Another 'What if'? .....
- Thread starter Robbo
- Start date
From my experiences people turn to religion to give their lives meaning, to find reasons to exist, to find a morale contrast to what they see around them; and more importantly control the people who govern what goes on around them. Having a higher being above them eliminates the sense of oppression that people get when they are governed by people more powerful than themselves yet still human. This is, of course, only one of the reasons. The times when i have seen most clearly why people blindly believe is when i have had the few experiences when i though i was going to die; although many people in countries like our own don't need religion for reasons such as this the vast majority that constitutes the rest of the suffering world do. Their lives are a day to day struggle against the world and the truly horrific atrocities they bear witness to: wether that be the longest civil war in history in Burma or the starvation and disease in Milawe religion blocks the grim realities of life. This is only one of the thousands of reasons for belief of course and is only my opinion.
to get to the point of my previous post.... it wouldn't matter if we conclusively proved it as the findings would only mean anything to the educated world not the people in blind belief far away who use religion to block out the already real truths of the fickle nature of human life.
I agree with this to a certain extent however, I always thought it would be quite nice and romantic (if the aforementioned happened) that science itself would end up as a religion and people's faith would be placed in tangible results.
hmm
although Im only 15 Ive already made up my mind
but for religious people in christianity especially , the thought of afterlife or sinning and going to hell acts as a law systembut it is optional
I feel the only thing that gels most of the earths morons on the right side of the law is fear of god choosing there fate at the end of the road
I know I dont beleive in a god , but I think it is vital that some people do and the mystery is never uncovered as there would be nothing for the people to fear upon commiting crimes and the such.
although Im only 15 Ive already made up my mind
but for religious people in christianity especially , the thought of afterlife or sinning and going to hell acts as a law systembut it is optional
I feel the only thing that gels most of the earths morons on the right side of the law is fear of god choosing there fate at the end of the road
I know I dont beleive in a god , but I think it is vital that some people do and the mystery is never uncovered as there would be nothing for the people to fear upon commiting crimes and the such.
One of the wisest things you might wanna do is not make up your mind head_shot ......leastwise not at the ripe old age of 15 years ...there's an awful lot to learn mate ....
Most religions are based on astrological type stuff anyways then the stories came after. Right from the time man evolved to modern beliefs.
Religion to me is just words that try and make people better and the world a better place. However as we evolove more we seem to forget that these were simply storys from wise and or wonderful people.
The problem with religion to me is people use it as a weapon whether that be for money or power or security or whatever they still use it as a tool.
If everyone just said ok there was a "thing" that we can call god (in my mind the universe itself is god and created itself) "its" name does not matter, neither does it matter which story or which wise man told it. Then everyone will get on alot better and make the world how "god" wanted it.
Do i think i will go to a lovely place when i die? Do i believe i wil go to a horrible place when i die? No is the simple answer to both. Do i believe that i will live forever 'at piece' then yes i do. Quite simply we are making history right now however small our contribution, from being a brain surgeon to a scum bag who just carries a disease or poisons peoples minds, we are all still making a difference for the future. Even a scrum bag has a job to do in creating a future and a past because without them there would be no point in bettering ourselves or wanting to move forward these people are what motivates others to think act and want to be better
Religion to me is just words that try and make people better and the world a better place. However as we evolove more we seem to forget that these were simply storys from wise and or wonderful people.
The problem with religion to me is people use it as a weapon whether that be for money or power or security or whatever they still use it as a tool.
If everyone just said ok there was a "thing" that we can call god (in my mind the universe itself is god and created itself) "its" name does not matter, neither does it matter which story or which wise man told it. Then everyone will get on alot better and make the world how "god" wanted it.
Do i think i will go to a lovely place when i die? Do i believe i wil go to a horrible place when i die? No is the simple answer to both. Do i believe that i will live forever 'at piece' then yes i do. Quite simply we are making history right now however small our contribution, from being a brain surgeon to a scum bag who just carries a disease or poisons peoples minds, we are all still making a difference for the future. Even a scrum bag has a job to do in creating a future and a past because without them there would be no point in bettering ourselves or wanting to move forward these people are what motivates others to think act and want to be better
This is all a very good question and one that I think is hard to answer.
