If there really is a god surely he would smite anyone who started yet another STW religion thread....
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Atheists/Agnostics/Sceptics - Religious questions you want answered
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Posted 7 hours ago #
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IMO organised religion is a tool for suppressing the masses
Posted 7 hours ago # -
Why have dinosaurs roam the Earth for 150 million years, to then wipe them out many millions of years before man arrives on the scene? Then for humans to only be on the Earth for a few thousand?(according to the Bible).
Posted 7 hours ago # -
Why not? How should I know?
If there were a God, why would we expect to know what the **** he was up to?
Posted 7 hours ago # -
molgrips - Member
Maybe, maybe not. But not sure it matters much.
Anyway. See all that beautiful art, architecture and music that was mentioned above? The fact that the creators felt moved enough to make religion the subject of their creativity suggests they felt it was a strong positive in their lives, don't you think?
That's a different thread. But since you ask no, not really. I don't think religious piety or rapture is a fertile ground for art and creativity. Self expression and patronage is though. There is a considerable body of opinion that suggests many of the great renaissance masters were gay. Most famously Michelangelo. It's often speculated that his works are homoerotic and/or feature a gay subtext very much in rebellion against the Catholic churches' patronage.
What say you?
Posted 7 hours ago # -
gauss1777 - Member
Why have dinosaurs roam the Earth for 150 million years, to then wipe them out many millions of years before man arrives on the scene? Then for humans to only be on the Earth for a few thousand?(according to the Bible).
according to the bible the earth is 6000 years old. ~According to creationist fossil record is there to confuse us.
Posted 7 hours ago # -
Jiumjam - why does the statue of David have such a small willy then?
Posted 7 hours ago # -
Cos he's bloody cold.
Posted 7 hours ago # -
I've not studied enough art to be able to comment in any way. I was simply extrapolating from what I can see. I don't think that the faith is responsible for the art - but they could have drawn all sorts of things, but there are so many pictures of religious scenes and so much music. I know there was a lot of patronage and things being 'the done thing' but the point I am trying to make is that a lot of people throughout history were made happy by their faith. And still are. They don't tend to make headlines though.
Posted 7 hours ago # -
according to the bible the earth is 6000 years old.
Umm.. nooo.. not quite.
There's a creation parable, then a genealogy, then someone added it all up to get 6,000 years. He is not believed by that many people. Including the Pope.
I expect some of you are going to tell the Pope how he doesn't understand Christianity now, aren't you?
Posted 7 hours ago # -
IMO organised religion is a tool for suppressing the masses
They were clever those early Christians.Despite being discriminated against,suppressed,tortured,burnt alive,crucified,butchered in the amphitheatres for public entertainment and murdered in their thousands throughout the Roman empire in the first couple of centuries AD they were clearly playing the long game
Posted 7 hours ago # -
Yes. People dying for their beliefs carried on much longer than that.
Some people's faith meant so much to them they would rather die horribly than recant. Of course, outside of conflicts many other people went about their lives peacefully with the same kind of faith. All those people carrying around something that powerful and meaningful. And you lot dismiss it as stupidity.
I'm not religious but I try to understand it and what it means to people.
Posted 6 hours ago # -
Nick - I said organised religion not Christianity. Romans had their own religion they used to control people.
Posted 6 hours ago # -
Is it not a little disingenuous to give the gift of life, and then demand thanks for it every day in return?
If I’d given such an awesome gift, I’d rather you each spent it doing great things, not thanking me every five minutes but then asking me for more with every prayer.
How much did Pope Alexander VI pay for his 50 prostitutes to celebrate the festival of the saints. Did God consider it money well spent from the purse?
Was God really okay with Lot’s daughters getting him drunk and raping him after destroying Sodom?
Jesus, the list really is endless.
Edit. Sorry. When Jesus performed the miracle which cursed the fig tree for having no fruit, even though it was out of season, was God embarrassed by his son’s petulance and abuse of power in killing the tree? I’d have Jesus on the naughty step for that one...
Posted 6 hours ago # -
I said organised religion not Christianity. Romans had their own religion they used to control people.
Whut
Posted 6 hours ago # -
The primary cause ( note the word: primary) for conflict amongst humans is the lust for power and greed, very much a human condition/ construct. Religion has been used as an excuse. There are many examples, I'll proffer the Mongol expansion throughout Asia, Eurasia and Europe as one as it was pretty horrific. As far as historians understand, their primary motive was to secure trade rights.
I do wonder if the most zealous atheist posters here are in some ways rather like the shouty homophobes one encounters, in so far as their fear of being actually what they publicly despise helps with their self denial? I'll put a wink in here, just because I can.
And for those who choose to live their lives on a binary yes/no, proven fact or not basis, wow! Each to their own, but I like the grey areas, the unknowns, the hypothesis, the looking into the night sky and knowing that the observer changes the reality and that really, we know **** all.
I'll return to this thread this evening, it might have been closed by then, so a gentle reminder for those that probably won't read ( or understand) this bit, that dogmatism isn't a virtue, there's no need to be a pillock about it.
Posted 6 minutes ago # -
IMO organised religion is a tool for suppressing the masses
If only the world was quite so organised. That's just another form of imagining that there is someone somewhere who actually knows what's going onPosted 2 minutes ago #
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