why is religion important?

[Mohamed]

why religion matters?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?

let's first redefine the word (religion). in islam, the word "deen" is what translated to religion in english. hmmmm i don't know if they are exactly the same, so i will discuss what is meant by "deen" which is translated to religion.

deen is what you think about the universe, about yourself and others. and the definition of what to (do) in response to that understanding.

in this meaning, secularism is a deen/religion since it tells you what to (do).
Communism is also a deen/religion since it tells you what to think and what to do.

why religion is important?

simply because the fact that: all of your actions is based on your view of the world around you and of your self.

for example, you go to school and study because you (think) this will helps you get a good job and be good man.

you don't throw yourself from a height of 200m because you realize you will fall down and die (at least be harmed much).

(correct) religion is a must for two reasons:

1- to take care of what will happen after death
if god will throw those non-believers into the hell, it is important to think of this possibility to protect yourself otherwise if you get assured this will not happen you will be free to do whatever you like.
2- bad or wrong religion cause bad and wrong actions.

for example, nazis had the religion that they are more developped than others, so they have the right to control and maybe kill those others. in the same manner you kill a hen or a sheep because you are more developed than him.

the previous argument is very true, provided that the religion it was based on was true!!!

the right and false depends on the religion, you may do horrible crimes while thinking you do the good from the view-point of your religion.

so, it is much important to search for the true religion.

secularism doesn't solve the problem, because it doesn't answer what will happen after death, it is only suitable to these theortical religions that have no practical consequences.

but it fails with religions such as islam which has very practical consequences. if you are a muslim you should pray, judge with god's law and go to jihad. secularism is not compatible here. and you will collide with secularism, which is simply other religion with another practical consequences.

 

[Mohamed]

i wrote this in the religion forum but i think it is also suitable here.

 

[Mr Natural]

There's nothing wrong with religion as long as you observe the 11th Commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

 

[Mohamed]

There's nothing wrong with religion as long as you observe the 11th Commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

what is this?

 

[Pennywise]

There's nothing wrong with religion as long as you observe the 11th Commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

How about expanding on that. Too vague.

 

[Sunni Man]

There's nothing wrong with religion as long as you observe the 11th Commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

what is this?

It's just nonsense.........ignore it. ..

 

[AmericanFirst]

There's nothing wrong with religion as long as you observe the 11th Commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

what is this?

Sarcasm.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Religion is not important.

Like most methods of control religion has done more harm than good.

 

[AVG-JOE]

why religion matters?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?

let's first redefine the word (religion). in islam, the word "deen" is what translated to religion in english. hmmmm i don't know if they are exactly the same, so i will discuss what is meant by "deen" which is translated to religion.

deen is what you think about the universe, about yourself and others. and the definition of what to (do) in response to that understanding.

in this meaning, secularism is a deen/religion since it tells you what to (do).
Communism is also a deen/religion since it tells you what to think and what to do.

why religion is important?

simply because the fact that: all of your actions is based on your view of the world around you and of your self.

for example, you go to school and study because you (think) this will helps you get a good job and be good man.

you don't throw yourself from a height of 200m because you realize you will fall down and die (at least be harmed much).

(correct) religion is a must for two reasons:

1- to take care of what will happen after death
if god will throw those non-believers into the hell, it is important to think of this possibility to protect yourself otherwise if you get assured this will not happen you will be free to do whatever you like.
2- bad or wrong religion cause bad and wrong actions.

for example, nazis had the religion that they are more developped than others, so they have the right to control and maybe kill those others. in the same manner you kill a hen or a sheep because you are more developed than him.

the previous argument is very true, provided that the religion it was based on was true!!!

the right and false depends on the religion, you may do horrible crimes while thinking you do the good from the view-point of your religion.

so, it is much important to search for the true religion.

secularism doesn't solve the problem, because it doesn't answer what will happen after death, it is only suitable to these theortical religions that have no practical consequences.

but it fails with religions such as islam which has very practical consequences. if you are a muslim you should pray, judge with god's law and go to jihad. secularism is not compatible here. and you will collide with secularism, which is simply other religion with another practical consequences.

