Is religion "good"?

Is religion really a "good" thing?
We are born into a socio-religious mind-set (paradigm / convention) that asserts that religion is a good thing. But is it?
* Is religion in and of itself really "good"?
* What is the "good" of religion?

 

It can create a social space for needed human interaction for those of similar beliefs (however, this can also persuade a person's iews on issues to become more extreme). Also, for some it can also provide support that there is something else out there, someone loving them, looking out for them when they are in their darkest hours.

However, there is also the drawbacks that are fairly self-evident: disagreements becoming wars; oppression and the indoctrination against people's will; some might argue that it makes people "stupider" (you know, through mob mentality mentioned in the parenthasis of the first part of my post); and other such things...

 

No, but philosophy, open-minded speculation, and above all, natural awe and reverence for one's environment (including people, animals, grass, stars, air, etc.)

But religion is also probably inevitable, for when the boring grow tired of speculating.





~Peace

 

No, because religion is merely how we act on the outside - We can always put up a front, and even if that front seems to be functional, what is the purpose of acting out something we don't feel inside...?

What is "good" in that sense is spirituality, which is then expressed through our religion. Developing a strong spirit leads to better actions, whereas adhering to actions without understanding their purpose will *not* develop spirituality.

No. I think we see that time and time again in here. People are acting out religiously, without being spiritually in tune. That's what makes me crazy... There's an awful lot of people trying to prove every minute detail in the Bible as absolute fact; But they're so nasty and miserable, one has to wonder whether they've totally missed the point...?

In short, they're trying so hard to "prove" that others are *wrong* (which isn't the point of witnessing), they become miserable because they stand in constant opposition to their brothers and sisters. It's bad for the spirit to constantly be divisive. Just look around us...

The goodness or badness of an individual's religious choices are directed by their inner spirituality. In short, if a person has wrong views or afflictive emotions directing their religion (their outward actions), the outcome will not be good. That's why it's more important to have a good spiritual foundation, because good religion will follow, naturally.

Peace & Love,
You-Know-Who

 

We create religion,

Are we a good thing?

 

I think religion has the potential to be among the best things one can experience. It is probably best understood in a way similar to one's understanding of music, or school, or a relationship. When it is good, it is very, very good. It has the power to transform lives, for the better, in ways that are beyond the imagination's grasp.

When it is bad, however, religion can be, at the very least, meaningless and confusing, and at it's worst, misleading, traumatic and destructive.

Bad religion is usually the result of a selfish religious authority overstepping his qualifications, mis-managing his ego, and/or selling his identity as a religious leader in exchange for wealth, fame or power. People like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Osama Bin Laden, Torquemada, and maybe Pat Robertson come to mind. I think of these kinds of leaders the same way I think of tone-deaf, uninspired musicians, or the girlfriend who screws all of your friends. However damaging the relationship may be, they are the exceptions, they don't define the whole.

For most people, however, religion is a very good, fulfilling experience for those who make an honest effort.

Yes?

Peace and Love

 

I think the real question is - What can one know about the spiritual life?

Peace and Love

 

I read somewhere that the word Religon i greek could also mean "bondage"

Religon = bad
spirituailty = good

 

Truth profound (IMHO)
Who-You-Know

That's one thing I was hoping might be elucidated upon, Varuna ~ like where is it found?

[

Such as is happening right now regarding riots due to cartoon depictations of Mohummad, for instance?

 

Quite possibly so........
http://www.answers.com/religion
Etymology


Various religious symbols


The origins of the word "religion" have been debated for centuries. Some explanations for the origin of the word are:

• re-reading--from Latin re (again) + legio (read), referring to the repetition of scripture.
• treating carefully--from Latin relegere (Cicero's interpretation)
• re-connection to the divine--from Latin re (again) + ligare (to connect, as in English ligament). This interpretation is favoured by modern scholars such as Tom Harpur, but probably originated with St. Augustine.
• to bind or return to bondage--an alternate interpretation of the "reconnection" etymology, possibly also originating with Augustine but emphasising a sense of servitude to God. However, the bondage interpretation, while popular with critics of religion, is often considered imprecise and possibly offensive in many modern religious contexts.
• concerning a gathering--from Latin ablative res (with regard to) + legere (to gather). More emphatically, religion concerns an organization.

What is clear about the word "religion" is that the religious connotations (in the sense of gods, morality, afterlife, etc.) were not a part of the term's Latin precursors.

 

So we can conclude fairly easily that:

Religion - Spirituality = Bad

But considering the aim of this thread should we consider the following sums:

Religion + Spirituality = Good?

Spirituality - Religion > Sprituality + Religion?

Sorry, i'm tired and i couldn't find the words to express this without equations. Can someone elaborate on my idea?

 

There are many good ways to go. I believe they are all valid, though the fundamentalists of each path tend to warn against anything outside the known world of their own faiths.

That said . . .

Believe it or not, there are enlightened Jews, Christians and Muslims who would gladly and freely share their knowledge. They are compelled by a shared vision of a better world to selflessly help others along the path.

But now, as ever, it seems, it is increasingly difficult to sort out those who sincerely want to help from those who are merely out to harvest followers for their wealth and political power. Because of this, it is not uncommon for those who have difficulty finding the spirituality in the Judeo-Christian tradition to seek meaning in the Indian traditions of Buddhism or Hinduism.

