The Positives of not being Religious

[+Sherapy]

I was asked to start a thread on the positive benefits of not choosing religion Not believing in "God" And for our Brothers and Sisters of Faith what are the positives of beleiving in God, or Religion. Please everyone post I'm helping a young college student with a research paper, thanks Namaste Sheri

[ramster83]

I was asked to start a thread on the positive benefits of not choosing religion Not believing in "God" And for our Brothers and Sisters of Faith what are the positives of beleiving in God, or Religion. Please everyone post I'm helping a young college student with a research paper, thanks Namaste Sheri

To me Believing in God has benefited me in these ways...

A) Made me broader in my thinking of the world.

Encouraged my mind, body and spirit to flourish.

C) Comforts me knowing i have him as my witness.

D) Gets me more involved in the Environment and Community.

E) Gives me faith - not of the "blind sort"- but faith in myself.

F) Makes me appreciate my life more- knowing it was "given" to me.

G) Made me study all sorts of religion - study that i insisted not HAD to do.

H) Puts my mind at an ease- regarding many things- both physically and spiritually.

Much more its done for me- Gods great.

[ShaunZero]

Here goes the Christian bashing again where Atheist claim to have more morals. Blah, this will get old fast.

[ramster83]

Here goes the Christian bashing again where Atheist claim to have more morals. Blah, this will get old fast.

Zero come onn dont jump on that boat so quickly...Lets give her a chance, yes i know its Sheri...but...lets see if this evolves to anything, i answered the question honestly in hopes to help her friend with her research, what Sheri thinks shouldnt really matter in this occasion...

[Bahamut_0]

I don't believe in any god nor in any religion, tough religion might be a good thing to help people that have psychological problems, suffered a big loss or are in a fragile state of mind.

As ramster83 said religion helps strengthen people, but to my opinion only weak people need religion, (no offense to religious ppl, i'm sorry if I offended u and I ask for forgiveness if I did) a truly strong person finds strength in herself, not in others, I used to be part of a religion until I was 12, (just because my parents wanted to) it never did anything good to me and it was just wasting my precious time.

I would say that there might be more advantages in being religious but, not every one is behind times. (and still there are some pretty inteligent religious ppl and some pretty stupid non-religious ppl).

[Mr Ed]

The Positives of not being Religious, Are there any???

Here are some:

1) Not having to follow religious doctrine that is over 1000 years old, very outdated and various religions refuse to modernise it.

The world has changed and living by a religion that says don't use contraception is a prime example of outdated religious doctrine.

2) Coming to your own conclusions about the world, its creation.

3) Possibly relying more on fact, such as science.

4) Much more freedom if not following certain religions, e.g. can drink, can eat certain meats and can have sex with contraception.

5) No risk of religious fanatacism.

6) No risk of blindly following a religion that may well have been made up to comfort people and give answers that science couldn't give at the time, or still can't give presently, as is the case for thousands of early religions across the world, each having their own religious doctrine and miracles, each now denounced as mythology. I don't see what right they have to be denounced when billions of people follow religion that has the same liklihood of being make believe.

The list goes on.

Edited November 5, 2005 by Mr Ed

[Welsh Shaun]

Here goes the Christian bashing again where Atheist claim to have more morals. Blah, this will get old fast.

I'm an atheist, but I'm not going to bash ramster83 for his beliefs. I can tell him that you can achieve those benefits without having to be guided by a god, perhaps he needs to be guided, unable to achieve this on his own.

Sheri the benefits of not being in a religion, or believing in a god, is individuality and the ability to have an open mind about everything around me, not to be led down a single path.(analogy - race horse with blinkers).

[Bahamut_0]

Well said Welsh Shaun, and by the way, good analogy .

[sylph]

to be without faith in the divine is like existing without living nor dying...one may as well be a number-crunching automaton, with empty eyes & no soul.. ^^.

[Mr Ed]

to be without faith in the divine is like existing without living nor dying...one may as well be a number-crunching automaton, with empty eyes & no soul.. ^^.

Very poetic, but not entirely true. If you don't believe in any kind of religion then you are more likely to be hedonistic.

[I AAAM]

I was asked to start a thread on the positive benefits of not choosing religion Not believing in "God" And for our Brothers and Sisters of Faith what are the positives of beleiving in God, or Religion. Please everyone post I'm helping a young college student with a research paper, thanks Namaste Sheri

Hello 'Sheri berri' you know who 'I AAAM'!

Just thought to join in, and try to help you on this subject, by adding a third dimension to it.

