Is researching into religion a waste of time?

[John V]

If God prefers I research to find the true religion as opposed to devote myself to the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, and well being of society and gaining knowledge that will help them...then from my perspective right now he is a douchebag that I don't want to worship or even know.

What if he prefers you research the true religion as opposed to screwing around on the internet?

[Minimalist]

And naturally that would be whatever invisible sky-daddy YOU worship, eh Johnny?

[downbeatplumb]

If God prefers I research to find the true religion as opposed to devote myself to the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, and well being of society and gaining knowledge that will help them...then from my perspective right now he is a douchebag that I don't want to worship or even know.

What if he prefers you research the true religion as opposed to screwing around on the internet?

But I like screwing around on the internet.

Oh and no religion is true.

[Tonus]

But for someone who doesn't know about religions, why should he go research them, as oppose to gaining knowledge in economics, political structure, policies, how money is spent, organization, human rights, law, etc...things that can make him an informed voice on how society should be runned?

That depends on what he wants. The Bible can provide some moments of teary-eyed laughter, sleep-inducing boredom, and spine-chilling horror. It's like a lot of ancient books; full of mythological creatures and the adventures and misadventures of individuals or nations who are trying to navigate a cosmic pinball machine being played by a particularly nasty wizard.

If J. K. Rowling had lived in 600 BC, she'd have written the Bible. And probably been forced to give credit to a man in order to get it published, but them's the breaks.

[Minimalist]

If J. K. Rowling had lived in 600 BC, she'd have written the Bible.

It might have been better written.......


(p.s. - more like 120 BC.)

[CapnAwesome]

If God prefers I research to find the true religion as opposed to devote myself to the oppressed, the poor, the hungry, and well being of society and gaining knowledge that will help them...then from my perspective right now he is a douchebag that I don't want to worship or even know.

What if he prefers you research the true religion as opposed to screwing around on the internet?

Irony?

[Sal]

Someone taking religion literally I think is a waste of time, but of course I have a clear atheistic bias in that regard. However, as a historic piece I don't see why not, because for so long was and still is religions played a part in the world - so as part of history, I think it's OK (not that you need my approval).

Besides, if people want to do things that I consider wasting their lives away that's their prerogative; as long as they're not infringing on my life.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I research the impact of religion (Sikhism) on urban regeneration in my city and how they use government funds. I think that's important, but researching into the divine truth claims behind religion? Whatever floats your boat but I wouldn't consider that serious or worthwhile.

[Arellius]

I think it's good to know when you also want to study the opposite (to be an Anti Theist), this is still one of my favorite quotes and comments I found.

''Noah would have had 99% more animals on his ark than exists today. So the largest zoo on earth is 130 acres and only holds 1% of species alive today. 12,000 animals with almost 1000 different species. So just a little rough math, that would mean Noah would need an ark with roughly 750 thousand acre capacity. I have to say 1) that is on the low side of the scale. 2) Do you want to believe a story like this so terribly bad you are willing to destroy your logic, reason, and integrity to uphold an ancient myth?''

I don't know the whole Bible (New & Old Testament) yet, or any of the other versions. However I would like to know them to do some serious research and find all the fallacy's and logic in them. Christopher Hitchens knew ALLOT about religion, the man did his serious studies. And that's very handy when you want to be an Anti Theist and/or Atheist in my opinion

[Ryantology]

Doing research into, say, the works of Shakespeare is a useful venture if you wish to learn about how a play is made, or about how one constructs a work of literature, or as a snapshot of the time period, or what sort of commentary on that time period was being made in those plays. Doing research on Shakespeare under the assumption that his works are non-fictional and relevant to how we live our lives today is a terrific waste of time. It is precisely the same with religion.