Why is religion so persistent?

It's hard to talk to someone when their head is buried in the sand.

 

1 Corinthians 1:18: "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

this scripture basically sums it up for this conversation. Kilgore Trout, It all sounds like foolishness to you because you don't know the Lord. It's not about gathering the information so you can understand, it's about surrendering your thoughts and trusting in God, once we accept Him, it all begins to make more sense than anything ever has. Sometimes it's better to have your head buried in the sand than to be above the suface letting the wind blow you this way and that way.

 

You just ignored what I wrote in order to argue another point.

If you insist, however, then I'll play along. Why not?

So,

Do you know what this truth is? Or do you just assume (correctly, of course) that it is there?

There are many who do not. They are good people but it simply makes no sense to them. You would do the world a great favor if you could clarify it for them, explain what you think it means, express it in plain language.

If you can't or won't then you should recognize that you are just repeating a mantra. Those who did not understand before are not going to suddenly awaken just because yet another person is telling them the same thing, again, in exactly the same terms as they've always heard it.

Be careful not to deify the word at the expense of its meaning. Be careful not to repeat the Sanhedrin's error - to adhere to the letter of the law but ignore the spirit of the law.

Jesus paid a great price to offer you a primal truth - You do good to love God, but you must also love your neighbor. If you cannot do both with equal commitment, then you may want to re-examine your understanding of your faith. And please know that there is always a deeper understanding awaiting you.

You must respect every living being's relationship to God, regardless of whether or not you understand it. The moment you start fighting about God, the moment you cease to love and respect your fellow humans, regardless of your philosophical misunderstandings, then the truth of your actions contradicts the truth of your words.

They may have had to pay extra attention to one aspect of reality or another, due to their times and culture, but all of the significant spiritual masters are talking about exactly the same thing. When you know what it is, you will recognize why each one of them deserves your respect, just as you deserve theirs.

It is true that Jesus is the only one who had to die to fulfill his mission. But there is no way you can claim Christianity is incompatible with all of the other traditions.

Did you also know that the Hindus have a story of Kalki, an avatar or incarnation of God (Vishnu) who will come out of the West on a white mount in order to restore the Dharma (the righteous order of all existence). Sound familiar?

The Buddhists speak of Avalokitsevara, the boundless Buddha of Love who embodies the heart of enlightenment. Sound familiar?

Islam has special reverence for Issa (Jesus). He is going to to defeat Iblis and his evil forces at the end of all existence. And Judaism is, of course, the mother of Christianity.

Every one of these spiritual traditions has a very real connection to yours.
You must respect every living being's relationship to God, regardless of whether or not it resembles your own, regardless of whether or not you understand it.

Now please read what I actually wrote about Genesis and Evolution.

Peace and Love

 

Religion is such fun... it's great how people can get so into it... reading every last drop of scripture, analyzing, discussing. Why do so many of you feel that for something to have power, it has to be 'real'. It's a sad epidemic of the loss of imagination to think that there even has to be ONE religion, with ONE answer or NO religion (as was the postulation behind the original post of this thread) in order for things to become clear. Are each of us not capable of becoming 'God'... using their experience of life in connection with a belief system in order to attain a balanced equilibrium.
I remember my mom telling me the story of hansel and grettle, she didn't have to explain and prove to me that it really happened in order for me to understand that going into a strangers house wasn't a good idea.
I guess too many people now-a-days don't get to experience the sensation of GOD directly... cause when you do, everything just WORKS and instead of quoting the bible or 'history' to prove a point, you quote it because you love it, because it means something to you. People pushing the idea of no-religion are just as caught up as people pushing the ideas of Catholocism or Buddhism or anything else... When you meet people that have found GOD (whether they know they have or not) you know it. One of my favorite things to hear from anyone that calls themselves 'religious' is when they refer to others as delusional or try to maintain that only they know the 'Truth'. A world without religion would indeed be a troubling state of affairs for the human being, the day we lose our imagination and the power that lies within. True compassionism is a good sign of GODliness.
So with light hearts and being out to prove nothing... lets continue

Bye the way, since this is my first post in any kind of religion oriented thread, let me point out that i do not belong to any organized religion or carry a particular faith that i could ever try to explain in a lifetime... i have no fears of going to hell or being damned by your god... any answers i seek, i seek merely for the sake of seeking.