Buddhism is especially appealing because, in part, it neither denies nor insists upon a theological point of view. It simply teaches a way to cultivate one's own consciousness to see directly into reality itself in order to know more deeply what it actually is. Of course, once you've done that . . . a good Buddhist teacher will encourage you to make peace with whatever religious background you may have turned away from.

Hinduism offers a wealth of insightful, allegorical mythology that serves to give narrative form to the intangible, spiritual realm in which we live. It is particularly useful to Westerners because the recognizably human stories are new to our ears but address many of the same issues dealt with in the Western texts. Many who actually study Hinduism are blown away by the huge, all-inclusive scope of human spiritual experience addressed by this ancient religion.

Ultimately, however, no matter how good your teacher may be, learning how to experience the divine in everyday life is something you have to do for yourself. Believe it or not, you do this whenever you are inspired, or really love someone, or see a new level of truth about something, or are feeling a bit more conscious than usual. This is the spiritual stuff of "good" religion.

Yeah. I don't understand how problems concerning disrespectful depictions of Mohammed are resolved, presumeably, through violence. Surely violence is not the only thing that earns or restores respect for Mohammed. That just doesn't make any sense to me. But neither does flying planes into buildings or starting a war in Iraq or blowing up Israelis or insisting that God wants anyone to suffer. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Peace and Love

 

From my viewpoint it seems that there may well be quiet (albeit small) pockets of religion that actually adhere to founding principles that are being overwhelmed by the fundamentalists of each path. In the context of "the religion", do you think that there is any hope for the few in truly representing the true principles of the religion, or is religion right now simply being overrun by a tsunami of fundamentalism?

or blowing up Israelis or insisting that God wants anyone to suffer. It just doesn't make sense to me.
Not to mention the continual shooting of Palestianian children by Isreali soldiers!
A tsunami of hatred all 'round. Is that what "religion" as we know it has become?

 

Yes, of course. But, sanity doesn't make for compelling entertainment. So sane people (the vast majority) don't necessarily get the same attention as their much more melodramatic counterparts. The sane ones, those to whom the founding principles actually mean something, simply live in appreciation of the true and the good that makes its presence known in their lives. They love the divine, and each other, or at least they try to. And when they can't, they make peace with one another, they forgive one another.

There is always hope.

I think religion is ultimately a personal relationship between individuals and the divine. People who are conscious enough to recognize that the sublime wisdom of Buddha, Christ, The Prophets, The Rabbis, The Saints, The Rishis, The Imams, and so on, is really all about our shared, universal, human nature. It is really all about one's own life in relation to one's fellows and in relation the divine. When that realization hits you, the obscure, seemingly meaningless specifics, like the lists of who begat whom and who smoteth whom, kinda fall back in perspective. The "Yeas and Verilys" give way to "makes sense" and "sounds good."

It really is a lot saner that Duhbya or Osama or Pat Robertson would have you believe.

I think Fundamentalism represents spiritually healthy religion just about as accurately as the Grammy Awards represent genuine musical creativity.

Please don't let P. Diddy turn you off from the Beatles.

Peace and Love

 

in my experience, religion is a bad thing, religion is what makes the truth taste bad, iot alters it, its not kept pure.

religion is man made, its the un written rule book of peoples traditions in different religious groups.
jesus himslef hated religion.......
for one reason.......
it stoppped people from being in relationship with god.

religion is about waht we can do to make god love us more, or to 'please' god, when all we really haveto do is believe that its already done becasue jesus did it for all of us.....

we simply haveto believe and know that we can have freeedom from law

 

Live in the Now for the Future learning from the Past.

Religion is for weak-minded people. That's just my opinion and obviously isn't worth more or less than anyone else's --because it deals with a subjective matter really.

 

It's worth less than the opinion of someone who understands religion.

Religion (noun): 1 a : the state of a religious <a nun in her 20th year of religion> b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : [size=-1]CONSCIENTIOUSNESS[/size]
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

Religious (adjective): relating to or manifesting faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity

You even have religion, although yours is foolish.

 

I think that religion can be a good thing, if one participates based on their own desires, not those of others [parents, society, etc.]. If one is making a conscious decision to be a member of a group of people that have similar beliefs, it can be a wonderful thing for that individual.

Religion in its self is , perhaps is not always good, but has the possibility to be. Believing in something can help a person through very difficult periods in his or her life. When a group of people of the same religious background come together, they can support each other a bit better, because that is just one more facet of the individual that the group can identify with. I see the institution of religion as being more or less a label that people can identify with, sort of like an ethnicity, but the individual can chose their religion. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having spiritual beliefs and not chosing to identify with a religion; sometimes thats an even better option for some people. To sum it up: Religion can be a positive thing for certain people.

 

Is it just me or did the definiton for religion provided by khakarov back up Libertine's idea more than anything?

By the way khakarov, I believe I asked for a reasoning behind your statement: "I used to think that too (in relation to people not knowing anything). I am genuinely interested in what you have to say, to think someone knows (if that was what you were implying) is a very foreign concept to me and i'm genuinely interested in what you have to say. If you want to give an answer of course

 

A question arising arlia ~ do you think that it could be that it was actually religion that crucified the supposed jesus? given that Saul (Paul) was an employed Roman spy and xtian persecutor, that post-crucifixion said Saul re-interpreted the sayings of the christ to the chagrin of the apostles who strangely disappear along with their teachings from then on, leaving Saul to create a religion unfettered by any true apostolic inheritance or knowledge - a religion based in Rome and far away from any true connections with any living links, knowledge, or conventions, inaugurated by the supposed living Jesus.