Evolution vs Creation

#421

You honestly believe this?

Faith/hope in something bigger is what inspires people, and in that aspect, religion “works” (or destroys, if you look at history).

The problem here is that a lot of people refuse to give up on the idea something “bigger” watching over them. What if they would realize there is nothing. Nothing to inspire, nothing to believe in, nothing to gain strength from. People just don’t want to give all of that up, so religious people will keep existing.

Religion is a sign of human weakness. It’s a safehaven for people that fear life, that don’t have the strength to face life.

#422

And I bet you are calling today “Thursday”. :stuck_out_tongue:

#423

And I still say “Oh my fucking god” when idiocy occurs even though I don’t believe in one.

#424

I know what you mean :stuck_out_tongue: , but that rule doesn’t apply to me cause it’s mainly Latin word right ? named after certain god “theo perhaps?”, in arabic this day is called “Khamees” which roughly translate into the fifth day.

#425

It’s actually named after “Thor”. I’m willing to bet that a lot of scientists use the word “Thursday” to describe today or the word “Mars” to describe the next planet out from the sun. What’s you’re point?

#426

Ever read Nietzsche?

#427

Nope I haven’t. Only philosophers I ever read, were those that had direct influence to a certain art-era.

#428

It may be surprising to you, but ancient Jews didn’t believe in afterlife as Christians believe in Heaven and Hell. Most likely biblical Sheol was at first a synonym for grave, later it was imagined as a dark place where all people go after death, but you don’t have a life there as before death - you can’t even praise God there, you can’t reunite with your friends or family, there is no hope for anything at all. I’m sure that Hebrew religion wasn’t “made up” because people feared of death.

#429

Shame, you seem to have something in common regarding your views of religious people.

#430

It still doesn’t change the fact that religious people pray and wish for a prosperous life.

Sounds like I should check out his philosophies then.

#431

It’s a view that lots of people come to, it’s hardly surprising.

#432

My question becomes: What is the difference between cults and religions? I’m willing to bet that a great majority of those that call themselves ‘religious’ would call cult-members things worse than any atheist or Nietzsche would call the religious. Yet, it’s okay to insult cults this way but not religions.

#433

I thought the difference, at least at a state level, was numerical. Once your cult passes a certain number of members, you become a religion.

The distinction is, primarily, one of legitimacy. Cults have the inherently negative connotation of being a group of nutters wearing tinfoil hats and screaming about the end of the world before committing mass suicide. Religions are respectable, intrinsically good organisations who care about making life better. Or, at least, that’s the images that are conjured up of the two.

#434

Only a handful of cults are suiciders. However, most major world religions have “End Times” scenarios directly in their dogma. Judgement Day?

However, you just proved my point. If someone said that a religion was “illegitimate” that has an “inherently negative connotation of being a group of nutters wearing tinfoil hats screaming about the end of the world”, you would be labeled as an anti-religious zealot that hated religious people. “What’s the difference?” I ask.

#435

Religions just have belief systems that even non-believers can understand, while cults appear a bit loony in what they preach. Size doesn’t matter, just opinion.

#436

/
This

#437

Well, I don’t personally understand the belief systems of religions beyond simple human morality. All this crap about “original sin” or stuff like that is something I cannot understand. It appears “a bit loony” to me.

#438

Religion is not so different from conspiracy theories, superstition or political ideologies. They are a bunch of bullshit believed by a large group of people, who find comfort and self confirmation in the fact that many other people believe in the same bullshit.

The only other value that makes the world religions any different from the others is age. They are much older piles of bullshit than the others. That is all. And while religious belief, if channelled into the right direction, can in fact concentrate the energy of the masses towards a most noble goal or at least an astounding achievement (the building of temples comes to mind - whether or not it was a noble undertaking, it was a huge achievement to build cathedrals and domes), it is also as easily abuseable for destructive purposes, such as the worst one: Holy War.

During the ages which were dominated by religions, little to no real technological progress took place, and much that had been invented before was forgotten. Only when scientific thinking emerged from its long slumber at the end of the middle ages, progress started to kick in and quickly, in a matter of a few hundred years, when before there had been thousands in almost stagnation, led to the industrialization and development of advanced technologies which would still be far beyond our imagination, had religion managed to withhold this way of thinking any longer. And don’t think that the churches didn’t try to. They did their best. Thank God (!) it wasn’t enough.

Believe what you want, as long as it doesn’t lead you to deny science. Because science is the only thing that’ll get us off this planet before it becomes inhabitable again, as it has frequently been in the past and will be countless times in the future.

#439

Well, it was the particular way he worded it.

We’re lacking some creationists in this place.

#440

There used to be a few, but they tend to get berated out.

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