Father Heathen
Veteran Member
And?Yeah, but that is the same with say orthodox communism.
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And?Yeah, but that is the same with say orthodox communism.
And?
It is entirely irrelevant whether there ever was a "True Prophet™" or what the original message was. Once an organization gains power, it changes. Holding on to the power becomes the first goal, no matter what it was before.When does an organized religion become dangerous?
I’ll use the Baha’i faith as an example for this thread.
Is the Baha’i faith dangerous? Should their political ideologies be opposed?
So, the Baha’is on this site are like some of the nicest people here, don’t get me wrong.
I was very interested in the Bahai faith at one point. They believe there should be a one world government which design is outlined in Baha’i scripture (at least from what I understand). This was a very attractive idea to me at first. However, looking back, I now see this as a possible danger to society.
Baha’is preach peace, sure, but what if Baha’u’llah is not a real prophet of God? Just some guy. There are only a few million Baha’is in the world right now, but imagine if there was a comparable number of them to let’s say, Christians (2 billion plus). We’d be in a lot of trouble I think.
One needs to only look at countries where religion has integrated itself with the political landscape. America has Christianity interwoven into their political system. Afghanistan is under Sharia (right?). Does mixing religion with politics ever result in anything good? No, they result in crusades and stuff like that.
I think this is when organized religion becomes dangerous. Supposing there is no prophet from god, then Mohammed and Baha’u’llah and other like figures are either delusional or con men. Either way, the influence that their religions wants to wield in politics is dangerous, not divinely directed.
I oppose the Baha’i world order, as well as any other religious order that seeks to exert its influence throughout the governments of the world.
Does that leave me opposing most religions?
What dangers of organized religion do you see?
Power in and of itself isn't a bad thing though. That can give us the ability to help communities on the large scale, as much as hinder them.
When does an organized religion become dangerous?
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I feel religion is peculiar. It preys on people’s belief in God. Religion claims to be an intercessor for man and God. It plays on people’s hearts like that. Sure, some people have just as strong convictions about their political beliefs, but I still feel religion is in a category of its own. It’s this that makes it dangerous, because people will be willing to do anything for religion, such as support a global theocracy.
When does an organized religion become dangerous?
I’ll use the Baha’i faith as an example for this thread.
Is the Baha’i faith dangerous? Should their political ideologies be opposed?
So, the Baha’is on this site are like some of the nicest people here, don’t get me wrong.
I was very interested in the Bahai faith at one point. They believe there should be a one world government which design is outlined in Baha’i scripture (at least from what I understand). This was a very attractive idea to me at first. However, looking back, I now see this as a possible danger to society.
Baha’is preach peace, sure, but what if Baha’u’llah is not a real prophet of God? Just some guy. There are only a few million Baha’is in the world right now, but imagine if there was a comparable number of them to let’s say, Christians (2 billion plus). We’d be in a lot of trouble I think.
One needs to only look at countries where religion has integrated itself with the political landscape. America has Christianity interwoven into their political system. Afghanistan is under Sharia (right?). Does mixing religion with politics ever result in anything good? No, they result in crusades and stuff like that.
I think this is when organized religion becomes dangerous. Supposing there is no prophet from god, then Mohammed and Baha’u’llah and other like figures are either delusional or con men. Either way, the influence that their religions wants to wield in politics is dangerous, not divinely directed.
I oppose the Baha’i world order, as well as any other religious order that seeks to exert its influence throughout the governments of the world.
Does that leave me opposing most religions?
What dangers of organized religion do you see?
religion, whether organized or not, becomes dangerous when it is used to override someone else's free will and autonomy to be who they are and doesn't directly harm other as selfWhen does an organized religion become dangerous?
I’ll use the Baha’i faith as an example for this thread.
Is the Baha’i faith dangerous? Should their political ideologies be opposed?
So, the Baha’is on this site are like some of the nicest people here, don’t get me wrong.
I was very interested in the Bahai faith at one point. They believe there should be a one world government which design is outlined in Baha’i scripture (at least from what I understand). This was a very attractive idea to me at first. However, looking back, I now see this as a possible danger to society.
Baha’is preach peace, sure, but what if Baha’u’llah is not a real prophet of God? Just some guy. There are only a few million Baha’is in the world right now, but imagine if there was a comparable number of them to let’s say, Christians (2 billion plus). We’d be in a lot of trouble I think.
One needs to only look at countries where religion has integrated itself with the political landscape. America has Christianity interwoven into their political system. Afghanistan is under Sharia (right?). Does mixing religion with politics ever result in anything good? No, they result in crusades and stuff like that.
I think this is when organized religion becomes dangerous. Supposing there is no prophet from god, then Mohammed and Baha’u’llah and other like figures are either delusional or con men. Either way, the influence that their religions wants to wield in politics is dangerous, not divinely directed.
I oppose the Baha’i world order, as well as any other religious order that seeks to exert its influence throughout the governments of the world.
Does that leave me opposing most religions?
What dangers of organized religion do you see?
