The Value of Religion

I'm a Catholic, my faith is my business, I'm not here to seek your judgment, your approval, or your acceptance. Whether you're a Christian, Atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Pagan etc. I don't care. Your faith isn't wrong, and you're not going to hell for what you believe. I'm not a hard nosed bible thumping highly conservative Christian. I'm a Darwinist, and I believe in Evolution, I also believe in creation to an extent. I believe that god essentially gave us a few markers, and told the universe to go with it from there...metaphorically.

Anyways, I've strayed from my topic, and now I'm going to get down to business. Most religions are almost all similar in the sense that they have a form of afterlife. Some don't, but the majority do.

I live in a city with a crime problem. Not only that, the criminals usually escape justice, and are allowed to roam free on the streets to hurt others again and again. Where society ends, religion begins in my belief. Religion gives me comfort because I know, that those who escape justice in this life, will recieve it in the next.

Take a look at the 10 commandments. These aren't simple suggestions for Christians. These are codes of behavior for all. Don't not kill, do not steal, these are rules that all men can abide by. Infidelity is a wrong, no matter how you look at it. I'm not attacking those who don't believe in god, because they aren't in a position to be attacked, you all have minds, and you can all think for yourselves, you make your own decisions, and there is nothing wrong with that. This rant is directed at the immoral, and corrupt. You will come to judgment. Sure, you can argue that I may be wrong, and that there is no afterlife. But you could also be wrong, and I'm right.

So you need to ask yourself one question
Do I feel lucky?
Well punk,
Do ya?

[Xerxes35]

Boondock Saints bullshit.

Lock this plz.

Hey ASSHOLE! That last little bit was pulled directly out of Dirty Harry, GIVE EASTWOOD RESPECT!

[Real.PUA]

Atheists tend to commit less crime than Christians.

You don't need the stupid dogmatic beliefs that religion brings just to get a few moral wisdoms. Those are just the diamonds in the dung hill.

You might be right about religion, then again so might all the Muslims that think that you personally are going to hell and believe that blowing themselves up to kill your children will get them into heaven. You have just as much a chance of going to hell and suffering for eternity as you do for going to heaven.

I have to disagree with you there. Muslims don't believe that we're going to hell and they'll get to heaven by blowing us up. Those that do believe in that, were taught to believe it. Religion makes soooooo much more sense if you put common logic into it.

So there you have God, Allah, Zeus, Whatever. Do you honestly think they're going to punish non-believers for being wrong? Someone who would punish a person by condemning them to a life of rotting and burning for being wrong would be truly evil in the purest sense. Let's say Christians are right and the big guy in the sky is the Christian God. Which do you think he would rather see.

1. The person who doesn't nesecarily [sic] recognize him as the true god, but nevertheless, lives a good life, doesn't wrong others, honest, hard-working, tax-paying, etc... an all around good guy.

2. The person who spends their life thumping the bible, spends their time hating the 'immoral sinners' such as the homosexuals, the atheists, etc. Protests abortion clinics, all in the name of the guy who says he loves everyone.

Personally I believe that a man should be taken at his word. The Bible clearly states that god loves EVERYONE. If the bible is the WORD of god. Then if he exists he must therefore love everyone.

Honestly, if there is a god, and he's looking down over us right now. He is probably shaking his head at most people, and saying to himself "This isn't what I intended."

If you sum up the Bible, it's essentially god asking you to do 2 things

Work hard & Be Decent.

[AngryFemme]

Originally Posted by MarcusAurelius

This rant is directed at the immoral, and corrupt. You will come to judgment.

According to other religions, your being a non-believer in regards to their faith makes you immoral and corrupt. So it looks like in the end, there is a possibility that you will be judged right alongside them.

Does not believing in their brand of afterlife help make you feel less threatened by their impending judgments against you?

As long as you don't believe in it, it can't possibly effect you, right?

So there you have God, Allah, Zeus, Whatever. Do you honestly think they're going to punish non-believers for being wrong? Someone who would punish a person by condemning them to a life of rotting and burning for being wrong would be truly evil in the purest sense. Let's say Christians are right and the big guy in the sky is the Christian God. Which do you think he would rather see.

If "he" were the Christian God that's portrayed in the bible, he would prefer to see those who turn their back on him be punished by an afterlife of misery and hell and burning.

You also left out the greedy, selfish role the Christian God was playing when he laid down the 10 commandments. You know, the unnecessary ones that are ridiculous, like: Thou shalt have no other God before me, Thou shalt not worship false idols ...

[Real.PUA]

I was making a reductio ad absurdum of your "you might be right, you might be wrong argument." If we apply that argument to muslim beliefs, you have just as much a chance of rotting in hell as anyone else.

Muslims believe in martyrdom and killing the infidel, Christians believe jesus is the only way to heaven, catholics believe in a whole bunch of other crap. Clearly, some beliefs are just stupid.

Originally Posted by MarcusAurelius

Do you honestly think they're going to punish non-believers for being wrong? Someone who would punish a person by condemning them to a life of rotting and burning for being wrong would be truly evil in the purest sense.

Just because you think God should be a certain way, does not make it so. Personally, I'd think a god would be a lot more obvious in asserting it's existence and that anyone who would expect us to have faith is just asking for us to be manipulated by organized religion. However, God apparently knows better.

But it's nice that your wishful thinking has got you believing exactly what you want to believe.

[Whore of God]

OP: lacking in the logic department, but if it helps you sleep at night then you are provided with a psychological advantage. I therefore support your beliefs.

According to the Bible you're wrong. Sure your logic makes sense but God is pretty shallow. And when you have verses in the Bible that say, if you don't take Jesus into you're heart you're going to rot in a lake of fire and brimstone for all eternity, you can really only come to one conclusion: the god of the Bible is a cruel, conceited, heartless bastard that really doesn't care about your morals just the fact that you believe in him. As much as any Christian would like to believe what you say is true, wishful thinking never got anyone anywhere.