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Discussion: Should we respect religion?
Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 726
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Quote:
Originally posted by maddisonbutt
why would i respect institutions which teach their followers to hate the way I live.
I don't know why I should respect any religion, but my particular gripe is with Islam. They still execute people for being gay, and 90% of the muslim population believes gay people deserve to be killed. I'd even say I'm Islamophobic (scared of Islamic people) and why the F*CK wouldnt I be.
Any gay person should be scared of muslims who are moving from their intensely religious countries and into Europe - they DO believe you should be killed, make no mistake.
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The tea is real.
Many of them hates gays, Jews and Israelies. If you fit any or all of these categories you are pretty much dead meat or even worse in their countries. They even kill Israelies (murdering a 14 yo in her room is no big deal for them) inside Israel and get praised as heroes.
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 3,042
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Well, I certainly don't respect religion, but I'm not going to be rude to someone about it. Like if someone talks about horoscopes or some **** I try and just ignore it
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Member Since: 8/10/2010
Posts: 1,152
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Quote:
Originally posted by fabbriche
A secular society from the beginning could have not been possible as secularism is one of the many consequences of individualistic thought, and particularly in the context of Western civilization, was a practical solution to several centuries of religious monopoly and resulting intolerance and conflicts experienced in Europe. Civilization goes through different phases and stages. It naturally started off as religious because religion served many unique functions vital in the formation and development of civilization. It is an effective way of organizing society by reinforcing a collective way of thinking through the reification of values, norms and traditions that define the culture of a society. And this is also the same reason why religion was additionally mired and intertwined with the political and economic establishments of pre-modern societies. There was really no possible alternative. Secularism has only been possible post-Industrial Revolution. It was completely inconceivable before that. Even the idea of religious freedom independent of the state as opposed to a theocracy was preposterous and unthinkable to the political leaders of the time when the Anabaptists introduced it in the 16th century for fear of it leading to social anarchy.
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You and I agree, secularism is a response to religion. I meant that hypothetically speaking (/ in an alternate history), a society in which church and state are separate entities from the beginning may have very well produced the same level of law and order, the same level of art, architecture, literature, etc. as our historically religious societies. But we'll never know. Religion happened to be part of those building blocks, so it can't be negated.
I say literature and media but I don't just mean The Bible or Christian music: think of the parables that Jesus spoke and then compare them to The Iliad. They're the same. Or the question of our mortality in American Beauty which goes back to the Epic of Gilgamesh. It goes on forever. Its impact is just huge.
I also, as a non-religious person, can respect the fact that religion is an effective placebo to people, especially in hard times. That's hard to undermine.
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Member Since: 8/1/2012
Posts: 25,037
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Hell no.
Secularization is what made society progress to where it is now.
We must continue to criticize it and destroy it to the root.
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Member Since: 7/23/2010
Posts: 6,705
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Quote:
Originally posted by g.m.
You and I agree, secularism is a response to religion. I meant that hypothetically speaking (/ in an alternate history), a society in which church and state are separate entities from the beginning may have very well produced the same level of law and order, the same level of art, architecture, literature, etc. as our historically religious societies. But we'll never know. Religion happened to be part of those building blocks, so it can't be negated.
I say literature and media but I don't just mean The Bible or Christian music: think of the parables that Jesus spoke and then compare them to The Iliad. They're the same. Or the question of our mortality in American Beauty which goes back to the Epic of Gilgamesh. It goes on forever. Its impact is just huge.
I also, as a non-religious person, can respect the fact that religion is an effective placebo to people, especially in hard times. That's hard to undermine.
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I still find that hypothetical scenario/alternate history counterfactual and virtually impossible considering the state of humanity was before the modern period. I would explain why. Humans must live as a society in order for civilization to occur and the pursuit of various human endeavours like science, art, literature, etc. to transpire. But to even get to a place where society had the means of producing science, art, literature, architecture, there had to be cohesiveness and order in a society. Societies and civilizations, just like a human organism, proceed through stages of maturity from infanthood to adulthood. Just as adults don't emerge fully formed and physically and mentally developed from the womb, neither do societies arise fully evolved, modern and civilized. Every society goes through the stages of maturity until adulthood. Infant societies started as barbaric because they were composed of primitive humans who are basically social animals acting out on their natural violent animal instincts which enhanced their survivability in nature. There was no escaping these violent instincts but there was the opportunity to reduce them through civilizing human beings into a humane culture. And this is the primary purpose of religion. Religion is about control of human behaviour. Religion is that one effective irreplaceable tool antique societies used to suppress the animalistic nature of humans, especially of primitive, uncivilized humans. There was just no alternative to religion. Considering the poor economic conditions of the time, only few people from the elite class had access to education, and their governments and laws were also not efficient enough to keep everybody in line. The Bible as well as other religious scriptures, apart from being theological books, are basically political books which contain laws, rules, commands and instructions about how people back then were supposed to behave and what the consequences would be if they didn't. There's no punishment that could be handed down by a court of law that could even come close to getting slapped with eternal damnation. Religion back then functioned in a manner that's very similar to the criminal justice system. So it's really hard to imagine how a secular ancient society could possibly turn out successful as historically religious societies.
