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... then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
How is this argument fundamentally different from "if drugs are bad, why do they make me feel so good?"... then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
Maybe with religion as with drugs, the dangers are in dosage and dependency.How is this argument fundamentally different from "if drugs are bad, why do they make me feel so good?"
How is this argument fundamentally different from "if drugs are bad, why do they make me feel so good?"
Note: I'm not saying that religion is like drug use; I just see similarity in the argument.
... then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
... then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
... then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
(If all religion is bad,) then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
Seems like you opened a whole can of worms for yourself toms... then why do I feel like I'm a better person because of it?
Gladly! First of all, religion and a relationship with God are not the same. A relationship with God is "revelatory", meaning that God teaches you and leads you in growth and understanding. Religion is a construct, a repetition. Religion is repeating. Through repetition, you come to the understanding of whether or not something is true.Tom, maybe you can help us by qualifying this question. How does religion make you a better person and specifically are you able to do, resulting in a better you, that you could not do if you did not have a personal relationship with you God? --I am calling a personal relationship with your God as "being religious" .
If you believe in the God of the Bible, than you accept that everything that is put into motion is meant for good, both in origin and in redemption (if necessary). Your growth as a person is the revelation that, if you choose to follow the teachings of God (as "sometimes" emphasized by religion), your mistakes will be redeemed.Does God empower or encourage events or activities from to make you a better person and if so which events or activities does this occur for and why specifically is his intervention, as a encourager or directly affect agent necessary for you to undertake those events or activities?
I hope that it's clear in my previous explanation that religion is absolutely not required. However, if it is a good religion, it most certainly helps. Sometimes we need to hear things more than once before we realize that it is true.By contrast is their specific events or activities that non-believers/non-religious are inhibited from or prohibited from by their non-cohesion or identification with a religion or God?
To answer Quagmire's question, the former, which is that I can see myself being a far worse person if I had not made certain choices, or if events had not taken place which led me to consider making important decisions... Religion is a helper, like a friend. Sure, you can survive on your own, but you would consider yourself far better off to have the help.Seems like you opened a whole can of worms for yourself toms
Im interested to know, what exactly about religion makes you feel like you are a better person?
Nope. All you need is [God].and another question is, do you not think you could be a better person without religion?
in other words, is religion a necessity for being a better person?
That's how you form bad habits, too.This is why religion makes you a better person, in my opinion. How do you form good habits? Through repetition.
No it wouldn't. Not unless it's a religiously-based process.No matter what your "knowledge" is, you can not become a better person unless you put effort into it. Does religion alone make you a better person? No. But it provides you with the tools to do so. Perhaps you could find goodness without religion... But wouldn't any other process of repetition, growth, and learning be nothing more than a "personal religion"?
Or a crutch?To answer Quagmire's question, the former, which is that I can see myself being a far worse person if I had not made certain choices, or if events had not taken place which led me to consider making important decisions... Religion is a helper, like a friend.
The help of God? If that help isn't actually there, I'd say that relying on it would make a person somewhat worse off.Sure, you can survive on your own, but you would consider yourself far better off to have the help.
I agree. That's why religion is also dangerous. Like I said, religion is a man-made construct with the purpose of repeating God. However, like any man-made thing, it can be poorly designed.That's how you form bad habits, too.
We all have our personal religions. We all have our own definition of truth. Isn't that what "religion" is all about?No it wouldn't. Not unless it's a religiously-based process.
Unless you're arguing that the term "religion" should be broadened to apply to things like baseball practice as well as actual religious worship. I don't think it should, myself.
Is it weakness to require the help of a friend? We all walk with a limp. I certainly could use the help... What about you?Or a crutch?