 

Does anyone else feel like when they speak of religion, everything they write is a typo? How to explain the ineffable?

Had to throw that in after just re-reading my post... 'True' compassionism?.. should've said 'deep' compassionism... among many other things *lol*

 

Or.................try this quick quiz on Bible Truth

2. In your opinion as a Christian, is the Bible an authority on matters of truth? Yes or no? Please cite references where possible.
   
3. If you answered yes to question 1) above, can you please state for the record how the Bible defines truth? Please cite references to support your answer.
4. If you answered yes to question 1) above, but could not find a verse in the Bible that defines the concept ‘truth’, how do you justify your affirmative answer to 1) above, that the Bible is an authority on matters of truth, when you can provide no citation from the Bible defining the concept ‘truth’? Please explain.
5. If you answered yes to question 1) above and offered a scripture to support your answer (i.e., a scripture which explicitly defines the concept ‘truth’), are you certain that the scripture you offered indeed defines the concept ‘truth’ and does not merely presuppose an understood definition? Please explain.

.........and the truth shall set you free

 

Have you ever tried thinking for yourself?
I can't imagine anything as pathetic as not even being able to argue with my own words, but having to rely solely on the words of others.

...and I suspect you don't even realize how incredibly arrogant it is to tell someone what they know or don't know.

Remember that minds are like parachutes...

 

For god so loved the world that he created imperfect sinful man then condemned him to eternal damnation.



Source page ~
http://exchristian.net/art/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=47
website
http://exchristian.net/testimonies/2005_03_13_archive.php

 

Intense.

I have seen better.

It is interesting, challenging work. But, really, what you have done here is misquote Bouguereau (the Painter), and the Gospel of John (a whole story you and I are not going to fight about). To whom would you have referred, from whom would you have borrowed, had Bouguereau and John not existed?

I know it may seem difficult, disorienting, frustrating, etc. to get to the heart of the Western religious tradition. But all of this really is worth knowing about. If it doesn't make immediate sense to you, well, you should at least know you are in good company. For whatever it's worth, most of the greatest minds of the past 5,000 years have put considerable effort into knowing about all of this.

If you honestly feel that all of this is really causing you unbearable suffering, then, for now, just let it be. Someday, hopefully, it may make sense to you.

But, please, realize the simple fact that all of this is what it is, whether you play along or not. If your best response to all of this is to pick a fight, then you should know that you would do far more damage to yourself than whatever it is you think you are fighting against.

I hope you feel better soon.

Peace and Love

 

A sad fact is that people, all people, project their inner fears and failings upon others. It is the same for you as it is to me and every other person. For it is through the lens of personal perception and experience that we "see the world."
It is well worthy of consideration to always remember that the simple
act of adopting a belief is no guarantee of righteousness or correctness. It is also a great mistake to presume self-wellness on the grounds of personal opinion, while negating the wellness of others upon that same presumption.
The state of perfect well-being is not dependent upon any preconception or belief. It is self sufficient, and accordingly, devoid of them.

 

Everyone needs to stop bein so fukkin lazzey and find God themselves instead of lettin someone elce tellem where He is! -Pull yer heads out of your churches and find God!

 

Religion is so persistent because it fills a need.

No matter how much we learn about the world, we still have a hunger for something or somebody else out there. I suspect that as long as people wonder about life after death or extraterrestrials and all the other mysteries, there will be a need for religion. As long as we wonder why bad things happen to "good" people, there will be a need for religion. As long as people believe that they get some sort of answers from religion or at least feel better because of it, there will be religion.

