What good is religion?

Discussion in 'Religion & Philosophy' started by gabmux, May 27, 2021.

  1. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    huh???? what 'better' morals, got a list?

    From 1932 to 1937 Joseph Stalin declared the 'five-year plans of atheism' and the LMG was charged with completely eliminating all religious expression in the country. Many of these same methods and terror tactics were also imposed against others that the regime considered to be its ideological enemies.

    Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union - Wikipedia

    great plan!
     
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  2. Injeun

    Injeun Well-Known Member

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    LOL! Whatever.
     
  3. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    Religion. A few studies have found a negative correlation between religiosity and criminality. ... Other meta-analysis research suggests that those who subscribe to more orthodox religious beliefs are less likely to engage in criminal behavior than those who do not.

    Statistical correlations of criminal behaviour - Wikipedia


    Hmm more junk stats from you.


    Which atheist bible do you think has better morals again?


    Alternatives to the Ten Commandments
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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    Several alternatives to the Ten Commandments have been promulgated by different persons and groups, which intended to improve on the lists of laws known as the Ten Commandments that appear in the Bible. Lists of these kinds exist in many different cultures and times. They are sometimes given names – for example, the Hindu Yamas.

    Bertrand Russell (1951)
    Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist, and Nobel laureate. He formulated these ten commandments:[1]

    1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
    2. Do not think it worthwhile to proceed by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.
    3. Never try to discourage thinking for you are sure to succeed.
    4. When you meet with opposition, even if it should be from your husband or your children, endeavour to overcome it by argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.
    5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.
    6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do the opinions will suppress you.
    7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.
    8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
    9. Be scrupulously truthful, even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.
    10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.
    Anton LaVey (1967)
    Anton Lavey was an American author, musician, and occultist. He was the founder of the Church of Satan and LaVeyan Satanism and published "The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth":[2]

    1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
    2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.
    3. When in another's home, show them respect or else do not go there.
    4. If a guest in your home annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
    5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.
    6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and they cry out to be relieved.
    7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires.
    8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
    9. Do not harm little children.
    10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
    11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them.
    Summum (1975)
    Summum is an informal gathering of people registered as a tax exempt organization in the state of Utah, U.S., in 1975.

    Summum contradicts the historical Biblical account of the Ten Commandments by claiming that, before returning with the Commandments, Moses descended from Mount Sinai with a first set of tablets inscribed with seven principles they call aphorisms.

    According to the group, the seven principles are:[3][4]

    1. SUMMUM is MIND, thought; the universe is a mental creation.
    2. As above, so below; as below, so above.
    3. Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates.
    4. Everything is dual; everything has an opposing point; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes bond; all truths are but partial truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.
    5. Everything flows out and in; everything has its season; all things rise and fall; the pendulum swing expresses itself in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.
    6. Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to Law; Chance is just a name for Law not recognized; there are many fields of causation, but nothing escapes the Law of Destiny.
    7. Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; Gender manifests on all levels.
     
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  4. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    Lets not forget these gems!


    George Carlin (2001)

    George Carlin was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, actor and author.

    In his twelfth HBO stand-up comedy special Complaints and Grievances, Carlin reduces the Ten Commandments to three:[5]

    1. Thou shalt always be honest and faithful, especially to the provider of thy nookie.
    2. Thou shalt try real hard not to kill anyone - unless, of course, they pray to a different invisible avenger than the one you pray to.
    3. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.
    Ten Offers of Evolutionary Humanism (2005)
    In his 2005 book Manifesto of Evolutionary Humanism German philosopher Michael Schmidt-Salomon devised "The Ten Offers of Evolutionary Humanism". In short, they read as follows:[6][7]

    1. Serve neither foreign nor familiar "gods" but rather the great ideal of ethics to lessen the suffering in the world. To possess science, philosophy and art means not to need religion!
    2. Behave fairly to your neighbour and also to those farthest away!
    3. Have no fear of authorities, but rather the courage to reason for yourself!
    4. You shall not lie, cheat, steal or kill – unless, in an emergency, there is no other way of asserting the ideals of humanity!
    5. Free yourself from the bad habit of moralizing!
    6. Do not immunize yourself against criticism!
    7. Do not be too confident! But even doubt should be doubted!
    8. Overcome any tendency towards tradition blindness by informing yourself in depth from all sides before making a decision!
    9. Enjoy your life because it is highly probable that it will be the only one you have!
    10. Put your life in the service of a "greater cause", become a part of the tradition of those who desire(d) to make the world a better place in which to live.
    Richard Dawkins (2006)
    Richard Dawkins is an English ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and author. These are the alternative to the Ten Commandments, cited by Dawkins in his book The God Delusion:[8][9]

    1. Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
    2. In all things, strive to cause no harm.
    3. Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
    4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
    5. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
    6. Always seek to be learning something new.
    7. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
    8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
    9. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
    10. Question everything.
    Dawkins uses these proposed commandments to make a larger point that "it is the sort of list that any ordinary, decent person today would come up with". He then adds four more of his own devising:

    • Enjoy your own sex life (so long as it damages nobody else) and leave others to enjoy theirs in private whatever their inclinations, which are none of your business.
    • Do not discriminate or oppress on the basis of sex, race or (as far as possible) species.
    • Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.
    • Value the future on a timescale longer than your own.
    Christopher Hitchens (2010)
    Christopher Hitchens was an English American author, columnist, essayist, orator, religious and literary critic, social critic, and journalist.

    His new Ten Commandments are:[10][11]

    1. Do not condemn people on the basis of their ethnicity or their color.
    2. Do not ever even think of using people as private property, or as owned, or as slaves.
    3. Despise those who use violence or the threat of it in sexual relations.
    4. Hide your face and weep if you dare to harm a child.
    5. Do not condemn people for their inborn nature — why would God create so many homosexuals only in order to torture and destroy them?
    6. Be aware that you, too, are an animal, and dependent on the web of nature. Try and think and act accordingly.
    7. Do not imagine that you can escape judgement if you rob people with a false prospectus rather than with a knife.
    8. Turn off that cell phone — you can have no idea how unimportant your call is to us.
    9. Denounce all jihadists and crusaders for what they are: psychopathic criminals with ugly delusions. And terrible sexual repressions.
    10. Be willing to renounce any god or any faith if any holy commandments should contradict any of the above.
    • In short: Don't swallow your moral code in tablet form.
    Bayer and Figdor's Ten Non-Commandments (2014)
    As detailed in the book Atheist Mind, Humanist Heart: Re-writing the Ten Commandments for the Twenty-first Century by Lex Bayer and the Stanford Humanist Chaplain John Figdor, it is devoted to the subject of creating a secular alternative to the Ten Commandments and encouraging readers to formulate and discover their own list of beliefs.[12][13]

    1. The world is real, and our desire to understand the world is the basis for belief.
    2. We can perceive the world only through our human senses.
    3. We use rational thought and language as tools for understanding the world.
    4. All truth is proportional to the evidence.
    5. There is no God.
    6. We all strive to live a happy life. We pursue things that make us happy and avoid things that do not.
    7. There is no universal moral truth. Our experiences and preferences shape our sense of how to behave.
    8. We act morally when the happiness of others makes us happy.
    9. We benefit from living in, and supporting, an ethical society.
    10. All our beliefs are subject to change in the face of new evidence, including these.
    The Atheists' New Ten Commandments (2015)
    These are the ten winning beliefs of the Rethink Prize, a crowdsourcing competition to rethink the Ten Commandments. The contest drew more than 2,800 submissions from 18 countries and 27 U.S. states. Winners were selected by a panel of judges.[14][15]

    1. Be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence.
    2. Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe what you wish to be true.
    3. The scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world.
    4. Every person has the right to control of their body.
    5. God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life.
    6. Be mindful of the consequences of all your actions and recognize that you must take responsibility for them.
    7. Treat others as you would want them to treat you, and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated. Think about their perspective.
    8. We have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.
    9. There is no one right way to live.
    10. Leave the world a better place than you found it.

    demonstrably? huh?????
    after what we just seen?


    these are better how exactly?
    Im just SO confused, so many bibles to choose from!