How does religion "take care of" what happens after death?

It's called The Great Unknown for a good reason, Bro'.​

Are you really naive enough to think that there's one religion out there that can "cure" all of the "bad people"?




Did we learn nothing from 'Footloose'?

`​

 

[Votto]

why religion matters?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?

let's first redefine the word (religion). in islam, the word "deen" is what translated to religion in english. hmmmm i don't know if they are exactly the same, so i will discuss what is meant by "deen" which is translated to religion.

deen is what you think about the universe, about yourself and others. and the definition of what to (do) in response to that understanding.

in this meaning, secularism is a deen/religion since it tells you what to (do).
Communism is also a deen/religion since it tells you what to think and what to do.

why religion is important?

simply because the fact that: all of your actions is based on your view of the world around you and of your self.

for example, you go to school and study because you (think) this will helps you get a good job and be good man.

you don't throw yourself from a height of 200m because you realize you will fall down and die (at least be harmed much).

(correct) religion is a must for two reasons:

1- to take care of what will happen after death
if god will throw those non-believers into the hell, it is important to think of this possibility to protect yourself otherwise if you get assured this will not happen you will be free to do whatever you like.
2- bad or wrong religion cause bad and wrong actions.

for example, nazis had the religion that they are more developped than others, so they have the right to control and maybe kill those others. in the same manner you kill a hen or a sheep because you are more developed than him.

the previous argument is very true, provided that the religion it was based on was true!!!

the right and false depends on the religion, you may do horrible crimes while thinking you do the good from the view-point of your religion.

so, it is much important to search for the true religion.

secularism doesn't solve the problem, because it doesn't answer what will happen after death, it is only suitable to these theortical religions that have no practical consequences.

but it fails with religions such as islam which has very practical consequences. if you are a muslim you should pray, judge with god's law and go to jihad. secularism is not compatible here. and you will collide with secularism, which is simply other religion with another practical consequences.

I think the word belief or worldview would be more suitable than religion.

If you think about it, what is a fact? Facts are simply little tid bits of data that we think is correct. By themselves they are meaningless. It is only until we assign those fact meaning that they become meaningful and meaning is completely dependent upon belief. After all, why is human life more important that an animal life or a rock? It is more important because we have assigned it more meaning than the other. By themselves they are just random facts with no meaning.

In this life we can prove precious little. Most of what we believe we have been told to believe and they are the things that have never been questioned by us or others. For example, Timbuktoo is a place in Africa. I have never been there and probably have never seen pictures, but I've always been told it exists and have heard no one question that the place exists. Therefore, I assimilate that into my world view without even thinking. But to be honest, I could care less if it exists or not, so I would not be moved if someone proved to me that it did not exist. I would just shrug my shoulders and move on without a thought.

However, what if I believed that Timbuktoo was a city made of gold. All my life I have heard of it and no one ever questioned it. My whole life has been spent trying to find out where this city is so I can go there and become wealthy beyond imagination. Now if someone comes along and tries to convince me that the city does not really exist, then I start to get upset. Not only have I invested a great deal of my life in researching its existence, my hope and happiness depends on its existence. Now I have a horse in the race when it comes to believing it exists and will probably refuse to be dissuaded from thinking otherwise.

Religion is the same way. For those who are religious, there is a pot of gold someplace to find and place their hope in. Of course, those who are not religious pride themselves on only believing "the facts", but they too have a pot of gold they are trying to attain. It could be actual gold, but often it is money or relationships or career related. We then begin to live our lives and build upon those beliefs, and the more we build the more investment we have in those beliefs. This means that it will be that much less likely we will change our worldviews.

Jesus said something similar when he said that we must build our house on solid ground. Those who don't will build their mighty mansions, only to have them come crushing down if they are not built on solid ground. However, the more we build and money and time invested in that structure, the less likely we will stop building because the foundation is not sound. More than likely we will finish building and just cross our fingers.

Does anyone here think that a person like Billy Graham who has devoted himself to world ministry and on the verge of death, would forsake all he has worked for and change his worldview? Does anyone here who thinks that Hugh Heffner, who has devoted his entire life on building a financial empire on the business of sex and personal gratification change his course abruptly? This is not likely in either scenario.

