Church, Religion and Control

Mr. Ed

Mr. Ed

Be what you is not what you what you ain’t
Location
Central NY
Were there adults in your life who used religion to control or persuade you to behave? Religions have a set rules and regulations to live by, unfortunately the church and religious followers create their own list of sins but not listed in the Bible.

I was naïve as kid trusting parental guidance without questioning authority. Did someone lead you down a path to learn the path was not as you expected? Personally, I don't understand the massive effect how religion was so readily accepted and put into practice? There are so many loose ends regarding religion that people accept without question. Religion intimidates people but provides the chosen ones the designated communications of God. The Priests, Clergy, Preachers etc are prestigious in standing which the common people turn to for guidance. People listen and obey religious leaders as if they have supernatural powers, the truth is they are ordinary people they are not special.

I attended Bible College and studied to become a Prison Chaplain. My former classmates were ordinary kids, no great wisdom or special powers, Society makes us into something we crave to be but that is only show biz and you know how much we like to make believe?
 

My parents didn't practice Judaism except for the major holidays, births & deaths. My mother would say "We're not religious BUT We Know WHO we Are."

Her mother was Orthodox & my favorite grandma. We often discussed religion and she liked to take me to movies like "The 10 Commandments," etc. She never preached, she never judged, she never demanded, never expected anyone to follow her ways, which is only one reason why I loved her so.
 
To answer your question...my mother was a religious person but she kept it to herself. She sent me to Sunday school when I was old enough, but she didn't force me to and I soon stopped going as we already had Christian teaching at school.
When I was older, I became very curious about the whole religion thing. I read as many books as I could and made up my own mind about what I consider to be the truth.
 

Lavinia said:
When I was older, I became very curious about the whole religion thing. I read as many books as I could and made up my own mind about what I consider to be the truth.
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Didn't you say in another thread that you were covering your bases just in case? Excuse me if I got that wrong.
 
Its hard in this country today to consider religion as being a dominant force at all in my view, so marginalised does it appear to have become, (just my view of course!).
Those who could be described as "anti-religion" I'd say pretty much dominate popular discourse in one way or another, (think Richard Dworkins and his crusade to rubbish everything connected to religions, yet why he feels he's got such an inside track into the thinking the rest of us should accept, over all other great men and women throughout history we'll just have to ponder!).
However I listen to teachers express the view they have control of our children's minds beyond all other possible influences, "moulding history" perhaps being their aim(?).
 
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grahamg said:
Its hard in this country today to consider religion as being a dominant force at all in my view, so marginalised does it appear to have become, (just my view of course!).
Those who could be described as "anti-religion" I'd say pretty much dominate popular discourse in one way or another, (think Richard Dworkins and his crusade to rubbish everything connected to religions, yet why he feels he's got such an inside track into the thinking the rest of us should accept, over all other great men and women throughout history we'll just have to ponder!).
However I listen to teachers express the view they have control of our children's minds beyond all other possible influences, "moulding history" perhaps bring their aim(?).
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The 10 Commandments are the backbone of our society and it is vital that this is taught in schools. I do think a basic knowledge of the Bible should be taught but in a general sort of way, without doctrine.
 
Mr. Ed said:
Were there adults in your life who used religion to control or persuade you to behave?
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Sure, I grew up in the Bible Belt South (US), couldn't avoid them. Still there...

I was lucky my parents were not very religious, what we called CEH Methodists, only went to church on Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. By the time I was about 12 even the token visits stopped. But many of my fiends had to go.

I suppose the Christian social ethics and morals I learned have stayed with me, not a bad thing, but not really control. Still believe the do unto others thing and the like.
 
Lavinia said:
The 10 Commandments are the backbone of our society and it is vital that this is taught in schools. I do think a basic knowledge of the Bible should be taught but in a general sort of way, without doctrine.
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Not the schools; the PARENTS are supposed to teach this from a very early age. Why do people bother having kids if they can't be bothered to raise them themselves?
 
I think as we get older, religion becomes more of a touchy topic. We can see that light at the end of the tunnel and it's coming for us. So, people on both sides of the question become more entrenched in their beliefs. It's a hot wire that's probably better to leave alone. No one is going to change and it just creates discord. I regret any part I have had in that.

I don't care if you worship Jesus, Buddha, or Elvis Presley. If you're happy, I'm tickled to death. Now I'm going to go sacrifice a goat or something. Or, maybe I'll just have another beer.
 
Had a paternal grandmother--and all of her relatives--who believed that this life is only a tightrope-walk over the flames of hell; that the only reason we're here on earth is to try to get into heaven rather than hell when we die. And the church she belonged to, which was the Methodist branch of Christianity which supposedly isn't as fundamentalist, fire-and-brimstone as some other branches. Seems like love, not of others, not even of god himself, was something that wasn't needed or even advised; just obey & worship the guy-in-the-sky to keep out of hell. Just too crazy for words (and no wonder my dad was crazy being reared by her).
 
My parents were extremely active in our church, which was a pretty middle-of-the-road denomination. Absolutely no hell-and-brimstone.

There were a lot of youth activities and that was a lot of my social life until the later teens. I don't recall feeling "forced" into anything. Were there Sundays when I didn't want to get up and go to the 9 o'clock service? Sure....but I did...it just seemed "the thing" to do.

I married a lapsed Catholic and we didn't go to church often. My daughter wasn't raised a church-goer, nor was my granddaughter. My granddaughter, though, started going to church in college with her boyfriend (now husband) and they are very active in their church.

I consider myself a "Christian at Large".
 
oldaunt said:
Not the schools; the PARENTS are supposed to teach this from a very early age. Why do people bother having kids if they can't be bothered to raise them themselves?
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LOL! Due to the yoke of religion on lawmakers a whole lot of parents are going to have no choice but to have those children. Good luck on the raising part! :(

Religion in all stripes have caused a whole lot of hurt in the world.
 
My mother was religious, and my father's side of the family (the dominant side) was fanatically fundamentalist Christian. And you can bet I got a snoot full of religious instruction. Still, I spent years on a quest to believe in a god starting at a very early age, because I was taught that even the slightest doubt would lead me to the eternal flames, but from the start, it always seemed like no one was on the other end of my prayers. I could never find any actual evidence that a god existed. Of course I couldn't find any actual evidence that one didn't exist, and it seemed to me that the existence question pretty much determined whether religion had anything at all to do with reality or reason. If there is no proof of a god, either for or against, then religion is irrelevant.

I remained open to the idea of a god for 50 years, although the last 10, I had given up on ever finding any convincing evidence, let alone actual proof. I finally realized I was an atheist, and probably had been all along. This was not a decision or a choice. It was a discovery about self. Then I spent a few years cleaning a lot of ugly religious baggage out of my subconscious. I feel much better now, and am ready to gracefully accept the inevitable oblivion that comes with death. I do that by taking advantage of the good things that life offers now.
 
JustDave said:
My mother was religious, and my father's side of the family (the dominant side) was fanatically fundamentalist Christian. And you can bet I got a snoot full of religious instruction. Still, I spent years on a quest to believe in a god starting at a very early age, because I was taught that even the slightest doubt would lead me to the eternal flames, but from the start, it always seemed like no one was on the other end of my prayers. I could never find any actual evidence that a god existed. Of course I couldn't find any actual evidence that one didn't exist, and it seemed to me that the existence question pretty much determined whether religion had anything at all to do with reality or reason. If there is no proof of a god, either for or against, then religion is irrelevant.

I remained open to the idea of a god for 50 years, although the last 10, I had given up on ever finding any convincing evidence, let alone actual proof. I finally realized I was an atheist, and probably had been all along. This was not a decision or a choice. It was a discovery about self. Then I spent a few years cleaning a lot of ugly religious baggage out of my subconscious. I feel much better now, and am ready to gracefully accept the inevitable oblivion that comes with death. I do that by taking advantage of the good things that life offers now.
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Same here.
 
Lavinia said:
The 10 Commandments are the backbone of our society and it is vital that this is taught in schools
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Yes, many of the Commandments are basic to a civilized society, and I believe those should be instilled in children, no matter the religion. Particularly:

  • Honor your father and mother.
  • Thou shalt not kill.
  • Thou shalt not steal.
  • Thou shalt not steal.
  • Thou shall not bear false witness.
  • You shall not covet.
 
Lavinia said:
Yes. Too many people try to force their ideas on others.
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Lavinia said:
The 10 Commandments are the backbone of our society and it is vital that this is taught in schools. I do think a basic knowledge of the Bible should be taught but in a general sort of way, without doctrine.
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OK, I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you mean that the basic principles(as presented in the 10 commandments, as well as all other religions) "should" be taught in school...correct? And, not suggesting that Christianity be imposed on your fellow Americans that are non-Christian, correct?
EDIT: Looks like @Alligatorob types faster than me!

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