Religion Across the World

In my honest opinion, and this isn't meant to bring offense to anyone. I'm allowed to have my view on things and express them on a discussion site.
Now, before I express myself I'm going to lay down a few rules because this can be a VERY touchy subject.
1. I will immediately lock this topic should aggressive argument begin.
2. Insults to someone directly BECAUSE of their belief is prohibited.
3. The rules up above are very specific. If you take offense to something that these rules do not expressly cover, then leave the topic.
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Okay, here is my view:
Religion is outdated. Religion was very important when people did not have the logic to explain how natural things happened. Religion was also necessary before true philosophy came along, true ethics. Religion was important because people were quite simply barbaric and did not understand what ethics were. Therefore, as both an excuse for why we do bad things and a law system installed to prevent such bad things, religion was created over the process of many years. Now, this system primarily ruled with fear. Using the example of Christianity, the most obvious, if you do non-moral things then you shall burn in a fiery pit of death for all eternity. Now, this is not so bad. For those who are ignorant* of true ethics and philosophy it's a very good rule. The thing that makes religion invalid nowadays is that it has become corrupted from its true meaning. Those leaders who have taken over the rule system of beliefs have changed the rules from "doing bad things will lead to Hell" to "doing things that I do not like will lead to Hell." As religion grew and grew, people began to fear Hell more than they worshipped a God. This form of corruption then ruined religion. People began to worship blindly. They began to depend on religion as the answer to everything, when it was supposed to be a mere school of thought.

Now the rules on various religions are so binding and close-minded that those in religion are becoming ignorant* to experiences that religion does not allow. Religion is now a limit on the human mind. The type of thinking you are allowed to do when you escape the mentality that God can heal everything ever and religion is something that you must have to get through life is extraordinary. Being baptized as a Mormon, I can honestly say that when I decided to forsake religion it was a very freeing experience. Religion, again I say, serves as a limiting frame of mind. There are so many things you can't do because of the fear of God. That, that right there is my main point. Summed up:

Religion starts wars, causes stress, limits thinking, and forces people to depend on something that may or may not exist.

That being said I don't hate religion. As I said before, when it was a clear and newborn faith I may have partaken in it myself. But as of now, I believe the true meaning has been washed away. I don't hate people who have religions. I have plenty of friends who are religious. I respect priests and rabbis and all of that because, through their training, they are wise in some areas.

Most of all I respect people who have religion but continue to have an open mind. Those who believe in God but respect all other religions as completely valid as theirs, those who believe that God shouldn't limit human experience.

Now, that's my opinion on religion. Yours may be as different as you please.
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*Ignorance does not mean stupidity. "Ignorant" is not an insult. It simply means "unaware."

I ask you this, what is religion in your view? Is it the gathering of people to worshop god(s), or to stay away from hell, or is it a collection of people seaking to expieriance a different train of thought? Because not all religions have a hell or a heaven, and others believe regardless that they will go to a better place. So what is it that you see as religion and are they all bound by fear and corruption?

I see mainstream religion as being bound by laws that forsake many things with the punishment being hell.
However, I still do not believe in other religions because all religion has a set of moral rules and they have all somehow been taken from their original schools of thought. There isn't a religion that doesn't have a defining set of principles.

I don't know what to believe anymore..

I'm sure you'll find what you need to believe in, whether you find satisfaction in stoicism or whatever.

Balieve in whatever you want. The ultimate reason for religion is self satisfaction if you find one that makes you happy then great. And if you can't make your own beliefs. Like me personaly I took bits and peaces from different religions and developed my own personal balief that works just for me.

Mind describing it, Tyr?
As long as religion doesn't interfere with human experience I have no problem with it.

Its confusing to explain its all about the reason. I believe everyone deserves forgivness once. I also believe that the supreme being regardless of how many gods there are there is only one. It takes whatever form it whishes but I will refer to it as God. God can take whatever for he or she wishes and I believe God created the world and allowed evolution. I also believe if when you do things if your desire is good when you do it then even if it ends bad as long as you maintain those original ethics it shall night be a sin (I guess is the best way to refer to it).I also believe human nature can not be viewed as a sin. The only sins in my view are things that permanetly injure someone or kill them.My beliefs reflect my view and the way I interact with people. I also believe that god rewards selfless actions and thoughts. I also believe god punishess the bad kind of selfish thoughts although my views on selfishness are a thing for another topic. But my personal views stem from one thing, and that is all religions come from one source one supreme god that created the world and allowed it to freely progress with limited intervention in the form of carma good deeds and attempts being reward and bad deeds and attempts being punished.

I like your belief system, Tyr. And I'm sure that there are a lot of Greek philosophers that would agree with you (such as Aristotle, though in his mind the supreme being was the embodiment of truth). I like it.

I especially take interest in the part where you say "god allowed evolution." I think the debate between creationism and evolutionism is a getting a little out of hand. Yours seems like a kind of agreement that would be made between Christianity and logic, and that fills me with a warm bubbly sensation.