In short, we all strive for what we think we need that will make us happy forever. At the end of the day those who choose the wrong thing will have unknowingly chosen "evil" and those who choose what is right will have embraced righteousness. From my personal experience, when you choose something that hurts yourself or others that is what is generally viewed as evil, or if you embrace what is false.

 

[Votto]

Religion is not important.

Like most methods of control religion has done more harm than good.

That's like arguing that guns kill people.

In the first place, who made the gun? Was it not people? Then who fired the gun, was it not a person?

Do you really think that if it were not for religion, the world would be a nicer place to live?

It's like I always say, man first made himself a king and convinced us he was a god, then when that no longer worked he made us think that he spoke for God, then when that no longer worked he convinced us there is no God, thus making himself king of the hill again.

Study world history, The vast majority of human history shows us that most men who have walked the earth have been slaves. This is human nature, this is who we are. If what you believe is true, that there is not God, then only mankind can be blamed for misery he inflicts. In such a scenario, religion is a mere tool, and if that tool were not available, another would be constructed.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Religion is not important.

Like most methods of control religion has done more harm than good.

That's like arguing that guns kill people.

In the first place, who made the gun? Was it not people? Then who fired the gun, was it not a person?

Poor analogy.

Do you really think that if it were not for religion, the world would be a nicer place to live?

If there was no religion there would be some other form of control being used. And all methods of control are worse than none at all.

It's like I always say, man first made himself a king and convinced us he was a god, then when that no longer worked he made us think that he spoke for God, then when that no longer worked he convinced us there is no God, thus making himself king of the hill again.

There might be a god and there might not be. But we are talking about religion here not the existence of a supreme being. Religion has nothing to do with god and everything to do with control

Study world history, The vast majority of human history shows us that most men who have walked the earth have been slaves. This is human nature, this is who we are. If what you believe is true, that there is not God, then only mankind can be blamed for misery he inflicts. In such a scenario, religion is a mere tool, and if that tool were not available, another would be constructed.

Where in my post did I say there is no god? We are talking about religion not god.

And yes mankind is responsible for his own misery.

 

[Avatar4321]

There's nothing wrong with religion as long as you observe the 11th Commandment:

11. Thou shalt keep thy religion to thyself.

The very definition of pure religion is to take care of the widow and the fatherless. How does someone "keep thy religion to thyself" when religion exists to take care of one another and build relationships between God and our fellow man.

No one will ever force you to believe in something you don't want, but no one should have to be afraid to speak up or do what they believe is right just because you find helping people and worshiping God offensive. That's your issue.

 

[Mohamed]

I think the word belief or worldview would be more suitable than religion.

If you think about it, what is a fact? Facts are simply little tid bits of data that we think is correct. By themselves they are meaningless. It is only until we assign those fact meaning

may be use the world belief .. thank you for this clarification.

regarding your definition of fact, it is falsy.

we should differentiate between fact and viewpoint of people about this fact.
I'll give you an example. many people in ancient history didn't realize that earth is almost spherical, they had another viewpoints. does this mean the earth were cubic or a plane as the pretended in these ancient ages?
of course no, the earth was almost spherical as it is today. people's viewpoint or (feeling) may differ much, but the fact itself is independent of our understanding or feeling.

for example, we believe that mohamed is the god's messenger while others disbelieves that. does that means we and them are correct? of course no, either us or them should be correct. this is the argument God says (translated as)
{
Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, " Allah . And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error."
}

those that have wrong beliefs cause much evil while they think they do good things. why israel kills people in palestine? and america killed people in japan, viteneme, iraq and supports dictatorships? it is not policy alone?. it is also related to false beliefs.

the jewish was able to go to any place in the world where they were welcomed and establish their state. but they went to palestine. why? they think god gave them this land forever. it is not bad policy. it is false beliefs.

 

[chesswarsnow]

Sorry bout that,

why religion matters?

1. What people? people you know? people like me? its people like us who give your country 2 billion a year, you are aware of that right? Egypt gets subsidizes by a Christian Country USA, you do know this right?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?


