Now this only my viewpoint mind you for the record BUT I think the world would be a much better place without religion of any kind.Lets all get out of the way that im an atheist for those that dont already know.That being said I think religion has only really been able to serve two ends;control & comfort.

Throughout history it has always been convenient for man to insert God or a religion of any kind to help him navigate those parts of his life that arent easily explainable or fathomable if you will.That of course could be anything from understanding death to the science behind a rainbow.This would of course explain the comfort side to a degree.

On the side of control would be the political & religious hustlers who understood roughly 6,000+ plus years ago that man was basically simple(stupid to degree) & could be controlled with religion in a nutshell. Napoleon once said that religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.A broad but powerful statement in my opinion

I think the world would have a greater sense of rationality to it when explanations were called for.In an ironic sense you might even say science would be the new religion!?(GROOVY!)

For me personaly there are just too many questions religion could never rationally address that science could.Granted neither camp has been able to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt as to how it began but it's more plausible to me that matter has always existed & a singular event started the ball rolling in a simplified way for the purpose of this thread.I think just as many lives have been lost due to religion as have been comforted  by it(only my opinion because I have no real means for making the necessary calculations;if that was even possible)


I'll leave this with 2 quotes from Mr. Sagan

The major religions on the Earth contradict each other left and rightYou can't all be correct. And what if all of you are wrong? It's a possibility, you know. You must care about the truth, right? Well, the way to winnow through all the differing contentions is to be skeptical. I'm not any more skeptical about your religious beliefs than I am about every new scientific idea I hear about. But in my line of work, they're called hypotheses, not inspiration and not revelation. [Dr. Arroway in Carl Sagan's Contact (New York: Pocket Books, 1985), p. 162. ]


In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion. [Carl Sagan, 1987 CSICOP keynote address]
 
THANKS FOR LISTENING,CARTER

                     

I'll field this one Vince.

       I never have a problem to opening myself up to support any of my beliefs,so here we go.The mother of my daughter is a recovering heroin addict.If you want to see demons look no farther than the power of heroin.She broke her elbow twice & when the pain meds scrips ran out it's sad that heroin is cheaper on the street than oxycotins are but just as effective.We are no longer a couple & she still is in a methodone clinic for a daily dose to help from going back hopefully. Though while she was in the womens recovery center or rehab for oxy's 4 years ago they teach you to find a higher power & putting your control in it.It is mistaken that it has to be God or Jesus etc... I think that for many recovering addicts it fits the common denominator for the prevailing religions in the U.S..That higher power could  be anything you want it to be just as long as  you place the control in it & do the steps(I got rather familiar with the NA text while we were together) On the bright side she doesnt actively use heroin & our daughter turned out fine even while she was using but thats a whole other story which i'll save for another day that has plenty of pitfalls in it as well. Suffice to say I hope this helps answer your question somewhat in regards to religion blocking evil.Also if your in ever in a borders or barnes & noble  go to the addiction section,theres usually an NA,AA,SA,OR GA text of some kind & you'll find the references to a higher power.So I guess you could say I too believe in demons;just not the kind that are talked about on here. Stay well,Carter

Jeez Carter, thats pretty raw stuff. I really feel for you.

I totally agree with you about the heroin being demonic. I dont actually believe in evil persay, but that is about as close as you can get to it in my book.



re'I think the world would be a much better place without religion of any kind'

Well for me I'd like to rephrase that. Its not religion thats the problem. Ignorance, intolerance and stupidity. Those are some of the root problems. I mean get rid of religion and we all still have different perspectives and beliefs. They would still naturally group together into organisations, societies, cliques etc. Blaming religion is a bit like shooting the messenger.

Trying to imagine a world without religion is tricky. I think that religions are as much a part of our biology as extended families are. People of similar beliefs/abilities/qualities seem to instinctually seek each other out.
This forum is a good example. It is a loose collective of individuals with a shared region of interests.

A football club is similar. So are the people who play world of warcraft, as is a village, a battallion, a colony of ants, a flock of geese, a forest.  Sets, clusters, bands and groups occur in all aspects of life. Awareness seems to want to organise itself this way. For me it seems obvious that spiritual awareness obeys the same urges.

ob

Sorry Raz, I dont really get what your saying.

I'm not even sure who you are talking to. If its me can you put the question differently?

Maybe that'll help me through my 'thicko' moment.

ob

raz, what if the religions are wrong? i mean, we don't even know if religions are true or not. what if religions' just one big joke? what if the bible is just one big joke that a group of pranksters created and passed of as a religious writing long ago and now, they spent all those time laughing at us from beyond the grave?

So we have identified 3 camps, two of which are in opposition
A) What if its/they are true?
B) What if its/they are not?
C) Its for self purpose.

Well................... I both agree and disagree with Sandy.

It does in fact give us a sense of purpose, a sense of higher purpose.  To believe in something greater than ourselves inspires us to be greater that what we already are. However if we follow a belief system, we may also end up shunning something that is counter to it. If this happens, WHEN this happens we have wars, we fight. we kill.

This happens regardless of religion, but nothing inspires some of us greater than religion. And if we believe that we fight for an infallible cause, then we do things. crazy things... Awesome things.


A belief is as strong as the person's desire for it. and a religion is as strong as the group that believes in it.

Which is why a scientist will not fight in the face of overwhelming odds, why a lawyer will not pursue a case if it may hurt him. Only Codes of honor,madness,insanity, love,family&friends, obsession  and religion will cause a man to run up to a numerically superior opponent, to tackle an impossible problem, for someone to follow another to the ends of the earth.....


It inspires the common man to unparalleled heights, it makes poets sing, and kings into fools. the belief of the divine keeps us humble and unpretentious. it keeps us human.

For it is human to err......  But is is also human to believe. It is human to fight.


Religion has a right to be there. as does every other idea. whether human or divine.

Ok carter. gimme your best shot. (you are the opponent which i will test sharpness of my wit, and the strength of my reason!......... my faith is under repair at the moment.