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Big problem with every religion

Corthos

Corthos

Great Old One
Covellite said:
It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.
M.T.
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Hmm... There are religions (and religious denominations, or persona beliefs based around religions) out there that don't assume that they hold a monopoly on truths, but feel there is truth in all points of views (even atheistic or non religious ones), and treat their faith as more of a philosophy. Hell, I'd consider myself a spiritual person, but I assume nothing.... Not even my own faith in God. My faith is a hope, but it could be proven wrong scientifically in the future. =/

Speaking of assumptions, the OP is a pretty big one in itself...

Edit: I love Mark Twain, but to apply the quote to ALL RELIGIONS is a bit of a leap...
 
Augustus

Augustus

…
Covellite said:
It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so.
M.T.
Click to expand...

That's just a problem with people in general rather than religion. Could be applied to just about any potential source of knowledge and still ring true.
 
arthra

arthra

Baha'i
It's always good to provide context to statements by well known authors like Mark Twain:

"There are those who scoff at the school boy, calling him frivolous and shallow. Yet it was the school boy who said, Faith is believing what you know ain't so."

-Following the Equator, Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar

http://www.twainquotes.com/Faith.html

Abdul-Baha in 1911 while travelling in London said there were three kinds of faith...

"There are three kinds of Faith:

first, that which is from tradition and birth. For example: a child is born of Muslim parents, he is a Muslim. This faith is weak traditional faith:

second, that which comes from Knowledge, and is the faith of understanding. This is good,

but there is a better, the faith of practice. This is real faith."

(Abdu'l-Baha, Abdu'l-Baha in London, p. 64)
 
A

ak.yonathan

Active Member
Knowledge is power, the more you know the more powerful you become, the less you know the more wimpy you are, so it's not true that what you don't know doesn't get you into trouble.
 
Covellite

Covellite

Active Member
Quintessence said:
When did we start knowing things for sure? Who is "you?"
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In a modern world, we are going through a long and complex process of mixing cultures and traditions, so everything can be accepted or questioned. Everything can be wrong if you look from a different prospective. Relativization of everything leads to possibility to be sure or unsure, based on your interest, emotions, walks of life, etc. So, you are right, we can't know things for sure. So, I guess most of us go "from station to station" (D.B.) and that is our reality.
I used that quotation (which could be replied on everything) from my own personal feeling: only in something you believe most can really hurt you. If you don't believe in something, or you reject something, you can never be "stabbed in your heart". Your own believes or religion can do that in a dangerous way.
The other thing is that the governments of the most progressive countries in the world keep religions immune from criticism along with contradiction that those countries are fundamentally atheistic (they operate with facts and religions operate with myths).
Questions like - who am I, what am I, what is life, why am I here, what is the world, etc, are metaphysical in nature and I would use them only as a spiritual practice, not to find true answer.
 
Covellite

Covellite

Active Member
ak.yonathan said:
Knowledge is power, the more you know the more powerful you become, the less you know the more wimpy you are, so it's not true that what you don't know doesn't get you into trouble.
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What you don't know could certainly get you in trouble, but you can't be hurt in a way like when your are fraud from your best friend or something like that...
 
Rival

Rival

se Dex me saut.
Staff member
Premium Member
Covellite said:
In a modern world, we are going through a long and complex process of mixing cultures and traditions, so everything can be accepted or questioned. Everything can be wrong if you look from a different prospective. Relativization of everything leads to possibility to be sure or unsure, based on your interest, emotions, walks of life, etc. So, you are right, we can't know things for sure. So, I guess most of us go "from station to station" (D.B.) and that is our reality.
Click to expand...

This is nothing new. Cultures and traditions have been mixing since ancient times. Folks were exposed to different modes of thought then and now. Religion and philosophy in especial.
 
Covellite

Covellite

Active Member
ak.yonathan said:
If you know a lot, then you won't be easily tricked. Again I emphasize: knowledge is power.
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I agree with you, knowledge is power.
If you are truly religious person, then you should have blind faith in myths and dogmas, and you are emotionally connected to your religion from the center of your heart.
Once, I lost my religion and I felt so alone and deceived that I believe I would always be sad.
 
A

ak.yonathan

Active Member
Covellite said:
I agree with you, knowledge is power.
If you are truly religious person, then you should have blind faith in myths and dogmas, and you are emotionally connected to your religion from the center of your heart.
Once, I lost my religion and I felt so alone and deceived that I believe I would always be sad.
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I disagree with you on the part where a truly religious person should have blind faith in his/her religion. I don't believe that religion should be immune from criticism and I think that a religious person should not just accept everything that his/her religion teaches but should view them with a skeptical eye. A person should believe in a religion because of some personal conviction, not because he/she is forced to accept some sort of dogma.
 
Covellite

Covellite

Active Member
ak.yonathan said:
I disagree with you on the part where a truly religious person should have blind faith in his/her religion. I don't believe that religion should be immune from criticism and I think that a religious person should not just accept everything that his/her religion teaches but should view them with a skeptical eye. A person should believe in a religion because of some personal conviction, not because he/she is forced to accept some sort of dogma.
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Religious criticism is not a real criticism. It is usually a debate about certain interpretation.
Religions usually criticize each other. Religions require blind faith, in opposite, you are not good believer.
 
A

ak.yonathan

Active Member
Covellite said:
Religious criticism is not a real criticism. It is usually a debate about certain interpretation.
Religions usually criticize each other. Religions require blind faith, in opposite, you are not good believer.
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No religions do not require blind faith. It is perfectly viable for a person to be believe in a certain religion because of facts not because of blind faith. Also, what I'm talking about is not about differences of interpretation or religions mocking other religions, what I'm talking about is about a certain person really questioning the basis of his/her faith. If a muslim for example decides to criticize The Prophet Muhammad PBUH for instance than I think that should be allowed.
 
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