Who knows. Oh well its not like God-if he exists- when you die will send you to hell as long as you lived a good life. I mean come on he doesnt expect us tonjust KNOW. Theres like hundreds of religions out there how can we just KNOW we chose the right one.

I agree 100% with my brother that's basically how i feel on religion. To add onto that i feel that religion has been and always will be not laws to rule your life but guide lines to help guide you to a life or happiness ans self fulfillment you know like a code of conduct to help make you a better person. along with the evolution thing its my believe (and if you feel other wise that's alright cus I will still feel this way today tomorrow and the day after that) that what we know as science is the means by which god created and "controls" are plane of existence but that's just how i feel

Boz, with all due respect I don't understand your point. Logic and science and religion are two opposite things. Tyr's belief put a bridge between them, but science isn't something invented entirely by man. Religion, however, has become such a thing. I say this because who knows, maybe a bush did burst into flames and start talking to people. My point is that it goes completely against science for a gigantic beam of fire to rain down from the sky and destroy a Roman chariot completely arbitrarily. It goes against science that a man would be born half-beast. It goes against science that someone could breathe underwater long enough to swim to the bottom of the ocean and grab a flower (which also couldn't possibly be at the bottom of the ocean in a state such as it was and still alive).
Maybe these things did happen, I really have no idea. But I'm saying that God could not have used science to put these things into motion.

well okay maybe not science wasn't the right word but I still feel the universe was made by god and he made like what we consider as "Nature" (in the general term)...yah know it doesn't i've lost my train of thought anyway

Maybe what you're looking for is that nature itself is God. The majesty of the forests and mountains and such.
There's an author who believes this by the name of John Muir. I don't recommend you check him out for various reasons but I'm only saying that you're not alone.
Muir believed that nature was something to be observed and not tampered with. That we should take it in as a whole being instead of something we are above. He once ventured into the Sierra mountains and took some bread and a backpack. Crazy.

yah thats probably more of what i was looking to say, conveying my belief in god in simple words isn't something I'm too good at, as far as the rules of religion go I'm dead solid on viewing them not as rules but guide lines to help make me a better person

Why shouldn't he check him out?

He's just very boring. I wouldn't expect other people around my age to enjoy books like that. I'm not saying he shouldn't I'm just saying based on assumption I wouldn't recommend it. I like him, but I wasn't sure of Boz would.

I don't think thats reason enough for me not to look this cat up, I mean if we have a similar ideology then why not look up his works

It's difficult to derive his meaning though. But go ahead, he should be listed under nature books. John Muir.

Looking up now

I just learned a little bit about Jesus' travels around the entirety of the Asian continent-yes, he did travel all around the entirety of the Asian continent- and come to the realization that there is a school of thought that should have played a massive role in Christianity, but was unfortunately ignored.
It's called Mithraicism, and priests of such a school held a huge discourse with Jesus himself-known by those people as the Scribe of Damascus.
In any case, one of the Mithraics main principles is that the mind is not only supposed to but it is DESTINED to continue questioning and grow in their understanding of God or the ultimate being. Thus, Christianity SHOULD have taken in all of the world religions as possible explanations as part of the Mithraic teachings. Such teachings were excluded from the Bible, and since ignorance has spread across the world now, the Bible is revered as the ultimate truth. Most Christians now believe that anything religious outside the Bible is invalid.
I just think that I agree a lot with the Mithraics (who don't exist anymore) about their beliefs. They also preemptively (and unintentionally) said that religious wars are quite possibly the most erroneous things mankind could ever possibly do.

I can agree with a lot of that, and to be fair most moderate Christians while still say are Judaic-Christian God is the one true god but have become FAR more tolerant of other religions compared to how it was in the past , but still there are right and left wing groups that are still hard core fanatics that shun anything beyond the good book whose message to accept thy neighbor has "mysteriously" been ignored

Thanks for that insight I'd forgotten about the neighbor thing.
A few years ago a Christian gay protest came to this town and went into my neighborhood. And all I could think of was how they could possibly call themselves Christians. The term "acceptance" is beginning to mean less and less every day.

(it is me Zozo for the record using Tyr's computer cus mine is acting up)

Yes it is which sucks, in this world of F you this and F you that and ultra comercilzation of...well everything down to earth values seem to be dissapearing piece by piece. But i still think that a lot more people still hold onto these valuse but feel less inclinde to show them for fear of being missjudged in some way. because when ever you mention the Holy Bible as the reason why did a good dead for some reason everyone jumps the gun and thinks your some ultra religios zelot or something and that might not always be true. At least thats what i've seen becuase in this politically correct world there is now pulled punches for those who still believe in the peacful message of the Bible (and yes it is a peaceful message though the Hell thing and eternal damnation is deliberate)

I guess I'm more negative than you. I think the Bible's meaning has been dissolved into a giant political document that parties of Christianity (who are of the SAME RELIGION) use to gain leverage over one another by writing up their own second interpretations. The Bible had an effing EDITING COMMITTEE. Nobody seems to take that into account.
But I do agree with you that those who stick to the original meaning are afraid to express their beliefs at the fear of being judged by those who have derived a meaning that is so much simpler than the one it was originally supposed to convey.