    .
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021
  5. edna kawabata

    edna kawabata Well-Known Member

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    I tried to goad you into being more self-aware and that didn't work and I had little hope in goading you into a little more mature world view, but I had to try.
    You said religions are "worthless", "mind control", "insanity", delusions"....that's just page 1. So you said a little more than just they are not needed. Who you trying to fool? Yourself?
    Your view is the definition of bigotry.
    All religions are open to new members if you meet their criteria. Some are indeed bigoted, others not, saying they all are is more bigotry.
    Arrogant ignorance said 5 billion people.
    You mean things like having a balanced world view not driven by emotion, being able to empathize with people who are different, not making assumptions about people you know little about, having an open mind to new ideas. being willing to change ones opinion without ego getting in the way?
     
  6. Greatest I am

    Greatest I am Well-Known Member

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    You live in the past while I am showing you the future.

    What better morals you ask.

    How about our not bending the knee to a genocidal Yahweh, and condemning him to hell for his crimes against humanity, while Christians glorify that bastard.

    Get off your knees and stop sucking. It will not get you into heaven.

    Regards
    DL
     
  7. Greatest I am

    Greatest I am Well-Known Member

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    Not we. You.

    I saw a bunch of garbage and no point.

    Why don't you start an O.P. badmouthing the atheists and showing the supremacy of Christianity on poor atheist morals.

    I am not an atheist and know you are a fool to even suggest such, against the historical evidence.

    Atheist do murder Christians for their beliefs. Christians have murdered many atheists for theirs.

    Who is more moral?

    Say Christians and you show how big of a fool you are.

    Regards
    DL
     
  8. Greatest I am

    Greatest I am Well-Known Member

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    I did not know that my following had gained such heights.

    Wow!!!

    Why am I not making tons of money???

    While here, being a Christian male, let me quote a corrupted part of the bible to you, "shut up woman, you do not have the I Q to teach men".

    Regards
    DL
     
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  9. Greatest I am

    Greatest I am Well-Known Member

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    ??

    We are all primarily driven by our selfish gene.

    Is selfishness an emotion?

    I say yes, due to it being able to be appeased, like all emotions.

    Regards
    DL
     
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  10. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    So then atheist morals are demonstrably garbage now that you actually see them in black ink on white paper, we agree.
    That would make me just like you wouldnt it.
    We know all about how atheism takes us into your modern world, dead.
    Just conveniently overlook the king of atheism.
    As far as atheists are concerned atheism is secularism, its not.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021
  11. edna kawabata

    edna kawabata Well-Known Member

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    Well how do you do Mr. Arrogant Ignorance.....you seem to be ignorant of where's the money. Your quote is perfect coming from someone named Mr. Arrogant Ignorance.
    A parent would give her life to save her children's lives. Is this a selfless act or her genes acting selfishly?
     
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  12. Greatest I am

    Greatest I am Well-Known Member

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    Call it whatever you like, atheism is better than a fascist religion like Christianity.

    Atheists have not institutionalized homophobia and misogyny like the right wing mentally and morally short have.

    You wanted an example of their better morals, I gave

    Now just ask any atheists. They walk among us.

    Regards
    DL
     
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  13. Greatest I am

    Greatest I am Well-Known Member

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    Yes indeed. As it should be.

    DNA recognizes that the offspring is the best that that line can produce and yes, it is natural for adults to let the young bury us.

    To bury our young is to kill our own genetic line.

    It is not selfish at all for us to die for our lines. It is natural.

    Note how a hole Yahweh chose to end his line.

    I cannot complain given it is a satanic genocidal one.

    In his image. No way. He is beneath us and contempt.

    Regards
    DL
     
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  14. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    Its pretty clear your moral compass begins and ends with 2 things, homophobia and misogyny, both of which are not a moral at all but a lifestyle preference.

    Further you confuse OT judaism with NT Christianity blaming NT-JC for the OT-Jewish God, which incidentally I have not seen any numbers.
     
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  15. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    Why do you give a **** what their religion is about, the guv is secular.

    Its pretty clear your moral compass begins and ends with 2 things, homophobia and misogyny, both of which are not a moral at all but a lifestyle preference outside the christian religion.

