Religions - Your Opinion

[Zardoch]

Also...not to offend anyone who believes in a god, but is it simply coincidence that the majority of the people who know the most about or universe and it's existence (astronomers and scientists) do not believe in a god and much of the uneducated, undeveloped people of the world do? Education has given us the freedom to forge our own decisions and more and more are choosing not to believe.

*I never stated that religious people are less educated, I said that a majority of the people who are educated in the sciences that teach about our universe do not believe in a deity. I in no way meant to say that someone who believes in a god is of lesser intelligence. I can understand how you came to that conclusion though.

Is it also a coincidence that there is an ever-growing population of brilliant scientists that are seeing the big bang and (macro) evolution for what it is? Scientists who have stopped to look at what they are being told and seeing that the things that are so commonly believed in the scientific world are seemingly intentionally misleading? From what I've seen throughout schools, universities, and practically anywhere where this indoctrinated worldview dominates is a censoring dictatorship that tells me "I", or anyone else for that matter, cannot question their beliefs. People are losing their jobs, being spit on, and overall scoffed at for even mentioning things like God, intelligent design, and Creationism.

Tell me, Ryder, is this the academic freedom you speak of that education has given us or am I right to assume that is has done more harm than good for science and religion alike? Because no matter how hard anyone tries, no one seems to be able to get past the stereotypical undermining assumptions that anyone who doesn't believe in evolution, but believes in creationism are generally uneducated morons who just don't "get it". No, I'm not saying that's what you believe, but I'm sure when you're confronted with a creationist, you may immediately assume that because they are a creationist they are not as learned as someone like Richard Dawkins.

But anyway, despite the fact that there are many intelligent men of education who believe in evolution, most people often forget that many of the founding fathers of science were Christians and creationist who did more for science than any secular evolutionist has. Darwin himself only propagated an already created theory while taking all the credit for something he did not create himself.

So in conclusion, just because of a bunch of people agree with each other doesn't add to their credibility of believing in something different. Intelligence has no value if there is no wisdom that substantiates it.

OK two ideas sorry about that. The bible is more then two pages but Most of the stories press these two ideas over and over again. Take the good Samaritan for example the man stops to help the other person even when his own people wouldn't help him. underlying theme be good to your fellow man and you'll go to heaven, or take the golden calve or bull in certain texts. There's only one true god. I know I used common stories but most of the other ones press this point fully.

The fact that many other religions have similar accounts as to what happened in the bible is a testament (/pun) that they are more than just stories grand elders told the next generation. Like, for example, there was a Babylonian tablet that features a man and a woman sitting on each side of a tree and the woman was handing the man an apple. Behind the woman was a snake.

http://ambrosiasociety.org/images/p007_1_01.jpg

The bible itself is becoming more and more testifying about the history of our world as researchers dig deeper into the documents of its scriptures. Hell, not too long ago we found King Solomon's copper mines that was used to help create the temple.

YouTube - BREAKING NEWS: King Solomon's Mines Discovered !

That's barely the tip OF the tip of the iceberg when it comes to discoveries that reveal the bible is not just some orally passed down stories based on illusionary accounts of what happened. Why haven't you heard about this? Well, if news that the bible isn't just some moralistic reference of stories and actually had historical significance, then evolutionist and atheist alike would look like fools, and since most evolutionist are atheist or straightforward anti-religious themselves, that's a big no no for them. So such things are generally downplayed so that such things cannot be found so easily.

Yes, these did exist before religion came to play in the matter My point was the church looked away from these things(turned a blind eye so to speak) their PRIESTS were molesting altar boys. Wars over religion are all over history. The church if they followed what they teach should have taken care of them before they became so much trouble. The crazed lunatics I was referring to were the religious freaks so to say. People who take religion to far. Sorry I didn't clarify all of it.

Yes, this is quite a problem for religion. The people who claim that they are apart of a said religion, but don't practice what they preach. One thing I always consistently point out, however, is that these people, as much as they claim, are NOT apart of whatever religion they assume themselves to be, excluding Islam. Furthermore, for religion like Catholicism, a lot of the original teachings and commandments have been changed to suit HUMANS needs and not God's needs. Not only that, but even when things in the bible weren't changed, there were certain things taken so literally that it became a philosophy.

Like for example Luke Chapter 19, verse 27.

"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."

This verse is apart of a parable Jesus spoke of where Jesus referred to himself. To someone who has not studied the bible or is an atheist, it is easy to assume that this verse was a direct order from Jesus for all Christians to bring non-Christians before him, and kill them. This was one of the verses taken literally by crusaders in Europe, who used it as a way to create an excuse for warring against their enemies.

Now, the truth behind the parable is that is referring to judgment day. The day that all those who do not believe in Jesus will be judged and punished. Yet for the Europeans who really did not follow the teachings of the bible as wisely as a priest might, in their minds it was clear as daylight.

My point is that more often than not, the people who claim to be religious, but do not practice what they preach, should be held responsible for their actions and not for what they assert themselves as. The crusaders were not Christians. The Catholics that revised the Gospel with contradictions and greedy marketing are not Catholics. What men do in the name of God has no barring on God himself. So in reality we must not condemn the actions of religion (except Islam, honestly, as it does say to kill anyone who doesn't believe the way they do), and condemn the actions of men who do not represent the real teachings of their religion.