practice
i gotta say...
you are right other anonymous.... it does have deep meaning and help for some people,
but it really is deadly and destructive...
it has crept its way and influence into politics and it has broken up and divided nations and groups..
it really is our societies greatest ill.
I'm gonna disagree with those who say that religion is obviously fiction.
While there is no scientific evidence to prove religion, it is impossible to disprove. The parting of the Red Sea? mpossible! ...Unless, of course, there is an omnipotent God who can part it.
Same thing with all the other miracles and stories.
Just because something doesn't fall into your narrow definition of what can occur doesn't mean that it cannot ever happen.
Remember, God is supernatural. Therefore, by definition, God falls outside the jurisdiction of the natural sciences. In the end it all comes down to faith.
basically, its bullshit unless your dumb enoughtto have "faith"in it
But as soon as you have faith in it, you become the smartest person in the world
thank you for writing so cohesive a statement. to deflect the various opposers: go read the fountainhead. ayn rand, in some respects, is right. the need to worship something larger than yourself and whatnot, is unecessary, and, in fact, it tends to be detrimental. the human being's capacity for original thought is what propels our civilizatin forward, nothing else. God did not inspire Watson and Crick etc., they used their own minds to come up with their ideas. as such, the idea of God is really just an excuse for un-creative and un-thinking people to let someone else have the control.people need to take control of themselves, and stop listening to others, even if they are as "all-powerul" and "all-knowing," as God.
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