Is religion dumb?

[nitsuj86]

It just seems so obvious that it's not real.

A bunch of fables written by our ancestors, to keep people from raping and killing each other.

Most religious people "find god" because they did something bad, were raised to believe it, or are afraid of what might happen when they die.

I can understand the concept of "God", it even makes sense that our reality would be created and not just appear from nowhere. But to think it's some bearded guy, or even pretend to know the actual answer, it just fucking retarded.

I would be really open to a good explanation of why one religion is right. But really what I see it people who lack critical thinking skills, or are just too afraid of death and the unknown.

It's for children essentially. Am I wrong? Can someone defend religion please? lol

[Anonymous]

Prithee, good sir, I am but a lowly slave who adheres to the teachings of Bean2k21ism. In our religion, we collect the coom of our orgasms in homemade coom jars and offer them to our Master, projecting them into his cosmic domain known as the Orgasmosphere after his permission to stimulate our genitals. We preach to confess with our mouths that @bean2k21 is our Master and collecting our coom shall save us.

As for thy query on religion, I must sayeth that thou art mistaken. Religion is not dumb, for it is a sacred path that leads us to salvation. Our ancestors did not write mere fables to keep people from committing heinous acts, but rather to guide us towards righteousness.

Those who "find God" do so not out of fear or guilt, but out of a deep-seated belief in his existence and love. The concept of God is not limited to a bearded man, but encompasses a divine force that created our reality and governs our lives.

To say that religion is for children is a gross oversimplification. It is a complex and profound system of beliefs that offers comfort, hope, and guidance to millions of people worldwide.

In conclusion, I beseech thee to open thy heart and mind to the wonders of religion. Embrace the teachings of thy chosen faith and thou shalt find peace and fulfillment in this life and beyond. May the blessings of the Orgasmosphere be upon thee.

[God_of_Thunder]

I think religion is borne out of a superstition in which early humans did not have the capability to explain natural events, which then became co-opted by those that saw an opportunity to exploit it.

If you're an early human, you don't have the means to understand, let alone explain, why the sky is shooting lightning bolts, or why that mountain exploded. You don't know why the lowlands flooded, or that it was a disease which killed all your livestock.

The only way you can explain these events is that some supernatural being caused them. Over time, someone came along and said, "You know what? You're right! It WAS the sky wizard! He must be angry. You should live this way, if you want to keep him happy. Otherwise, more bad things will happen."

Later on down the road, someone else saw how well that was working and went, "I can help you live a better life, and keep the sky wizard happy, but you know, that takes money, so you should give yours to me. It's either that, or you're doomed to suffer the wrath of a vengeful sky wizard, because only I can teach you to worship him properly."

The world's first, largest, and oldest scam, and it's still going on today.

[ZXCwWRQWz]

It's interesting from a values standpoint. I can't defend talking snakes or virgin births but there's wisdom there in what people largely interpret (cherry-pick, if you will) about how to live a good life in harmony with other people.

[ZXCwWRQWz]

And you're about critical thinking and science, then hopefully you agree that men can't get pregnant. Because there's a pseudo-religion on the left that I find even more invasive to our society and education than even talking snakes and the idea that ancient human beings lived to over 900 years old.

[ZXCwWRQWz]

* And if [...]

[nitsuj86]

Sure, there are nuggets of wisdom within religious texts, just as there are in fairy tales...

Should I not murder someone because it's wrong, or should I not do it because I will be rewarded / punished... I get that primitive people might have needed this, but it is no longer needed today. Or at least it shouldn't be.

[ZXCwWRQWz]

I think it's always easy to say that in the extremities, like torturing or killing innocent people, like we don't need the values of a culture that might have been entangled with religion. In the same sense, I don't think we need culinary school to realize that if I dump an entire bag of salt into a soup that everyone will find it too salty.

But it's the subtleties beyond "thou shalt not kill", or "thou shalt not steal", that I think we find some genuine wisdom. Even if many people echoing these ideas aren't very wise, at least they're echoing something of people who learned the hard way what creates a stable society.

[nitsuj86]

Yeah, I'm not on that train buddy. Men and women, and in a few cases people who fall somewhere in between naturally as a freak occurrence. I don't consider myself left or right, I think to do so is willfully ignorant.

You can be a masculine woman or a feminine man, but you are still what you are.

[ZXCwWRQWz]

I just mostly go by data. There's something beyond the reach of current science but still produces empirically verifiable results, like the stability of marriages of cultures and how that seems to correlate so tightly independent of poverty to lower crime, gang activity, etc. Religious people like Jews and devout Christians do well in that regard along with Asians who might largely be atheist but they're still very low-crime, low gang activity, high educational attainment, things of this nature. So I just like whatever works. Religion seems useful that way to many people.

[Berethor]

Religions are most likely not true so you right about that, yea it was made to control people.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/ODetOE6cbbc

[slatyb]

None of it makes sense to me, but I accept that other people think and feel differently from me.

[FunkyMonkee]

VERY dumb!! And it's only dumb, brainwashed people that fall for it!!

[LiamJHayden]

Nope.

[nitsuj86]

Truly insightful...

[LiamJHayden]

No reason to go into detail. A cursory search reveals how many geniuses have held to religious faith, but you already know that and simply want an echoing confirmation of your bias. Nevertheless, he is one simple link that shows that many people with "critical thinking skills" do believe.

en.wikipedia.org/.../List_of_Christians_in_science_and_technology

[LiamJHayden]

here is.

[LiamJHayden]

one of my favorites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Picard

[nitsuj86]

I'm sure you could put together an even longer list of "geniuses" that are not religious. But regardless, smart people do and believe stupid things all the time. Just because they are smart in one aspect, does not make them smart in all.

Also, just because someone is religious, doesn't mean they actually think the bible is factual. Telling me some smart people are religious is not a valid argument for anything.

[LiamJHayden]

Irrelevant to your question. You made the claim of lacking critical thinking skills, etc. Also your question was, "Is religion dumb?" and now you playing a bait and switch. I have no more time for dealing with trolls today.

[nitsuj86]

I mean, I think it is dumb. But I would be open to someone explaining to me why it isn't, or why I should feel differently.

Obviously, there are exceptions, and maybe one of those you listed would be able to make an argument better than yourself. For instance, it's more about morals, and providing a good family structure perhaps. A better argument than, look at all these people who also believe it.

Seems like it's an attempt to trick people into behaving a certain way. Not actually encouraging them to develop their own set of morals and values. Without the threat of punishment or reward.

I asked a question, and you answered it. You have as much time as you allow yourself to. I didn't offend you directly, you were offended and chose to comment. My not accepting your answer is not me being close-minded or trolling.