2. No people do not say that, only foolish people think that, these three religions are not even comparable, Christians, and Jews have a real religion that is based on truth, Jesus will one day take back in the Jews, but that does not dissolve Gods promise to them, Muslim is not anywhere in true religion reality, its more or less a political movement to control or kill the masses.

let's first redefine the word (religion). in islam, the word "deen" is what translated to religion in english. hmmmm i don't know if they are exactly the same, so i will discuss what is meant by "deen" which is translated to religion.

deen is what you think about the universe, about yourself and others. and the definition of what to (do) in response to that understanding.

in this meaning, secularism is a deen/religion since it tells you what to (do).
Communism is also a deen/religion since it tells you what to think and what to do.


3. You are starting to figure out that your eyes have been closed all these years, and beginning to see how your religion as you call it is just a way to control you and make you submit to some old muslims who like little girls and rape them, they take your children and sisters and rape them, then they kill them.



why religion is important?

simply because the fact that: all of your actions is based on your view of the world around you and of your self.

for example, you go to school and study because you (think) this will helps you get a good job and be good man.

you don't throw yourself from a height of 200m because you realize you will fall down and die (at least be harmed much).

(correct) religion is a must for two reasons:

1- to take care of what will happen after death
if god will throw those non-believers into the hell, it is important to think of this possibility to protect yourself otherwise if you get assured this will not happen you will be free to do whatever you like.


3. You need to be set free from muslim, and be made free by finding Jesus Christ the one and only who can set you free, no other way to find freedom of spirit, that is what you thirst for, and that alone.


2- bad or wrong religion cause bad and wrong actions.



4. You were a kid when NYC was attacked, but those people in those pilot seats were muslim, and they believed what they were doing was for their god allah, and the evil they did that day was for the god you pray too, you sure that your god is the right god to worship, really?



for example, nazis had the religion that they are more developped than others, so they have the right to control and maybe kill those others. in the same manner you kill a hen or a sheep because you are more developed than him.


5. Muslims cling to this as a religious law, they borrowed the Germans concept that if you can make other people inferior than you in public opinion then its ok to exterminate less desirable people to further your ideals, which is sin and punishable by hell fire, in the after life.


the previous argument is very true, provided that the religion it was based on was true!!!


6. You have bought into it, you should know this as evil, but muslims all over the planet subscribe to these lies and sin.




the right and false depends on the religion, you may do horrible crimes while thinking you do the good from the view-point of your religion.

so, it is much important to search for the true religion.



7. Yes its Jesus who you are searching for, but if you find it being in Egypt, your own family may kill you if you profess having found Jesus, so your own father may cut your throat if you find him who you are seeking, just be aware of that before you knock on Jesus' door.

secularism doesn't solve the problem, because it doesn't answer what will happen after death, it is only suitable to these theortical religions that have no practical consequences.

but it fails with religions such as islam which has very practical consequences. if you are a muslim you should pray, judge with god's law and go to jihad. secularism is not compatible here. and you will collide with secularism, which is simply other religion with another practical consequences.

8. Secularism would be a vast improvement for islam, if islam ever understood that and followed nothing or secularism they would at least take the first step away from evil, and darkness.


9. We are all on a journey just be careful which direction you go, think hard and long first, where we go in this life leads us into the next life.



10. This is the most knowledge you have ever seen with your eyes, its about all of the truth you will ever need to know, learn this and your life will be eternal, refuse it, your life will be similar to those pilots who crashed civilian airplanes into our buildings.



Regards,
SirJamesofTexas

 

[Chuckt]

why religion matters?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?

What would Islam add to my life?
I couldn't know Allah in this life.
I can know Jesus.

 

[DGS49]

In Western culture, essentially all religions are characterized by the following:

(1) Belief in either a Supernatural Being (or Beings), or Supernatural Forces that either control or at least affect the unexplainable aspects of our lives and environment.

(2) A code of conduct which either prohibits or mandates certain behaviors, along with some system of future rewards for virtuous conduct and punishments for evil conduct (usually, after death).

(3) A belief in an afterlife for dead humans.

