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Kollin wrote on 2012-04-20 00:52
What do you think a world without religion would be like? I think it would be better than the world we have now. We would have a lot less hate than we do now, and have less oppression. People would be much more tolerant and accepting. Granted, we would still have hate, just not as much and for less idiotic reasons.
EDIT: Since I know how people can get with controversial topics, I would like to say keep any debates civil. Do not try to start an argument. This is a DISCUSSION, not a flame war.
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MareneCorp wrote on 2012-04-20 00:55
That might be true, but remember, religion is what brings people together/unites people. Without religion, we might have even more chaos and disunity, leading to a different world. I'm not saying this in favor to any side, but religion was a very big part in history.
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Chiyuri wrote on 2012-04-20 00:57
it's impossible.
You would need to remove humanity's ability to philosophy about the world.
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Lan wrote on 2012-04-20 00:57
If it wasn't religion there would still be things people would fight over.
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Kollin wrote on 2012-04-20 00:59
Quote from MareneCorp;843106:
That might be true, but remember, religion is what brings people together/unites people. Without religion, we might have even more chaos and disunity, leading to a different world. I'm not saying this in favor to any side, but religion was a very big part in history.
Indeed it was, and helped us establish things such as law. However, I think we would have eventually come to the conclusion that we need some sort of code of conduct to follow in everyday life regardless of if their was any "divine" being involved in making it so. Civilizations that existed before religion became a main focus in societies had their own "laws" of sorts, though the world was much...rougher...back then due to the limited amount of knowledge that people had.
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Cynic wrote on 2012-04-20 01:02
Religion is both bad and good, but it's ultimately people that ruin it. For example; while the Bible does preach hate being justified towards certain groups, it's people who take that knowledge and apply it in real life.
I know a lot of people who believe in God but not the Bible, or just ignore the hateful parts of it. So that goes to show that one can believe in certain Religions without being one of the hateful majority. But again; this all depends on the person.
I personally have no issue with Religion as long as it's kept a private matter. But seeing as people are constantly able to use their Religion as an excuse for hatred and shoving their personal beliefs down others throats, I do have an issue with most people of the current Religion.
I've thought about it a long while, though.. and eventually came to the conclusion that humans wouldn't be able to exist without having a Religion. They'd create another one either way. Humans will also never have a perfect Religion, seeing as there is always someone who wants to ruin it or use Religion as a "reason" to apply certain things to other people.
In the end; people fuck everything up. Humanity is why we cannot have nice things.
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Episkey wrote on 2012-04-20 01:06
Without religion, our knowledge and application of science and humanity would be severely lack-luster.
Gregor Mendel? (The father of genetics.)
Sir Issac Newton? (Physics.)
Jesus Christ? (Various humane laws and wise expressions. Jesus Christ is frankly the most influential person who changed our world. I mean we live in 2012
AD.)
Martin Luther King Jr.? (Equal rights for minorities.)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi? (Freedom for India.)
I could go on.
Sure, you could probably say something vague like "The Dark Ages" - but to be honest ... well that's another topic.
Quote from Cynic;843124:
For example; while the Bible does preach hate being justified towards certain groups, it's people who take that knowledge and apply it in real life.
Whoa Whoa Whoa. Just no.
The Bible may not support certain actions, but it doesn't say to hate people.
We are all sinners and liable to judgment, no one is better than anyone else in that regard.
You know "Turn the other cheek"?
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Kollin wrote on 2012-04-20 01:14
Quote from Episkey;843129:
Without religion, our knowledge and application of science and humanity would be severely lack-luster.
Gregor Mendel? (The father of genetics.)
Sir Issac Newton? (Physics.)
Jesus Christ? (Various humane laws and wise expressions. Jesus Christ is frankly the most influential person who changed our world. I mean we live in 2012 AD.)
Martin Luther King Jr.? (Equal rights for minorities.)
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi? (Freedom for India.)
I could go on.
Sure, you could probably say something vague like "The Dark Ages" - but to be honest ... well that's another topic.
Whoa Whoa Whoa. Just no.
