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RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 21, 2014 at 4:45 pm
(June 21, 2014 at 4:40 pm)Arthur123 Wrote: Understood. Well, on this front religion can give people hope and a purpose that may otherwise not have any. Let's say the world was going to end tomorrow and only the government knew. I could see morally permissible reasons for them withholding information in this case
That's a reasonable debate to have though I find it hard to justify supporting the spread of delusion, at the gain of some superficial sense of comfort, when the cost also involves so much fear, guilt, and constricting ideologies about human progress, health, and well-being.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 21, 2014 at 4:48 pm
I agree. What if it was restricted to an afterlife and focus on moral virtues? Some sects of religion embrace this more than others
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RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 21, 2014 at 4:55 pm
(June 21, 2014 at 4:48 pm)Arthur123 Wrote: I agree. What if it was restricted to an afterlife and focus on moral virtues? Some sects of religion embrace this more than others
So long as one doesn't trade-in or distract themselves in any way from
this life by focusing on an imaginary one, then I don't see the problem with holding out for something after death, though it seems completely irreconcilable with common sense (does all life continue after death? Harmful viruses and bacteria too?)
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
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RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 21, 2014 at 4:57 pm
Well I suppose it depends on what you believe happens after you die! How about someone on death row or dying of an infectious disease? Is it than okay that religion distracts them from this world?
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RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 21, 2014 at 5:18 pm
(This post was last modified: June 21, 2014 at 5:19 pm by Mudhammam.)
(June 21, 2014 at 4:57 pm)Arthur123 Wrote: Well I suppose it depends on what you believe happens after you die! How about someone on death row or dying of an infectious disease? Is it than okay that religion distracts them from this world?
Like I said, so long as it doesn't diminish what they're able to do with their time left here, that their actions or words aren't spent constructing an imaginary world centered only around themselves, then I don't see what harm it could bring. But what a shining example of courage and dignity for a person to accept the grim truth of this reality and still further seek to improve it for those who will follow after them!
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza
