Are all religions just one big con trick?

Who_so_ever said:
Interesting thought.... Not sure who you are thinking of, but at any rate - if someone is a worst offender, were they religious at all; or just claiming to be? Also what was their 'religion'? Some actually preach violence to those whose belief does not line up with theirs.

I have to agree with someone on here that posted, "religion is man-made". The traditions, rites, ceremonies, etc are all made by man. Unless it is stated in KJV holy scripture. While I belong to a denomination that is closest, IMO, to Biblical teachings, doctrine and precepts.... I don't see that as reason to judge anyone else's religion.

I also do not force my belief on others. It is a part of me, not something that I can take off or set aside when having certain conversations, when voting or whatever the case may be. For me, it all stems from my biblical beliefs. Unbelievers need to learn that when people say something that points back to God, it isn't us trying to force Him on anyone, but simply that He is a very large part of who I am. I cannot separate Him or my faith from myself. :)
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Consider the Crusades
 
TinaM said:
Okay so I’m thinking of all the pedophile priests, Hitler, the crusades, Salem witch trials. Many many many examples of religious leaders who committed terrible things. Youth pastors who rape young girls. Ministers caught in hotels with prostitutes. I could go on.
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Hitler was a religion?
 

Who_so_ever said:
IMO, no. We need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. BUT with that said, we (Christians) are told to not forsake the assembly; go to church with like minded believers. It helps us and them. :)
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It is all a matter of translation and interpretation.
When a percentage of my income tax was designated to a specific Christian devotion without me having a say so that ended some things.
 
bobcat said:
I think that's an error in logic. If there are 10 doors, and the chance of a car behind one of them is 50/50, and one by one, you choose the wrong ones, then using that logic there can be no car behind any of them.

Sorry, but even if there is one door or a hundred, the chances are still 50/50 that a car is behind one of them. If all the other doors are the wrong ones, it doesn't change the possibility. It simply means that the more doors there are, the more chances you have of guessing the wrong one.
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Schrödinger says that behind each door there is both a car and no car at the same time, until it is opened. Frankly, I have thought about Schrödinger a lot, and I've never figured out if he is smart or dumb... or both at the same time.
 
MarkD said:
His call but he could be less aggressive about disparaging what other people hold dear if he even cares about our community.
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IMO you are attempting to censor OP. You many use hold dear if you wish. Don't even attempt this don't rock the boat community BS. OP has every right even if you personally are offended
 
Who_so_ever said:
The traditions, rites, ceremonies, etc are all made by man. Unless it is stated in KJV holy scripture.
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and other people would state unless it is in the Quran or the Torah or whatever holy scripture they follow

But if I understood your point correctly - yes, whether we baptise by submersion or sprinkling of water or have services on a Saturday or a Sunday or have communion every time or monthly etc - yes those are man made traditions and it doesnt matter which of them we do or which church we are in that does them - they are all christian - and same would apply to Muslims and other religions with variations of traditions, rites, ceremonies
People who get caught up on the detail are missing the point - none of them matters or is a core tenet.
 
January said:
and other people would state unless it is in the Quran or the Torah or whatever holy scripture they follow

But if I understood your point correctly - yes, whether we baptise by submersion or sprinkling of water or have services on a Saturday or a Sunday or have communion every time or monthly etc - yes those are man made traditions and it doesnt matter which of them we do or which church we are in that does them - they are all christian - and same would apply to Muslims and other religions with variations of traditions, rites, ceremonies
People who get caught up on the detail are missing the point - none of them matters or is a core tenet.
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Somewhat, yes. Sort of. :) A Christian is one who believes in the Trinity, and that the Son of God came down from heaven, was crucified (to pay for our sins), buried and resurrected. There is a large amount who do not believe that, so are not actually Christians, but some other faith. Details are important - if one were to study the Bible for understanding of baptism (immersion vs sprinkling), that is a subject God speaks of. Man twisted it, but it isn't a man-made detail per se.
I do concur that much of the issues which split churches, or cause new sects to spring up are simply "not a hill to die on".
 
Who_so_ever said:
Somewhat, yes. Sort of. :) A Christian is one who believes in the Trinity, and that the Son of God came down from heaven, was crucified (to pay for our sins), buried and resurrected. There is a large amount who do not believe that, so are not actually Christians, but some other faith. Details are important - if one were to study the Bible for understanding of baptism (immersion vs sprinkling), that is a subject God speaks of. Man twisted it, but it isn't a man-made detail per se.
I do concur that much of the issues which split churches, or cause new sects to spring up are simply "not a hill to die on".
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I encountered plenty of rice Christians. Do as I say not as I do.
 
Pepper said:
IMO you are attempting to censor OP. You many use hold dear if you wish. Don't even attempt this don't rock the boat community BS. OP has every right even if you personally are offended
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IMO you are attempting to censor him by your rather blunt command to "don't even attempt to," etc... No one questioned OP's right. And you seem personally offended by the "BS" added at the end of your command.
 
JustDave said:
Schrödinger says that behind each door there is both a car and no car at the same time, until it is opened. Frankly, I have thought about Schrödinger a lot, and I've never figured out if he is smart or dumb... or both at the same time.
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:) I think he was just trying to illustrate a point, and his illustration outlived his point.

He illustrated I think that the cat was both dead and alive, and God knows what his point was, but the subject was quantum physics in which I guess everything is everything simultaneously.
 
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gruntlabor said:
The 'learned' part is Ethics, a deeper subject than simple right or wrong. For Ethics we need a professor, God help us.
Tiny children may be thinking only of want, NOT thinking of right or wrong when they steal baby sister's cookie. But they know it is wrong.
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Interesting that you recognise the difference.

The question of good and evil versus the concept of right and wrong is very interesting. The former is a religious concept, the latter is secular. Graham Greene explored this concept in his novel Brighton Rock (1938). The characters are used to contrast the difference between the religious and the secular concepts. And no, it is nothing like an episode of Father Brown.

Brighton Rock is a novel by Graham Greene, published in 1938. The novel is a murder thriller set in 1930s Brighton. The story follows Pinkie, a seventeen-year-old gangster, who has killed a man and is being pursued by a local gang. The novel explores Catholic themes and moral issues, and its treatment of class privilege and the problem of evil is paradoxical and ambivalent. The novel also features an unconventional love story between Pinkie and Rose, whose shared Catholic faith shapes, illuminates, and ultimately dooms their love.
 
gruntlabor said:
:) I think he was just trying to illustrate a point, and his illustration outlived his point.
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His point was too esoteric to mean much to most people, but the illustration of poisoning a poor cat in such graphic detail even down to naming the poison used, demanded that people remember the illustration and relegated the point to secondary trivia. Who cares about the point? The guy fantasizes killing cats and then writes about it!😲
 
Pepper said:
IMO you are attempting to censor OP. You many use hold dear if you wish. Don't even attempt this don't rock the boat community BS. OP has every right even if you personally are offended
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No not trying to censor him, just calling out what I see as gratuitous rudeness. That is the only thing I think is an affront to the community. Holding whatever philosophical and religious views he may is no concern of mine.
 
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Who_so_ever said:
Details are important - if one were to study the Bible for understanding of baptism (immersion vs sprinkling), that is a subject God speaks of. Man twisted it, but it isn't a man-made detail per se.
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No I don't agree with that
I think the opposite - details are not important. The meaning and intention of something like baptism is important - not the detail.
 
where/when did humans appear on this planet ? - any clear dates and science? - was God around at the beginning ? - is this just all a fairytale? - there are so many unanswered questions about homo sapiens that our small brains can only deal with biblical tales and a few stories from acheaologists?? - there is no hard absolute facts just suppositions and guess work. we argue and discuss as if we are aware of the entire worlds history - how bizzare and brazen - lets get our facts right first?""?
 
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