Fear

[confused453]

Do you think most of, if not all, the people who believe in Abrahamic religions do it out of fear? Fear of going to hell, eternal torture, or being punished by god...

Are there any religions out there where people believe purely out of love and compassion, where there is no relation to fear of any kind?

 

[Lynix]

For me, Fear is a powerful tool that has been used by enemy of humanity for centuries to keep humanity ignorant of its abilities or else. What i got by researched is ,The hell is just a concept of enemy to keep humanity feared,in my understanding.

 

[mycorrhiza]

Many people follow Abrahamic religions because they're afraid of death and want coherence in their lives, but I think it's far from everyone. Mostly, people are brought up in a religion and they simply believe it to be true.

I'd say that naturalistic pantheism is never followed out of fear. It doesn't promise eternal life, nor does it promise a loving God or objective morals. It is followed out of love for our Universe, of which we all are a part.

 

[Breathe]

Do you think most of, if not all, the people who believe in Abrahamic religions do it out of fear? Fear of going to hell, eternal torture, or being punished by god...

No.

Are there any religions out there where people believe purely out of love and compassion, where there is no relation to fear of any kind?

Yes.

 

[Me Myself]

No.

I think most believe in such religions because they grew up on them and never questioned them much.

Now, fear has contributed, given that fear is one of the reasons they cease questioning or doubting if they start, but that is an indirect reason. It is not the reason why they believe initially, it is a very powerful contributing factor for avoiding them to get out of it though.

Fear of hell makes no sense unless you first believe in hell.

 

[confused453]

No.
Fear of hell makes no sense unless you first believe in hell.

But what if you threaten a child with god/hell, to make him/her behave? And then you explain who god is, and what hell is.... And when the child grows up, he/she starts believing in that kind of religion, out of fear that happened during the childhood.. Isn't that a good example how fear forces one to become religious?

Now what if you're the parent of that child? Would that be the first step on how to get your child to become a believer?

 

[confused453]

No.

Why?

Yes.

Why?

 

[confused453]

Funny how people stop believing in Santa Claus, but keep believing in their religion/book/faith..

 

[confused453]

For me, Fear is a powerful tool that has been used by enemy of humanity for centuries to keep humanity ignorant of its abilities or else. What i got by researched is ,The hell is just a concept of enemy to keep humanity feared,in my understanding.

So who's the enemy of humanity?

 

[Breathe]

Why?

Hell is for other people.

Why?

Because religions.

 

[Quintessence]

Do you think most of, if not all, the people who believe in Abrahamic religions do it out of fear? Fear of going to hell, eternal torture, or being punished by god...

What I think is irrelevant. What well-designed surveys say is relevant. Based on the reasons uncovered in the study done for this book (link) it seems extremely unlikely that "most" of them do so out of fear. Further, people's motivations and causes for belief are just not that one-dimensional.

Are there any religions out there where people believe purely out of love and compassion, where there is no relation to fear of any kind?

Purely? Again, show me a human with such one-dimensional motivations and causes for belief and I'll eat my underwear. Let's not oversimplify the reality here. Especially since it appears that the reasons for this oversimplification is to create a strawperson to belittle people of certain religions.

Funny how people stop believing in Santa Claus, but keep believing in their religion/book/faith..

No offense, but that you make this comparison suggests a lack of understanding the role of the Santa Claus mythos or the role of mythos in religion or culture in general. It again suggests to me an attempt to oversimplify and belittle certain religious beliefs.

 

[Breathe]

Funny how people stop believing in Santa Claus, but keep believing in their religion/book/faith..

Funny how people who compare Santa Claus and religions typically have little understanding of the latter.

 

[InfidelRiot]

Funny how people who compare Santa Claus and religions typically have little understanding of the latter.

Not when both are based on myth and absolutely no factual proof.

 

[Breathe]

Not when both are based on myth and absolutely no factual proof.

Try understanding what myth is.

 

[InfidelRiot]

Try understanding what myth is.

Ditto.

 

[Breathe]

Ditto.

Hurr, u so funny lOOOl i dno hw to win


But seriously: instead of responding with childish "no u!" remarks, actually do try and see what myth is, instead of what you think myth is. There is a difference. Karen Armstrong: A Short History of Myth may be worth a read to dispel your preconceived notions, if you actually want to dispel them.

 

[InfidelRiot]

Hurr, u so funny lOOOl i dno hw to win

It is not about winning, well, yes it is. However, it is about understanding the irrationality and unnecessariness of religious mythology.

You should check out Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth."

 

[Breathe]

However, it is about understanding the irrationality and unnecessariness of religious mythology.

But that's the thing: I don't think it can be called as unnecessary or necessary. Myths generally work quite well. Whether you agree with the myth or not, they say something about historical life, culture, traditions, and mindset, and from it, things we can also draw into our own life.

Irrational, yes, because people mistake myth for history and read it literally, instead of trying to infer something from the story. It isn't supposed to be taken that way.

But, equating Santa Claus and religion together is just ignorance. It's only something I see from people who have no understanding of religion or myth.

You should check out Joseph Campbell's "The Power of Myth."

I'll keep an eye out for it.

 

[InfidelRiot]

Whether you agree with the myth or not, they say something about historical life, culture, traditions, and mindset, and from it, things we can also draw into our own life.

The only myth, and it is being destroyed as rapidly as Christianity is growing, is the indigenous kind where people are content to remain in their small villages void of technology and progress. In fact, now that I think of it, perhaps that is the problem with current religious thought. Technology and progress have somehow made it apparently clear that it okay to destroy other cultures in the name of the one true god.

 

[oldbadger]

Hi! Can I join? Muth? Fear? It is amazing how myths and fearful stories can spring up. A misconstrued event, badly described, can lead to a story which grows to unbelievable proportions. Next thing you know there are monsters out there....!
50 years ago I rowed out into the Blackwater and layed herring nets one night. I was tired. I fell asleep in the bottom of the duck-punt. I awoke drenched in sweat and terrified. The most enormous roaring breathing was happening just outside the boat. Incredible, slow, roaring breathing. I had an old duck gun with me, and so grabbed it, took some courage (what was left), and launched myself up onto my knees, expecting to see 'I didn't know what'.
It was just a grey seal, laying there in the water, looking at my old gun-punt. They don't half roar when they breath sloww, close to. Now if I hadn't kneeled and seen it, what would I have told my family when I got home? There be monsters out there..... Yeah!