It is this: There are some people in this world who are non believers in an immaterial god, but still believe in creators who sent out Prophets over the ages to gently guide and try to help their created children, by telling them stories so as they can come to their own conclusions and deductions, and to gain their own intelligence through reasoning in using their own mind. This form of education demonstrates both respect and love for their created children of the Earth.

A belief in life is essential to ones balanced well being, for if one believes in nothing, one's life will be nothing, and end in nothing. It is a feeling of no hope, and we must all have and hold hope in our hearts. If someone said that we are here for no reason, what hope would this give you? So to answer your question for the third dimension in this topic, I say "I AM"!

and this needs no further explanation because I was created for a reason, and I know that within me lies the best friend I could ever find, and who will see me out through thick and thin. Do you have a friend like this who lives within?

Kindness and warm regard's I.A!

Edited November 5, 2005 by I AAAM

[sylph]

Very poetic, but not entirely true. If you don't believe in any kind of religion then you are more likely to be hedonistic.

lol, be it so according to your faith..

[rose_ashes]

- you do not have to follow all of those ridiculous rules

- because of that, you can live life more freely without having to worry about whether or not what you're doing is "right"

- you don't waste your time going to church, youth, praying, etc

- i personally believe that you appreciate life much more than a christian would, because it is my belief that once you die, you're dead- that gives me more motivation to live my life to the fullest, as opposed to those who think they're going somewhere else when they die to live another life

- you don't feel the need to judge people because what they're doing is wrong according to your religion

- you are much more open-minded and can appreciate all of the possibilities in life

- you can think for yourself and don't need a book and a preacher to think for you

[Welsh Shaun]

well put rose_ashes.

Wish I had said that.

[Seraphina]

I was gonna make a joke post about Chris Benoit being god...up to and including a photoshopped pic of him in white robes with a halo...but instead I suppose I'll try and stay on the rails

I believe, as I have long believed, that a secular society is not only more peaceful than a religious one, but also far quicker to advance, both socially and scientifically. Rather than uniting mankind, religion has actually been one of the (if not the) greatest source of division throughout history.

Man does this song rule..."End of All Hope" by Nightwish...fudging awesome...

But anyway, I'm drifting...even within any given religion you can't find people argeeing: You've got different branches of christianity killing each other, different branches of Islam killing each other, and so on and so forth. Historically speaking, religion has done far, far greater damage to mankind than it has good.

Does religion bring peace of mind to some people? Certainly....but it also leads to zealotry...fundamentalism...extremism...backward thinking (if it thinks it all)...traditionalism over advancement...even today, based it should be added on the questionable ideals of thousands of years ago, religion serves as a leash around society's neck.

Stem cell research, for example, could be used in the future to save countless lives...but religious groups are trying everything they can to stop it being used. In other countries it's used as an excuse to force women to wrap themselves up like a taco. Heck, in the UK, there are report of children being imported to be used in sacrifice rituals, and their limbless torsos are found floating in rivers.

A secular society, rather than concerning itself with such insanities, is quite capable of instead concentrating its effort on advancing itself. People are free to think and feel as they want, without being trapped within the narrow confines of millenia old dogma.

And most importantly of all...we can sin

[Essan]

Yes, we can sin...................... but we do so knowing that we can't afterwards go to a priest who'll say "oh that's okay, say a few hail mary's and you will be totally forgiven and absolved of this sin and you need no longer feel any guilt. "

We have no get out clause. We have to live with ourselves and the consequences of our actions. Guess that makes us less likely to sin...... Which is a big advantage for everyone else!

[Nadia B.]

This is true, Essan. Often, we are our biggest critic. It's a lot harder to leave forgiveness up to ourselves than it is to believe that God will forgive us as long as we ask.

[rose_ashes]

but when someone else commits a "sin" in your eyes, you scold them or think less of them for it. how is that just?

speaking from personal experience, i can honestly say that the atheists i have met are far nicer and less judgemental/discriminative than any christians. i grew up at a christian school (was there for 9 years of my life) so i most certainly know the christian type, as well as all of the 'rules' that they abide by and their overall attitudes.

[gandalf2013]

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Edited December 2, 2005 by gandalf2013

[ramster83]

Everyone raises interesting "concepts" and "ideas" of Christianity but many are being very stereotypical...There are "Fors" and "Against" believing in a God but at the end of the day it is ones very own business. Atheists say they dont have to follow "Gods" laws- but its funny...Gods laws are written into "mans laws"- if you're not controlled by God- you are controlled by the Law- which came from God- so dont pretend you are so "free" from commiting right or wrong, because if God doesnt get you for doing wrong- then the law will...

[AdNauseamSuiGeneris]

I don't believe in any god nor in any religion, tough religion might be a good thing to help people that have psychological problems, suffered a big loss or are in a fragile state of mind.