While I think that there will be some people that will have their whole world turned upside down, I doubt it will lead to a global breakdown of law and order.
True, the majority of people on this planet are still to a greater or lesser degree religious, but there are also many people that are not. To them the notion of a god seems ridiculous. Yet these people include the same percentage of law abiding, good, clean and wholesome folks as the religious people do.
So what is keeping those people from doing whatever they want to do if they have no fear of being punished in the afterlife?
Simple, they believe in a more tangible higher power: Governments, authorities and laws.
Since according to atheists your time on Earth is limited, better act nice or you'll be wasting your time in jail.
This fear (although it's not always fear, more like a healthy respect) for authorities is instilled in us as we are children. We learn to respect and sometimes fear our parents as authorities and it grows from there.
Buddhists don't believe in a higher power, yet they are not known for going on killing sprees.* In fact, they are better known for setting themselves on fire on occasion...
*Except maybe the Shao Lin monks.
While I think that there will be some people that will have their whole world turned upside down, I doubt it will lead to a global breakdown of law and order.
True, the majority of people on this planet are still to a greater or lesser degree religious, but there are also many people that are not. To them the notion of a god seems ridiculous. Yet these people include the same percentage of law abiding, good, clean and wholesome folks as the religious people do.
So what is keeping those people from doing whatever they want to do if they have no fear of being punished in the afterlife?
Simple, they believe in a more tangible higher power: Governments, authorities and laws.
Since according to atheists your time on Earth is limited, better act nice or you'll be wasting your time in jail.
This fear (although it's not always fear, more like a healthy respect) for authorities is instilled in us as we are children. We learn to respect and sometimes fear our parents as authorities and it grows from there.
Buddhists don't believe in a higher power, yet they are not known for going on killing sprees.* In fact, they are better known for setting themselves on fire on occasion...
*Except maybe the Shao Lin monks.
Pete,
I don't think anything would happen at all. No matter how much 'evidence' you show, no matter how logical and flawless the argument is, many will never accept it. The religious explanation of creation is something deeply ingrained into people who truly believe in their chosen faith which, no matter how flawed, cannot be removed over a short period of time. ‘Belief’ requires no evidence in the first place, so it is unlikely that evidence will be a cause of non-belief/acceptance of another argument on any large scale.
What it will do, is create another rung on the ladder for the development of our understanding for future generations. I think western society has already drifted a long way from religion and towards science over the last few hundred years as new generations have more information available to them and freedom to embrace other explanations over those of religion without getting torched.
If the human race manages to survive for another thousand years or so, I find it very unlikely that the religious explanation of events would still be mainstream – I guess (by my own reasoning) that really depends on how well religion/belief itself survives the journey. The Romans had many gods to explain things they did not have the understanding/level of technological development to comprehend. We now look on that as primitive and the current use of religion to explain away complex things will be looked upon no differently in the distant future. However, such a change in thinking towards the subject is going to have to change over generations, it just cannot happen any quicker due to human nature, our willingness to embrace utter bull**** if it gives us some satisfaction and the stranglehold religion has over a large portion of society.
I don't think anything would happen at all. No matter how much 'evidence' you show, no matter how logical and flawless the argument is, many will never accept it. The religious explanation of creation is something deeply ingrained into people who truly believe in their chosen faith which, no matter how flawed, cannot be removed over a short period of time. ‘Belief’ requires no evidence in the first place, so it is unlikely that evidence will be a cause of non-belief/acceptance of another argument on any large scale.
What it will do, is create another rung on the ladder for the development of our understanding for future generations. I think western society has already drifted a long way from religion and towards science over the last few hundred years as new generations have more information available to them and freedom to embrace other explanations over those of religion without getting torched.
If the human race manages to survive for another thousand years or so, I find it very unlikely that the religious explanation of events would still be mainstream – I guess (by my own reasoning) that really depends on how well religion/belief itself survives the journey. The Romans had many gods to explain things they did not have the understanding/level of technological development to comprehend. We now look on that as primitive and the current use of religion to explain away complex things will be looked upon no differently in the distant future. However, such a change in thinking towards the subject is going to have to change over generations, it just cannot happen any quicker due to human nature, our willingness to embrace utter bull**** if it gives us some satisfaction and the stranglehold religion has over a large portion of society.