Why do we laugh at the religions of the past?

[The Grimmus]

I find it funny that here we are with many religions that are just as realstic as those of the past like the greek gods and the gods of rome but we istantly dismise those religions as super stition and i wonder how they can say that. MOst religion of today started when superstions where high, and yet they claim that it makes perfect sense. THis isent really a question but more of a confused person tryign to make sense of it all...

 

[Laser Eyes]

It is indeed difficult to make sense out of the plethora of religions in our modern world. Don' try and make sense of them because that is impossible. They are a confusing mess. But then again they were designed to be confusing in order to obfuscate the masses.

If there is a God then it stands to reason that he does have a group of people on Earth that truly worship him in truth. The problem is all religions say they are the true religion. The fact is they are all wrong except for one of them. Which one that is you will have to find for yourself. But like they say in the X-Files: "The truth is out there". Search and you shall find.

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by Laser Eyes
It is indeed difficult to make sense out of the plethora of religions in our modern world. Don' try and make sense of them because that is impossible. They are a confusing mess. But then again they were designed to be confusing in order to obfuscate the masses.

If there is a God then it stands to reason that he does have a group of people on Earth that truly worship him in truth. The problem is all religions say they are the true religion. The fact is they are all wrong except for one of them. Which one that is you will have to find for yourself. But like they say in the X-Files: "The truth is out there". Search and you shall find.

3 questions:

Are you willing to accept the possibility that 'God' does not exist?

Are you willing to accept that the earlier religions were the true ones, and yours is false?

What would you do if you learned that all religions are wrong?

 

[Laser Eyes]

3 questions:

Are you willing to accept the possibility that 'God' does not exist?

Are you willing to accept that the earlier religions were the true ones, and yours is false?

What would you do if you learned that all religions are wrong?

Oh dear Zero you are really putting me on the spot here. I always try and post in an impersonal manner. I make a point or put an argument and let it stand on its own merit. I try not to let my arguments depend on what I believe. What I believe is not really relevant and its not going to make any difference to anyone else. Nevertheless I will try and give you the best answers I can but I intend to continue to try and answer in an impersonal manner.

1. Yes I am willing to believe that 'God' does not exist if it could be proven to me. One point I would make here though is that asking a believer whether they are willing to accept the possibility that 'God' does not exist is like asking a mathematician whether he would be willing to believe that two plus two does not equal four.

2. I have a logical mind and I have good ability to evaluate evidence. If it could be proven to me that some particular religion was the true one then I would deal with that reality.

3. If I learned that all religions are wrong then presumably I would have discovered some non-religious answers to questions such as why are we here, what is the purpose of life, what happens to us when we die and so on... you know the kinds of questions that religions deal with. I don't see how I could believe that all religions are wrong without finding non-religious answers to these questions. Like I said above you have to deal with reality as you believe it to be.

 

[mouseman]

Originally posted by The Grimmus
I find it funny that here we are with many religions that are just as realstic as those of the past like the greek gods and the gods of rome but we istantly dismise those religions as super stition and i wonder how they can say that. Most religion of today started when superstions where high, and yet they claim that it makes perfect sense. THis isent really a question but more of a confused person tryign to make sense of it all...

Ahhh, you beat me to it. I was going to ask that very same question. I forget the reason why I was going to ask that though. There was an argument behind it, but I can't think of it now. It'll come to me...

 

[mouseman]

I remember. It was the same point that Laser Eyes made. It was just a statement to rebut any zealot's claim that "My religion is right and yours is wrong because my Holy Scripture says so. So there!" I hate when people do that. Yes I would have to say that Christianity is no better than the Greek or Roman pantheons of old. I guess monotheistic religions are just a little more convenient for us mortals. All those different gods! It must have been very time-consuming to worship each one of them every day.

 

[russ_watters]

Christianity does have some historical basis (admittedly thin), so that is something that keeps me coming back to it, but let's face it - my parents are Christian.

 

[megashawn]

Religions of the past are very similar to modern religions. The main difference is the questions that they attempt to answer. Older religions offered explanations for simple things such as weather and solar activity. Even emotions, such as love, were represented and explained by gods.

The question is, why do modern religions get to laugh, whenthere explanations have/will be disproven?