When does an organized religion become dangerous?
I’ll use the Baha’i faith as an example for this thread.
Is the Baha’i faith dangerous? Should their political ideologies be opposed?
So, the Baha’is on this site are like some of the nicest people here, don’t get me wrong.
I was very interested in the Bahai faith at one point. They believe there should be a one world government which design is outlined in Baha’i scripture (at least from what I understand). This was a very attractive idea to me at first. However, looking back, I now see this as a possible danger to society.
Baha’is preach peace, sure, but what if Baha’u’llah is not a real prophet of God? Just some guy. There are only a few million Baha’is in the world right now, but imagine if there was a comparable number of them to let’s say, Christians (2 billion plus). We’d be in a lot of trouble I think.
One needs to only look at countries where religion has integrated itself with the political landscape. America has Christianity interwoven into their political system. Afghanistan is under Sharia (right?). Does mixing religion with politics ever result in anything good? No, they result in crusades and stuff like that.
I think this is when organized religion becomes dangerous. Supposing there is no prophet from god, then Mohammed and Baha’u’llah and other like figures are either delusional or con men. Either way, the influence that their religions wants to wield in politics is dangerous, not divinely directed.
I oppose the Baha’i world order, as well as any other religious order that seeks to exert its influence throughout the governments of the world.
Does that leave me opposing most religions?
What dangers of organized religion do you see?
When it gets possessive of individuals.When does an organized religion become dangerous?
I’ll use the Baha’i faith as an example for this thread.
Is the Baha’i faith dangerous? Should their political ideologies be opposed?
So, the Baha’is on this site are like some of the nicest people here, don’t get me wrong.
I was very interested in the Bahai faith at one point. They believe there should be a one world government which design is outlined in Baha’i scripture (at least from what I understand). This was a very attractive idea to me at first. However, looking back, I now see this as a possible danger to society.
Baha’is preach peace, sure, but what if Baha’u’llah is not a real prophet of God? Just some guy. There are only a few million Baha’is in the world right now, but imagine if there was a comparable number of them to let’s say, Christians (2 billion plus). We’d be in a lot of trouble I think.
One needs to only look at countries where religion has integrated itself with the political landscape. America has Christianity interwoven into their political system. Afghanistan is under Sharia (right?). Does mixing religion with politics ever result in anything good? No, they result in crusades and stuff like that.
I think this is when organized religion becomes dangerous. Supposing there is no prophet from god, then Mohammed and Baha’u’llah and other like figures are either delusional or con men. Either way, the influence that their religions wants to wield in politics is dangerous, not divinely directed.
I oppose the Baha’i world order, as well as any other religious order that seeks to exert its influence throughout the governments of the world.
Does that leave me opposing most religions?
What dangers of organized religion do you see?
When it says there are is's or oughts.When does an organized religion become dangerous?
That sounds completely unrealistic. There are all sorts of things that can conquer you no matter your thoughts or your actions.Instead, we should be cultivating control of our own thoughts and actions, so that danger and its consequences can no longer conquer us.
That sounds completely unrealistic. There are all sorts of things that can conquer you no matter your thoughts or your actions.
Ah. Your last sentence sounded like you thought there was some way to avoided all consequences.That is irrelevant to my point about striving to shift our focus onto what we have genuine control over.
Nothing unique.
Religions cause harm when they promote things that cause harm. They do good when they promote things that do good.
Same as any other belief system.
There isn't even any meaningful way to differentiate a religious from a non-religious belief system imo.
I kind of disagree.
For me, a big part of ethics, morals and values are the motivations that underpins them.
To give a simplistic example....
If a society wants to outlaw anything, like rape for example, one should ALWAYS - no matter the subject - ask the question "why"? And that question should have a well reasoned answer.
"because our holy book forbids it" is not a good answer.
So when you say that when a religion (out of religious conviction / principle / belief) does good things, then I don't consider them good by default. If the motivation is corrupt then I can't consider it good - no matter the outcome.
Especially when it comes to organizing society, I think the motivation / reasoning behind the rules imposed are far more important then the rules themselves.
Religions / theocracies tend to impose rules based on whatever their holy books / stories say. They'll outlaw / allow certain activities not because of a well-reasoned argument and / or rational motivation to do so, but rather only because they feel like their god / religious rules requires them to do so.
That is really what the danger is when religious organization amass too much power. Not really the rules they implement themselves, but rather the reason why.
To put it simplistically: if the reason they outlaw rape is "because god says so", then there is nothing moral about that. If such a "motivation" for installing a rule is acceptable... then one has NO ARGUMENT against for example allowing slavery if the god in question happens to think slavery is not a problem.
It's a can of worms.
So, if the question here is "when does organized religion become dangerous", my answer is: when they gain too much power in combination with the idea that it is acceptable to impose rules with as motivation "because god says so".
Today he says "be nice to people".
Tomorrow he might say "commit genocide and infanticide to people X because they are against me".
I think when they've gained he ability to enforce their beliefs on others.