Religion

[Archsage]

I think what Sparky said isn't sad at all and is what anyone should try to be like, religious or not, christian or Asgardian. And not letting something you don't believe in define what you believe is pretty much the right way to go.

^ But that is mainly just adressing your last sentence. That other stuff about question-answering I'll leave to you..

I didn't say that what sparky said was sad at all. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough but the subject of my last sentence was "the whole response". If you reread my post you'll see that "the whole response" isn't referring to Sparky's post but to what I said in the sentence right before that (in bold). Here, look:

I ask this because many people like to pridefully boast, "I'm not religious!" or "Religion sucks!" or something like that. But when these same people see what religion means in Christianity, I wonder they would say then? If Christianity says that: pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world, then I wonder if are you against that? Though I suppose people are afraid of Christianity, for whatever reason, and would rather reject love and purity then to admit that Christianity's definition Religion is a very good, or at least admirable, thing.

The whole response would be pretty funny if it wasn't a bit sad.

[Uncle_Iroh]

Honestly, religion is kinda the reason for most of the wars of the past. So one could say that it is a bad thing, except a persons beliefs gives them faith.

[Archsage]

Honestly, religion is kinda the reason for most of the wars of the past. So one could say that it is a bad thing, except a persons beliefs gives them faith.

No, the reason for "most wars of the past" was just human nature regarding 'us vs them' mentality, greed, and hatred. I really find the cop-out that 'oh religion is the cause of our problems' to be indicative of how oblivious mankind is to its own depravity. Fact of the matter is, religion doesn't start wars. People do. When they finally come to grips with that, maybe we can start fixing the problem.

As in, getting rid of religion won't end wars. But teaching people to be more self-less, to love one another (even their enemies), to be at peace with all people [you know, all that Christian stuff that nobody really does], then we'll see wars diminish into peacefulness. Or we can have a completely totalitarian government and conquer the world and squash everyone's belief systems forcing no one to believe what they want but only what you want them to. That'd be great.

But when you say "religion" what do you mean? And you can take note to see the difference between what Christians call "religion" and what you do.

[Uncle_Iroh]

I was raised on Christian beliefs, and I now pray to the Norse Gods. I don't think your definition of religion is correct. Religion is something people look to for guidance in their life. It's something constant in a chaotic world. When a person prays to whichever god or goddess, or gods they pray to, it gives them strength and helps them get through the day. Sure most religions say to care for others and want you to be pure, but deep down at the core of the matter. People believe what they want to believe because it makes them feel safer, and happier.

[Archsage]

I was raised on Christian beliefs, and I now pray to the Norse Gods. I don't think your definition of religion is correct. Religion is something people look to for guidance in their life. It's something constant in a chaotic world. When a person prays to whichever god or goddess, or gods they pray to, it gives them strength and helps them get through the day. Sure most religions say to care for others and want you to be pure, but deep down at the core of the matter. People believe what they want to believe because it makes them feel safer, and happier.

? Perhaps you should read the source, rather than what I'm saying:

26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. [James 1]

If you can note, this is Christianity's view of religion. I'm not sure if you can say this is 'correct' or 'incorrect'. This isn't telling you what to believe, nor is it telling you how to feel safe or happy. While that may be your personal view of religion, this is Christianity's view of religion. Not yours. And in this view, religion is worthless, unless it is pure and undefiled. That is, religion ought to be about love and purity in order to have meaning. Note that I never asked if you agreed with this definition.

I was saying to you that religion doesn't cause wars, people do. And furthermore, that this Christian Religion you have completely ignored.

So I guess I'll extend my question to you as well. As far as this Christian religion is concerned, would you be religious in these terms? It's a yes or no question. Do you love others ("visit orphans and widows in their distress") and maintain your purity ("keep oneself unstained by the world")?

[Ataru]

Hey look its an Archsage discussion where definitions of words are called into question! That's unpossible!

Joking aside, God actually did tell Israel directly to go kill certain groups of people on a few occasions, and I can think of some pretty specific examples from the Book of Mormon where He gave similar commands. Of course most of the 'atrocities' people usually pin on God from our past didn't come about that way, but it's not like He's never ever done it. Also the flood that wiped out the entire living human population at that point in history minus one family and their loved ones, pretty sure that was a big one that was directly His doing.

But that's irrelevant to your current question (just thought I'd mention it since it's just as much a misconception that God is never responsible for 'bad' things happening as it is to say he's always responsible for them). I think something you're going to need to define for your second point of 'religion' is what 'purity' means. What does it mean to keep yourself pure from the world? Since I would assume avoiding 'sin' would be the main point for purity, how can we come to a consensus on what 'sin' is? Christian sins are much different from things that are sins in other religions, and a person who doesn't follow any deity might have his own personal conception on what a sin is. Or if it isn't sin we have to stay pure from, what is it exactly? I don't really think that part of the question is well-defined enough, which is a big thing considering that most of this discussion is based around a super-specific definition of 'religion'.

[curvedlines]

Alright I'll bite. I'm agnostic and atheist. I do not believe in god nor do I believe that we can prove gods existence. I am not a religious person. By the super specific and probably incorrect definition of religious that you are asking no, I'm not religious because I don't volunteer my time to help orphans and what ever

Why is that super specific definition of religion so important to you Archsage? What's your end game on this? Are you trying to enlighten atheists to how they're secretly christian because they don't stab orphans and old people to death?

Like Sparkysparky said in one of his first posts, since he isn't christian, the christian definition of religion doesn't matter. Basically how I feel. The christian definitions of things are not something I ever consider. I don't call in to question if what I'm doing aligns itself with any particular religions tenants. Doing good things and believing that doing good things is right doesn't make someone christian nor does it make them religious.

[captainyodels]

they're secretly christian because they don't stab orphans and old people to death

Actually, that's a misconception about us Christian-folk. We stab plenty of orphans and old people to death. We just ask that Jesus forgives us for it. And by plenty, I mean, this week alone I stabbed probably five totally different orphans.

[BlackInk]

I was raised on Christian beliefs, and I now pray to the Norse Gods.

The Avengers and Thor must be pretty awesome for you then.

Actually, that's a misconception about us Christian-folk. We stab plenty of orphans and old people to death. We just ask that Jesus forgives us for it. And by plenty, I mean, this week alone I stabbed probably five totally different orphans.

Also this ^

[Uncle_Iroh]

I was raised on Christian beliefs, and I now pray to the Norse Gods.

The Avengers and Thor must be pretty awesome for you then.

Yes, yes they are.