The Bible may not support certain actions, but it doesn't say to hate people.
We are all sinners and liable to judgment, no one is better than anyone else in that regard.
You know "Turn the other cheek"?
It is true that people of faith have made great leaps and bounds in making knowledge available for all, however humans yearn to explore and understand regardless of any "divine" presence, we would still seek to understand the world around us. While I believe a world without religion would be better, I do know that religion has made many great achievements to further the human race. However, I also believe that even without religion, we would still have been able to make these advancements.
@Bolded: It is just too bad that a majority of people of faith do not practice what they preach. They use their faith as a reason to hate.
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Micho wrote on 2012-04-20 01:16
I dunno, I remember reading something about that humans will always trying to find "a greater being" than themselves, so a world without religion? I don't think it would have happened.
Removing something as big as religion our world wouldn't have been shaped as it is today. A lot of bad and good things wouldn't have happened, and obviously a lot of people here would weigh the bad things heavier than the good things that happened because of religion. But really, religion is a good thing, spiritually. But it's just us humans who kinda fucked it up.
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Kansi wrote on 2012-04-20 01:17
It's an interesting idea to think of, but I'm not sure if it'll be ultimately good either. Humans tend to need a leader to follow or else there shall be chaos - which in the end we shall create a leader even if it has to be fictitious. Also the concept of divine suffering or divine reward has aided humanity in creating order.
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MareneCorp wrote on 2012-04-20 01:18
Quote from Kollin;843140:
It is true that people of faith have made great leaps and bounds in making knowledge available for all, however humans yearn to explore and understand regardless of any "divine" presence, we would still seek to understand the world around us. While I believe a world without religion would be better, I do know that religion has made many great achievements to further the human race. However, I also believe that even without religion, we would still have been able to make these advancements.
@Bolded: It is just too bad that a majority of people of faith do not practice what they preach. They use their faith as a reason to hate.
Advancements cannot be made without the coming together of people. Ideas such as a heliocentric universe were questions that were asked by people that challenged relgion, such as the Catholic Church's original idea of an Earth-centered universe. However, I agree with you, people may use their religion as a reason to perform certain actions that may be unfair to others.
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Shanghai wrote on 2012-04-20 01:19
Humans are naturally in a constant search for their purpose in life. Finding a higher being is one of those searches.
If religion didn't' exist, there wouldn't be a set form of moral ethics that society can generally agree with. Everyone would follow what was right to them, and that can get things out of hand really quickly.
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Blassreiter wrote on 2012-04-20 01:20
The question to be asked is: What do you mean "religion"?
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Episkey wrote on 2012-04-20 01:21
Quote from Kollin;843140:
It is true that people of faith have made great leaps and bounds in making knowledge available for all, however humans yearn to explore and understand regardless of any "divine" presence, we would still seek to understand the world around us.
There's nothing wrong with trying to understand the world around us :)
Quote from Kollin;843140:
While I believe a world without religion would be better, I do know that religion has made many great achievements to further the human race. However, I also believe that even without religion, we would still have been able to make these advancements.
Well I'm glad you understand that. As for your later statement, there's no guarantee for that. We might have been able to make said advancements, but not until a
much later time.
Gregor Mendel was able to due his pea pod experiments because he lived in an monastery - he had free time. Humans have been farming since the Agricultural Era, yet no one until that point seemed to notice, or care, about patterns in offspring.
Quote from Kollin;843140:
@Bolded: It is just too bad that a majority of people of faith do not practice what they preach. They use their faith as a reason to hate.
So, that brings the question. Are they true practitioners or their faith or are they using "religion" to masquerade their true intentions.
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paladin wrote on 2012-04-20 01:23
Something would come to replace it
people would rally to something eles
People are lead by diffrent things
Some people can forgoe religon entirely without it since they see the whole reason of life via religious unneccassary
People need something to confide or aspire to or believe in
People believe in different stuff
From the honor of defending your home to the zeal of living life to the abosulte limits,theres alot of things people use to live there life religon is but one huge but twisted reason