 

Yes. A much healthier relationship with reality is available to one who is aware of just what exactly those inner fears and failings are, and how the view through them distorts one's perception. It is equally important to be aware of one's desires and expectations as well.



Fear and desire, expectation and despair, suffering and distorted perception are somehow inter-related. Paradoxically, when one sees these things for what they actually are, one is able to realize that they have no real power of their own and one may think, speak, and act from a state of being that is clearly outside of their influence.

Yes. It seems everyone has a model of reality, regardless of whether they are aware of it or not. One's model may be more or less different from everyone else's. When one realizes their model is just that, a model, a map, a representation, an incomplete work in progress that, hopefully, corresponds to reality, then one is much more likely to develop a wise, healthy relationship with the actual reality upon which the model is based. It seems that trouble comes only when one habitually ignores reality altogether in favor of their model.

Yes. Of course. Truth and belief do not necessarily correspond. Belief does not necessarily elevate, or diminish, the believer's quality of character, especially when belief is used as a substitute for wisdom, or honest contemplation, or a conscious, healthy relationship with reality.



There is a subtle but vital difference, however, between belief and faith.

Yes. Opinions and presumption are even more unreliable forms of belief. Opinions may be well-formed, but they are almost always incomplete. Presumptions are simply unexamined, often unfounded beliefs. Both are unreliable as representations of reality.

Yes . . . Wow!

Yes, but it is good to be reminded. This kind of consciousness tends to be somewhat fluid, it ebbs and flows, it breathes in and breathes out (pick your metaphor). A modest amount of preconception (imagination?) and belief can be a great help, as long as they don't become habitual crutches that hinder the growth of consciousness.

 

One simple phrase uttered around 40 years ago has played upon my mind and, like the constant drip of water upon granite, slowly permeated through until I now almost understand it's full implications. That phrase is ~ "Know thy self." I personally feel it correlates somehow to "the kingdom of god is within". Time will tell.

 

I don't know who came up with this theory or w/e it is, but supposedly a hunger for God is a natural hunger that everyone is born with. I actually think it one of the things our morality teacher used to try to prove the existence of God *rolls eyes*

 

God came up with that. He says in the Bible that He has written His law upon the hearts of man. We know the difference between right and wrong no matter what we've been brought up to believe. We can feel it deep inside of us, even if we hide it well on the outside. We have a hunger for righteousness and goodness, but though our flesh/sinful nature gets in our spirit's way.

He has created us all with an emptiness inside that can only be filled by having a relationship with Him. Things of this world....(A new house, A new car, A boat, great body, great wardrobe, Happy children, The perfect job, The perfect wife, The perfect husband, a winning lottery ticket..) can bring temporary contentment, because true contentment can not be found in physical things. All of these things will become less alluring with time. The house will age. The car will rust. The children will be children. The job will grow old. The wife, she will get fat after three kids. The husband won't do anything but sit in front of the TV watching football. The million dollars will soon be spent.

I hate the word religion, Christianity is more than a religion, it's more than following rules and keeping traditions. It's all about relationships...our relationship with our Creator, and our relationships with eachother, including all those who cross our path. Our love of mankind. It's is so persistent because it has offered people true, unconditional love that the world doesn't offer. It brings us to a place beyond ourselves and our despair. It gives us hope, a purpose, and opportunity....and that's why it's so contagious!!!

 

I agree with the idea that happiness cannot be found in the material. I like the idea of storing one's treaures in heaven. But I do not find that one must neccesarily subscribe to a certain beleif system in order to achieve true happiness.

I may have said this already, but it bears repeating. It seems to me that the purpose of religion is the same today as it has been for a thousand years -- to keep the poor in their place and prevent them from rising up against their oppressors.

 

well that is not the purpose of the Christian religion. Jesus tells us to sell all that we have and give the money to the poor. He also spent alot of time helping, teaching, healing the poor and the sick. As Christians/followers of Christ, we are to do what he would do. There are alot of religions that claim to be serving God, but thier actions show that they missed a few things in the Bible about peace and love.