Religion

[SpontaneousOrder]

Atheist or not you can't escape the fact that religion(s) are linked to a country's culture and history.

Lending even more weight to the idea that it's bulltulip.

They are also a good way of maintaining social order and to stop people doing things that could harm themselves and others. Though the latter doesn't work in all cases especially if they are a politician.

No, they are a way. They're also a terrible way.

One reason why people can claim to be Christian, Muslim etc and not practise that religion, and another reason why groups like Sikhs and Jews are classed as ethnic groups under English and Welsh law.

Religious labels and religions have nothing in common - other than the names. Arguably, claiming to be a catholic/muslim/whatever when you really aren't is even more moronic than actually being one.
And collective bulltulip is arguably even worse than individual bulltulip - at least an idiot's idiotic ideas are his own.

[SueEllen]

Lending even more weight to the idea that it's bulltulip.



No, they are a way. They're also a terrible way.



Religious labels and religions have nothing in common - other than the names. Arguably, claiming to be a catholic/muslim/whatever when you really aren't is even more moronic than actually being one.
And collective bulltulip is arguably even worse than individual bulltulip - at least an idiot's idiotic ideas are his own.

Sikhs and some groups of Jews can prove they are genetic from one particular geographical area, which is why they are categorised as ethnic groups.

Christians, Muslims etc regardless of denomination, group or sect can be from anywhere in the world.

Some people like to label themselves to explain why they do things that are different from other people. For them it's easier to explain they are X rather than they were brought up to think pigs were dirty. (And to hide the fact it isn't a good idea to eat meat from pigs in some hot countries for a variety of reasons.)

[d000hg]

Why "a" God not a "God"?

[DodgyAgent]

There are over 2 billion Christians and nearly as many Muslims in the world. Many scientists, mathematicians, doctors, philosophers etc. are of those faiths. It is your arrogance and ignorance as well as your darn right stubbornness to insist that religion has no intellectual value and all those people collectively (no doubt many follow blindly) are just following like sheep. If you were to ever remove this arrogant biased from your narrow minded view and sit down to read religious texts with an open mind then you might start to comprehend that.

The funny thing is that Islam actually advanced science tremendously in its early years and a lot of the founders of the branches of our sciences were muslim scholars and philosophers! Shock horror! That is not to say Islam is the correct religion just that religion does not have to oppose science and in fact any religion that has genuine value should advance mankind.

I can bet my house that you have never sat down and pondered over a religious text or thought about the purpose of our futile existence. Look how pathetic we are without a purpose- we come from some sperm and an egg and we will end up a stinking corpse.

I don't advocate any particular faith just that all religions should be taken on merit and not our preconceived pathetic views.

Religion has no factual or logical merit. It is based on pure superstition. Just because we do not understand something it does not mean we have to retreat into fantasy.

[Zero Liability]

What does religion bring to science, that money or philosophy alone could not bring to it? Why do we need to add on the superfluous nonsense? I mean I acknowledge that many religious tenets are/were codifications of common sense survival tactics, ethical principles etc. But they're not necessary for it, at all...and I don't see how resorting to such nonsense adds meaning to one's life. That is for the individual to purpose for themselves. No need for some sky tyrant to bestow it upon us.

[NotAllThere]

Why don't I see an option with AndyW's mum?

Fixed. And I voted for you all as well.

Why "a" God not a "God"?

Perhaps he intended to use brackets, but was too drunk.

[scooterscot]

Fixed. And I voted for you all as well.

Perhaps he intended to use brackets, but was too drunk.

My a's come out differently these days. One minute it's 'ah' the next 'aye'. On special occasions I use och aye.

[NotAllThere]

If (godExists) {
consequences1;
}
else
{
consequences2;
}

It's not possible to prove nor disprove the existence of God. Some people say "ah, yes, but extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof". Usually because they read it somewhere.

1) Who is is the final arbiter of what constitutes an extraordinary claim? I might say that the non-existence of God is an extraordinary claim, since it's obvious to me that God does exist.
2) The existence of an objective reality might be an extraordinary claim, and that's proved (!) extraordinarily hard to prove.

If you think God exists then your world view will be coloured by that, and you'll see the good that your particular belief systems intrinsically holds. If you think God doesn't exist, then you might hold the view that religion causes harm because it's based on a falsehood.

Therefore I'm going with that it's a matter of choice based on evidence from personal experience for those who've ever actually thought about. Please also observe my sig.

[Lockhouse]

I was brought up in a religious home. As soon as I was able, I rebelled (Here's a clue, I was 13).

With all the wondrous things in the universe, it has to be the ultimate conceit that God created Man in his own image.

Do as you would be done by has served me well.

[scooterscot]

As a species it's amazing how far we've come; from chasing down wildebeest in sub-Saharan Africa, the written word, and space flight. I wonder where the enlightened half of the human race will be when ISIS has a space program.