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RE: Can religion be positive
January 5, 2015 at 7:42 pm
(January 5, 2015 at 12:41 pm)fr0d0 Wrote: Why can't people do good things without having to take the credit themselves? Sounds like that's what you are suggesting. Religion, in that case, is promoting selfless acts. Something I think is far better than selfish acts.
Saturday an old woman dropped her shopping at the cashier. For me it was a natural thing to pick up her stuff and put it back into her bag. No religion needed. It's just the decent thing to do and I would have felt bad if I hadn't done it.
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 5, 2015 at 8:49 pm
Yes, religion can be good. For someone who buys into it, it can provide a strong motivator, a moral code, social values, and the almost-unconditional support of an organized institution. Look at the many former gang-members who find Jesus in prison, finish their sentences, and go on to work with troubled teens in poor areas.
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 5, 2015 at 10:42 pm
Of course religion can be positive, any belief can be, where there is positive there is negative. Atheism can be positive or negative also, it just depends on how you use it.
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 5, 2015 at 11:40 pm
I don't think I'd prescribe religion for anyone. But when I see a well adjusted person who takes either positive meaning, or comfort from it, I assume that for them it's a good thing.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 6, 2015 at 12:08 am
I think its negative for atheist to believe all religion is negative, and unintelligent also.
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 6, 2015 at 12:32 am
(This post was last modified: January 6, 2015 at 12:33 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(January 5, 2015 at 11:40 pm)Jenny A Wrote: I don't think I'd prescribe religion for anyone. But when I see a well adjusted person who takes either positive meaning, or comfort from it, I assume that for them it's a good thing. -and then a dick like me comes along and reminds you that their "good thing" is predicate on stringing up a better man than themselves for all their own failings.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 6, 2015 at 12:45 am
(January 6, 2015 at 12:32 am)Rhythm Wrote: (January 5, 2015 at 11:40 pm)Jenny A Wrote: I don't think I'd prescribe religion for anyone. But when I see a well adjusted person who takes either positive meaning, or comfort from it, I assume that for them it's a good thing. -and then a dick like me comes along and reminds you that their "good thing" is predicate on stringing up a better man than themselves for all their own failings.
As long as that dead man was already strung up a couple thousand years ago, that's okay. It's when they want to affect current political policy that I'm bothered (whether they want to string someone up or not).
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 6, 2015 at 2:38 am
Religion is the back bone of many strong communities. Religion also inspires many acts of charity. Religion has been the motivating factory for beautiful art and architecture. These arguments show that religion is a force for good.
However religion can be the source of intolerence, bigotry, arrogance and ignorance. These show that religion is a negative force.
In conclusion there is no simple metric to compute the net effect. Therefore the reasonable conclusion is that religion is a force for good and bad.
8000 years before Jesus, the Egyptian god Horus said, "I am the way, the truth, the life."
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 6, 2015 at 5:21 am
Therefore.... Morally irrelevant?
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RE: Can religion be positive
January 6, 2015 at 6:35 am
(January 6, 2015 at 2:38 am)BlackMason Wrote: Religion is the back bone of many strong communities. Religion also inspires many acts of charity. Religion has been the motivating factory for beautiful art and architecture. These arguments show that religion is a force for good.
However religion can be the source of intolerence, bigotry, arrogance and ignorance. These show that religion is a negative force.
In conclusion there is no simple metric to compute the net effect. Therefore the reasonable conclusion is that religion is a force for good and bad.
Agreed. Generalisations are always bad!
Damn.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken."
Sith code
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