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Why Religion?

Evangelicalhumanist

"Truth" isn't a thing...
Premium Member
Protection Racket
Protection Racket.png
 

Firemorphic

Activist Membrane
A religion properly implemented is the suit, hose and helmet a firefighter uses when on the job, a poorly (or lack thereof) religion is like a firefighter expecting to put out the fire by walking into the house and spitting on the flames.
 

PoetPhilosopher

Veteran Member
That's a poor comparison. Religion and spirituality are nothing without each other. A religion without spirituality is a dead practice and spirituality without religion is a lost child in a large crowd of adults.

Alright. Well, I guess, at least I gave us something to talk about.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
...spirituality without religion is a lost child in a large crowd of adults.
Pure adhominem against the spiritual but non religious which exposes your own pride in vaunting your type as the more mature type without the advancement of any evidence to support such a claim.
 

George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
So, it would be just your opinion?
It's just subjective?

Then there is no such thing as an "advanced soul", only your opinion.
A judgment can be based on a lot of objective sound reasoning as I believe mine is in this case. Making objective judgments over a body of facts is an important human reasoning skill.

We each must do our own reasoning which holds sway over our jurisdiction of one person.
 

MJFlores

Well-Known Member
If you believe in god, meaning that you have a personal relationship with god, what need do you have for religion?

Isn't it essentially other people telling you how you should have a relationship with god?

I have religion
It is not a personal relationship
I believe a personal relationship is a state of being connected to a human being or another person, another human.
I believe personal relationships are ties lower than religion which the latter term could only be appropriate between humans and God [or in some cases gods and goddesses]

My belief in my religion has the Bible for a basis, not from other people telling me how to worship God, what to do and what not to do.

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What does that mean?
Not all religions are of God.
If a religion is not of God, it is like having no religion at all because God is not listening.
 

Etritonakin

Well-Known Member
If you believe in god, meaning that you have a personal relationship with god, what need do you have for religion?

Isn't it essentially other people telling you how you should have a relationship with god?

True religion is defined in the bible as "to keep one's self unspotted from the world and to visit widows and the fatherless in their affliction"

That translates to not sinning and making things better for others.

Sin is the transgression of the law -the law is from God and should not be changed by man -though it must be applied to various cases at times (such as with the system of judges of ancient Israel).

To not sin, one must keep the Ten Commandments (the first of which includes obeying various judgments which have changed over time).

That is HOW to have a relationship with God (though it becomes more personal and even interactive with obedience and prayer, etc. -as God said if we draw near to him, he would draw near to us.)

Most could agree with most of the commandments -as they would create a wonderful world if everyone kept them -but the principles behind even those which specifically mention God are valid even if a self-aware God did not exist.

Unfortunately, much religion today is people pretty much making stuff up and changing that which was given from the beginning.

Perhaps the most confusing part of the "biblical" religion recorded therein is that even that changed over time somewhat -but God was doing the changing thereof.
The commandments never changed, but various judgments changed drastically over time.
This must be viewed in the context of God making gods of semi-intelligent humanoids in the span of 7000 years overall (not that the earth is that old or that other species did not exist previously) -and in about 100 years of individual experience.

In other words, God created situations by those judgments -sometimes from unpleasant to horrible -in order to give us the necessary experience base and to create the wonderful future which will be.

All of our modern human history is a personal relationship with God -all declared beforehand for those willing to study (though some are unaware) -who said he would refine us and make us pure as fine gold -to the end that we inherit the earth and then the entire creation -and can then be trusted to not destroy it.

It seems harsh, but every creation is essentially made by exactly-opposite forces -so that wonderful future required that we experience and eventually reject and overcome the opposite.
 

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
If you believe in god, meaning that you have a personal relationship with god, what need do you have for religion?

Isn't it essentially other people telling you how you should have a relationship with god?

Depends on the religion. Some religions are all about developing that relationship, and nobody is really telling you how at all. That part is up to you.
 

Shad

Veteran Member
If you believe in god, meaning that you have a personal relationship with god, what need do you have for religion?

Isn't it essentially other people telling you how you should have a relationship with god?

Humans like authority figures babbling certainties. It makes us content instead of having to deal with doubt.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
Because merely "believing in" one's gods is armchair theism and of little to no value. The way of life that is religion is all-encompassing, providing mythos (story) and ritual (action) that articulate values in a way that usually connects you with a broader community.

Then again, I really don't know what people mean by "personal relationship." Makes no sense to add the word "personal" in front of that considering all relationships you as an individual have with something else are personal. :shrug:
What use is story, action, and values about a god that don't include belief in the god? You can connect with community without a "god."

"Personal relationship" simply refers to what a person adds to the relationship apart from the fact relating. For instance, many Westerners relate to Santa Claus (fact), but that that relationship may be love, hatred, admiration, fear, etc., is the personal aspect.
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
Because people function better as a group than on their own. Religious groups encourage and help each other. That sense of belonging, of community, gives strength to people that otherwise wouldn't have it. Being with others who we share feelings and beliefs with makes us stronger and happier.
But all groups do that. What does a religious group add that other groups don't?
 

Willamena

Just me
Premium Member
A religion properly implemented is the suit, hose and helmet a firefighter uses when on the job, a poorly (or lack thereof) religion is like a firefighter expecting to put out the fire by walking into the house and spitting on the flames.
Hmm...
What if a personal phoenix stands alone in the centre of the flames, unharmed? What need, then, do they have for clothing*?

*...Emperor's
 
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