(4) "Faith," defined as a belief in things which cannot be empirically proven.

(5) The belief that one can somehow influence one's ultimate fate by adherence to a set of principles.

ASSUMING THAT THIS IS ALL NONSENSE - that is to say,

(a) there is no supreme being; everything is the product of a knowable (if not known) natural cause;
(b) There are no rewards or punishments for behavior other than what we can plainly see;
(c) Dead is dead, there is no afterlife;
(d) The only reason why something cannot be empirically proven is that it doesn't exist, or we just haven't figured out how to prove it yet; and
(e) You cannot affect your fate (other than in ways that are manifest without reference to supernatural forces),

What is the value of the existence of religion, in general?

Does it induce people to be better citizens than they would be without religion?

In many cases, yes, but not necessarily.

Does it harm anyone or anything?

At times - sometimes frighteningly so, as we see now in the Islamic world.

Does it create jobs?

Oh my, yes.

Clearly, from a public policy standpoint, the Government should be able to pick and choose which religions will get preferred treatment (mainly tax benefits), and conversely, which will have to make it on their own.

Even the ones that are total, obvious bullshit (scientology, rastafarianism, LDS, the so-called "Nation of Islam") CAN be beneficial if they induce people to be better citizens, but others are simply a societal pain in the ass (Jehovah's Witnesses).

It's a puzzle.

 

[September]

why religion matters?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?

What would Islam add to my life?
I couldn't know Allah in this life.
I can know Jesus.

How is it that you claim you can know Jesus but you feel you cannot know God/ Allah/ YHWH?

 

[Chuckt]

why religion matters?

people in the west says that religion doesn't matter.

be a muslim, christian jewish ... it doesn't matter. they are the same

is this a correct idea?

What would Islam add to my life?
I couldn't know Allah in this life.
I can know Jesus.

How is it that you claim you can know Jesus but you feel you cannot know God/ Allah/ YHWH?

Google "Allah is unknowable" and the consensus is that you can't know Him and I believe that is from the Koran.

 

[Votto]

I think the word belief or worldview would be more suitable than religion.

If you think about it, what is a fact? Facts are simply little tid bits of data that we think is correct. By themselves they are meaningless. It is only until we assign those fact meaning

may be use the world belief .. thank you for this clarification.

regarding your definition of fact, it is falsy.

we should differentiate between fact and viewpoint of people about this fact.
I'll give you an example. many people in ancient history didn't realize that earth is almost spherical, they had another viewpoints. does this mean the earth were cubic or a plane as the pretended in these ancient ages?
of course no, the earth was almost spherical as it is today. people's viewpoint or (feeling) may differ much, but the fact itself is independent of our understanding or feeling.

for example, we believe that mohamed is the god's messenger while others disbelieves that. does that means we and them are correct? of course no, either us or them should be correct. this is the argument God says (translated as)
{
Say, "Who provides for you from the heavens and the earth?" Say, " Allah . And indeed, we or you are either upon guidance or in clear error."
}

those that have wrong beliefs cause much evil while they think they do good things. why israel kills people in palestine? and america killed people in japan, viteneme, iraq and supports dictatorships? it is not policy alone?. it is also related to false beliefs.

the jewish was able to go to any place in the world where they were welcomed and establish their state. but they went to palestine. why? they think god gave them this land forever. it is not bad policy. it is false beliefs.

My definition of fact is falsy?

Your English is a bit rusty, hang in their guy.

Well let me just say, we perceive the world a certain way through our five senses. Is our perception always correct? We could be in a desert and see a mirage, for example. In fact, who is to say anything around us is real?

We believe things because they make the most sense to us, because we need to make sense of the world. Without a belief system, this would be impossible because all that would remain are uncorrelated "facts" that are meaningless.

Now when our worldviews are shaken, then a crisis of sorts begins. We are confronted with the notion that the way we made sense of the world is no longer valid. At this point, the life you have built around that false belief system is now null and void, it is a total loss. In addition, we must scramble to find a new belief system to replace it or go mad.

That is the power of belief. Religion is but one example of such a belief system. We all must take a stand regarding whether there is a God or not, it is vital to making sense of our world and existence.