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 1,038
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We should respect people's ability to choose their beliefs, but we shouldn't be expected to respect the beliefs themselves. The majority of religions are oppressive, they operate like a slave plantation. The congregants are expected to live by a list of dos and don'ts and constant fear of eternal damnation if they don't; they're expected to work tirelessly throughout this life and hope it's enough to reach heaven/paradise in the next. I personally find that kind of life to be sad, empty and eventually meaningless, but I respect a person's choice to live that life, though I may disagree with it.
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 4,353
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Religion doesn't respect me for who I am, so I'll just keep returning the favor.
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 40,566
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Quote:
Originally posted by ryanpittman97
Yes, you don't have to agree with it but you shouldn't go out of your way to shame people for believing in what they believe, I'm Christian but I'd never force my beliefs upon anyone or tell them that what they practice is wrong. Not to mention it's moreso the people than the religion nowadays, I know a lot of Christians (like myself) who are very open minded people and accepting but to each it's own.
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I am very critical of religion though. I think it's incredibly homophobic and sexist but I do believe in God. I'm on the fence, and I see your point. I believe in God, Jesus etc but I don't really believe in the Bible because of all the hatred in it.
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Member Since: 8/3/2012
Posts: 2,397
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I respect people not religion. It's an antiquated system. Why would you look at your VCR manual to troubleshoot your Apple TV? It's not gonna work. Plus religion is the biggest factor besides government, that prevents global unity.
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Member Since: 4/4/2014
Posts: 1,038
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Quote:
Originally posted by B'Day
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I am very critical of religion though. I think it's incredibly homophobic and sexist but I do believe in God. I'm on the fence, and I see your point. I believe in God, Jesus etc but I don't really believe in the Bible because of all the hatred in it.
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Perhaps you just need a better understanding of the Bible. The Got-Questions website/app is an excellent resource for that.
Also, God isn't hiding nor is he distant. You can know God exist by communicating with him. The reason you will know he exist is because he'll communicate back with you.
God is interested in a relationship with you, not religion. He'll guide you to where he wants you go in time, but the best thing you can do right now is just be open and willing to seek him out. You can do this by talking (or praying) to him. Tell him what is going on in your life, your problems, your doubts, be completely honest with him, if you're struggling to believe that he is even real, tell him that and watch him over come your doubts. There is nothing wrong with doubt because doubt is open to the truth. Unbelief, on the other hand, isn't. Unbelief seeks out confirmation bias and is closed to anything it doesn't want to believe.
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 4,239
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Member Since: 8/18/2013
Posts: 12,457
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Respect people but not religion.
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Member Since: 8/19/2013
Posts: 1,948
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Hell yes. I'm not religious, but i understand that to have faith on something is quintessential to human nature. Religion resolves around that and exists since the dawn of the times (at least since humans started to settled down and became more organized as a group). The form it expresses from people to people is what should be criticized since it goes beyond the natural aspect to become just an historic construct. I don't believe in one god and in one word/law for everyone, but i can only respect the belief when it's used to make life more bearable for the unity.
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Member Since: 11/27/2010
Posts: 9,806
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Quote:
Originally posted by CakeLike
Respect people but not religion.
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Lets respect people first.
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Member Since: 5/27/2016
Posts: 1,311
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You can respect others choice to believe in the religion.
You don't have to respect the religion itself. Doing so, particularly if you're against so much or don't believe in its core beliefs, is very, very, stupid.
Its sad seeing so many liberals thinking they need to defend, respect and protect everything, as though its wrapped in bubble wrap. People have the right of freedom of expression and to criticise. If you're truly liberal, you value free speech. Not this 'WE CANNOT OFFEND AND MUST RESPECT EVERYTHING' BS.
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