As ramster83 said religion helps strengthen people, but to my opinion only weak people need religion, (no offense to religious ppl, i'm sorry if I offended u and I ask for forgiveness if I did) a truly strong person finds strength in herself, not in others, I used to be part of a religion until I was 12, (just because my parents wanted to) it never did anything good to me and it was just wasting my precious time.

I would say that there might be more advantages in being religious but, not every one is behind times. (and still there are some pretty inteligent religious ppl and some pretty stupid non-religious ppl).

Zero called it. You must be right, 90% of the world has psychological problems and you are one of the few that are superiour to the rest.

[smallpackage]

As ramster83 said religion helps strengthen people, but to my opinion only weak people need religion, (no offense to religious ppl, i'm sorry if I offended u and I ask for forgiveness if I did) a truly strong person finds strength in herself, not in others, I used to be part of a religion until I was 12, (just because my parents wanted to) it never did anything good to me and it was just wasting my precious time.

I absolutely agree to this. People who don't want to know the truth, or fear being alone in the mysterious universe of unknown, Need a religion to believe in to comfort them. It can be hard to survive alone. So why not believe in an invisible friend?

I was put into a Catholic school for 4 years, And I remember all of the religious information that was jammed into my head.

I can still remember my teacher saying something along the lines of 'damaging your body, like tattoos and piercings are sinful', And I replied with 'what about earings?' (she happened to be wearing them too).

She replied with 'well earings are a form of god's beauty'. I then replied with 'Tattoos are a form of beauty to others'. She went off topic and ignored what I had said.

No offense to anyone that is Catholic, But, It's pathetic in my eyes.

[AdNauseamSuiGeneris]

Benifits of beleiving in a Creator:

Knowing that the scumbag that started a fire that killed his new born baby and wife last week will pay for his actions, unlike in prison where he will watch t.v. all day.

It gives me a certain satisfaction that even though nobody else knows I did something good or right, HE knows.

It gives added beauty to all things. Music, nature, everything.

Yes, religion can be used by zealots and fundementalists for alot of evil. But don't get on a high and mighty chair because so can anything else. It seems to be mans fate to be forever divided against each other. For a very long time, it was only religion, the concept of "race" and "racism" was never created until the creation of America as a way to justify keeping slavery.

Now look at everything that has sprouted from that. Don't make the mistake to think that fundementalism does not include anything secular. Stalin, Mao, Hitler. They participated in the most heinious wars and crimes in recorded history, and none of it was done in the name of religion. The Jews were used as scapegoats, don't b.s. the rest of us and say that it is because of their religion. It was because of their economic sucess as a group, would have been the same result if Arabs or Christians or Athiests replaced them.

[AdNauseamSuiGeneris]

I absolutely agree to this. People who don't want to know the truth, or fear being alone in the mysterious universe of unknown, Need a religion to believe in to comfort them. It can be hard to survive alone. So why not believe in an invisible friend?

I was put into a Catholic school for 4 years, And I remember all of the religious information that was jammed into my head.

I can still remember my teacher saying something along the lines of 'damaging your body, like tattoos and piercings are sinful', And I replied with 'what about earings?' (she happened to be wearing them too).

She replied with 'well earings are a form of god's beauty'. I then replied with 'Tattoos are a form of beauty to others'. She went off topic and ignored what I had said.

No offense to anyone that is Catholic, But, It's pathetic in my eyes.

And you know for a fact that there is no God. If you could prove that you might just be heralded as the greatest person of all time. But you can't, that is your opinion, don't speak of it like it is fact.

And I was in Catholic school for 12 years. And the way you were taught the information is woefully inadequate compared to the way I was given it. I really wish that my school was the national standard for teaching religion. To cram it down your throat day after day is bound to make more non-beleivers than to make people who really follow the religion well. It's a shame.

The damaging your body is something that old people just like. Not many older people have peircings and tatoos so they just use that as another way to stop younger people from doing it. The truth is that the Bible says not to do it so God can distiguish the believers from the hedonists. He wants his people to be nothing like them because that is what they did at THAT time, peirce and tatoo themselves. Today it is different, I don't see how God could possibly be offended that people get tatoos of a CROSS on them. Or in the case of many people I know, they get tatoos in memory of spouses, children, or mostly partners.

Edited November 5, 2005 by RagePatriot

[Guardsman Bass]

The main advantages of not being religious is that your mind isn't clouded by unsupported, magical claims of divine manifestations that fog up your mind when searching for knowledge, and attach themselves to you emotionally like a kind of 'mental' virus.

Not to mention that you are your own master - there is no puppetmaster pulling your strings, no 'heavenly father' present so that you can act like a child again.