 

[GlamGein]

this last post brought up a good point: What is the purpose behind religion? Its my opinion that Earth creatures are full of awe and wonder about lots of things. god is necessary in order to answer those questions. We may have more scientific answers in modern times, but no amount of science will ever make humanity lose its sense of awe, which is why religion still and will always reign. (I am not including any factors of social control in this statement, although control plays a large part in religion also)

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by GlamGein
this last post brought up a good point: What is the purpose behind religion? Its my opinion that Earth creatures are full of awe and wonder about lots of things. god is necessary in order to answer those questions. We may have more scientific answers in modern times, but no amount of science will ever make humanity lose its sense of awe, which is why religion still and will always reign. (I am not including any factors of social control in this statement, although control plays a large part in religion also)

Why is a sense of wonder dependant of believing things that aren't likely to be true? Isn't there enough about reality to fill us with wonder?

 

[Zero]

Originally posted by Laser Eyes
Oh dear Zero you are really putting me on the spot here. I always try and post in an impersonal manner...

...you have to deal with reality as you believe it to be.

These two statements seem to contradict each other. Your beliefs make any statements about religion biased and VERY personal..I'm not attacking, just pointing out the difficulting in talking about mythology.

 

[megashawn]

You say that Earth creatures are full of awe, and the only way to explain our questions is through god. What sense does that make?

But how much awe and curiosity could we possibly have if the answer to every question is "God did it."

That really takes the fun out everything, don't you think?

 

[BoulderHead]

Why do we laugh at the religions of the past?

For the exact same reasons that religions of the future will laugh at present day ones. Everyone laughing at each other, satisfied that they have found the answers, picking out, and on, the nonsense to be found everywhere...except where they themselves live.

 

[Laser Eyes]

These two statements seem to contradict each other. Your beliefs make any statements about religion biased and VERY personal..I'm not attacking, just pointing out the difficulting in talking about mythology.

I agree that our beliefs make any statements we make about religion very personal but that doesn't mean we can't make logical arguments that don't depend on our own beliefs for support. Let me give a simple example:

1. I believe there is a God so you should believe it too.

2. You should believe there is a God because it explains where the world came from.

Two arguments, both making personal statements about religion. One of the arguments relies on the personal beliefs of the person making the statement. The other is impersonal and relies on logic and science. It is the second type of argument that I try and make.

 

[username]

I believe for most religions there is more evidence that they are wrong than right the same with ET's visiting us in UFO's.

 

[wuliheron]

The variety of religions today is nothing compared to the past. There are only about six major religions in the world today, and all of them can trace their roots to around two thousand years ago. Among christians, for example, there are only a few hundred distinct sects. This is enormous drop in the variety of religions, the Taoists, for example, at one time had four thousand distinct sects in their religion alone.

What accounts for this and the growing homogenaity of religions worldwide is growth and progress imo. The ancient religions often sacrificed people to the local gods of the lake or whatever until conquored by their neighbors who insisted they stop that nonsense and pay them the rent instead. As writing and governments became larger simplifying religion/government became more attractive.

When Aristotle invented the first formal logic around two thousand years ago, this also contributed to the simplification process. His black and white worldview became the basis for not only christian and islamic fundamentalism, but scientific fundamentalism as well. It simplified government tremendously. Unfortunately, it proved just a little too simple for the sciences which have modified it a great deal over the centuries.

Today there is a growing rift between the sciences and the religions and governments of the world, but I suspect sometime in the near future the sciences will once again produce a more useful philosophy around which to organize in the name of growth and progress. The religions will either jump on the bandwagon or be replaced with something new. Just as fundamentalists stopped all the human sacrafice, something new will come along to stop all the fundamentalists from enslaving women, etc.

 

[Royce]

I think that all religions past and present are wrong yet they all held truth, some, if not all, Truth. In my study of various religions I have always been amazed at how so many of their basic tenets were identical or at least very similar. That may only be the common psycological needs and/or desires of humans or it my be that we all have some inkling of the Truth. I don't think that we human's will ever know the complete Truth while were here in this life. If there is a heaven or afterlife and I believe there is; hopfully, then we will learn the Truth.

 

[ray b]

because we can safely, ie without fear
of sharing the fate of socrates
ie being killed by the state-religion
for dis-belife
never forget this is a very resent change in basic freedoms on a historic time scale
and something the churchies would love to undo
and only in some places even now
some moslems don't believe in IT [rushdie]
many christians do not eathor
but are much more restrained by laws
in the western nations but are still active in boycotts, tv censorship in the USA, the anti-drug war, anti-abortion movement, and anti-gayrights crusaids all led by the rightwing christians republicans under re-run bush's and assholeKKKroft's plans to push a return to "GOD's LAWs in a very tali-ban like program NOW as a part of their anti-terrorest plans!