    Their religion is not imposed on you. If you dont like it find your own religion.

    Further you confuse OT judaism with NT Christianity blaming NT-JC for the OT-Jewish God, which incidentally I have not seen any numbers.

    I just gave you a sample of the morals of the greatest atheist minds and you laughed at how ridiculous they are.
     
    Last edited: Jun 14, 2021
  16. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes good point...have heard that about Hinduism.
    If "religions" would function like the Hindu and treat all as equal....
    perhaps we would learn to get along instead of killing each other off.

    IMO...different religions developed in ancient times
    simply because the various groups of humans were located to far
    from each other to interact. If not for that all would have believed the same.
    There is only one spiritual teaching that all of the religions point to.
    There is no need for separate religions anymore
     
  17. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Exactly!
     
  18. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    Ok but then how do you account for this?

    Anton Szandor LaVey
    [​IMG]
    LaVey publicity photo, c. 1992
    Title Author of Satanic Bible, High Priest and founder of The Church of Satan.
    According to LaVey himself, on Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, he ritualistically shaved his head, allegedly "in the tradition of ancient executioners", declared the founding of the Church of Satan and proclaimed 1966 as "the Year One", Anno Satanas-the first year of the Age of Satan (it was later demonstrated that LaVey in fact shaved his head because he lost a bet and made up the "ancient executioners" story after the fact).[25]

    That is an official religion recognised by the US guv!

    as is the atheist human secularists.
     
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  19. Kokomojojo

    Kokomojojo Well-Known Member

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    everyone has only one religion that I am aware of?
    So all people across the globe are expected to think exactly the same, have the same beliefs, react exactly the same way as everyone else to any given situation, I think the borg collective had more freedom of thought than that.



     
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  20. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    But...."having an open mind to new ideas. being willing to change ones opinion without ego getting in the way"
    does not describe you at all does it.
    "Religions" are not "new ideas" at all are they. So why are you pretending they are.
    You defend the old "religions" even though you claim not to be "religious"....
    so then how can you claim religion is "needed"...if you yourself don't need it?
    Your only frail defense for religion is it's "persistence and popularity"...(like drug abuse)....
    so then you are "driven by emotion" and with your...."ego getting in the way"...
    you simply start throwing stones instead....and project your own shortcomings
    onto whoever does not except your weak argument.

    When are you going to open your own mind?

    If you are addicted to thinking, at least try to think for yourself

    instead of just jumping on the "religious" bandwagon.

    Ask yourself why your "5 billion" need religion....

    but you do not
     
    Last edited: Jun 15, 2021
  21. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I have no way of knowing if everyone has a religion...
    I don't expect everyone to think the same either...
    although people might be expected to think the same and comply by their particular religion.
    I can appreciate your Borg comparison...I think that explains Edna's "5 billion" religious.
    Some just go to church because it's "popular" or they think they will be "saved".
    Saved from what? Themselves??
    Unconscious humans are the perpetrators...the predators...the destroyers of life.

    There are many religions yes...but the main spiritual teaching of all of them....what it is pointing to..
    comes from the same source. There is only one spiritual source.
    You might say..."There can be only one."
     
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  22. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I don't know....I can't even account for this one....
    Armed with AR-15s, the Unification movement ‘expands God’s Kingdom’ to a Texas town
    https://www.yahoo.com/news/armed-ar-15s-unification-movement-162748235.html

    But maybe Edna could....
    she's really into religions these days
     
  23. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I do believe in GOD. I do believe in having life beyond death.
    I have one idea about the non believers that could account for snakes, and gnarly things on this planet.
    We get to come alive again as human forms.
    They get to come alive as gnarly things.
     
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  24. gabmux

    gabmux Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    You are always a ray of light in the darkness...IMO.
    "Religions" became nothing more than ritual long ago...again that's my opinion.
    What the religions were pointing to has been lost, forgotten, even trampled on for personal gain.
    You are one of the few who still holds the true meaning.
     
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  25. Robert

    Robert Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    It might be a lot more intelligent to ban Government than to wipe off religions.
    Government owns the tools to do enormous harm to the entire planet. And look who loves huge government? The Democrats do.
     
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