Religions are fairy tales for adults. Should we encourage them to grow up?

Gnostic Christian Bishop

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2013
Messages
1,339
Religions are fairy tales for adults. Should we encourage them to grow up?


My mind set is close to Daniel Dennett as far as what religious people / theist should become after they grow up.


Personally, I like a lot of the social functions and appeasement of our need for fellowship, hivishness and tribalism offered by religious institutions.




So I do not want to kill all religions but just encourage them to be more moral, tolerant and give equality to women and gays.


Having said the above, People and recent trends to read scriptures literally have cause many to forget that religions were invented as theatre and myth and were never meant to be read or taken literally. They were designed to seek God, not to find one.


http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03132009/watch.html


Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus, said that when asked to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching, while he stood on one leg, said, "The Golden Rule. That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the Torah. And everything else is only commentary. Now, go and study it."


Please listen as to what is said about literal reading.


"Origen, the great second or third century Greek commentator on the Bible said that it is absolutely impossible to take these texts literally. You simply cannot do so. And he said, "God has put these sort of conundrums and paradoxes in so that we are forced to seek a deeper meaning."


As you can see from the following, religions and temples have always been about entertainment and fellowship.




If Christianity and Islam could return to the old way of seeking God instead of idol worshiping false Gods, perhaps jihadists and other fundamental believers might chill and get along the way they have at some points in our past history.


Religions are fairy tales for adults. If this is a truth, we should encourage Christianity and Islam as well as all other religions to grow up and return to their better past of seeking God instead of idol worshiping Yahweh and Allah. Both of them are mythical and manmade Gods.


Regards

DL
 
Werbung:
You bring up a very interesting image of how religion has been influenced and changed, for the worst, thanks to people-made thoughts and needs.

The integrity of religion has been abused constantly in the recent past, as others use it as an excuse to belittle and harm others, when many scholars could point out that the standard books of worship would discourage this to the greatest extent.

I would agree with the idea of getting back to basics. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend talking about God at all, to those not within a family of worship. Rather, and say express religion for caring for others and doing good deeds, following the word instead of spouting it all over the place. The world would be a better place if this war of religions was left behind. Each one has become a weapon, not a positive way of life.
 
You bring up a very interesting image of how religion has been influenced and changed, for the worst, thanks to people-made thoughts and needs.

The integrity of religion has been abused constantly in the recent past, as others use it as an excuse to belittle and harm others, when many scholars could point out that the standard books of worship would discourage this to the greatest extent.

I would agree with the idea of getting back to basics. In fact, I wouldn't even recommend talking about God at all, to those not within a family of worship. Rather, and say express religion for caring for others and doing good deeds, following the word instead of spouting it all over the place. The world would be a better place if this war of religions was left behind. Each one has become a weapon, not a positive way of life.

Yes. If religions were worthy and walked their talk, people would naturally gravitate to it.

People tend to do what is morally profitable and useful to their existence. If we see a good example, we tend to mimic it.

If Constantine's Christians would have been a worthy creed. it would not have taken murder and the burning of other gospels to sell itself.

Gnostic Christians are perpetual seekers after God. God here I define as the best laws and rules to live life with.

We believe that those laws and rules, as Jesus said, are found in our minds/hearts. I use the following to try to illustrate this notion. A bit of history and then a mindset and method to do what I promote.


The thinking shown below is the Gnostic Christian’s goal as taught by Jesus but know that any belief can be internalized to activate your higher mind.


This method and mind set is how you become I am and brethren to Jesus, in the esoteric sense.


When you can name your God, I am, and mean yourself, you will begin to know the only God you will ever find. Becoming a God is to become more fully human and a brethren to Jesus.

Regards
DL
 
Well, we have no real proof that these fairy tales are false. Also, not all fairy tales are religious. For instance, a lot of racists harbor incredibly ridiculous theories about race, and many conspiracy theorists harbor incredibly idiotic ideas about politics, among other things.
 
Well, we have no real proof that these fairy tales are false. Also, not all fairy tales are religious. For instance, a lot of racists harbor incredibly ridiculous theories about race, and many conspiracy theorists harbor incredibly idiotic ideas about politics, among other things.

If you need proof that talking serpents and donkeys below to fiction and fairy tales, then you show just how false religious beliefs can screw up a persons thinking.

Regards
DL
 
Yes. If religions were worthy and walked their talk, people would naturally gravitate to it.

Yes, but religions are made up of people. Wholly imperfect people. They are also the only ones held to super-perfect double standards. "Religous" people (whatever that even means any more) are frequently told that they shouldn't judge others, yet others are free to judge them... harshly.

Perhaps people should stop looking for the "gotcha!" and actually examine the beliefs before denigrating the people who hold them.
 
Yes, but religions are made up of people. Wholly imperfect people. They are also the only ones held to super-perfect double standards. "Religous" people (whatever that even means any more) are frequently told that they shouldn't judge others, yet others are free to judge them... harshly.

Perhaps people should stop looking for the "gotcha!" and actually examine the beliefs before denigrating the people who hold them.

Do you really think that they have not?

If you do, you are not too bright.

You are trying to separate the religious from their religions and that does not work.

If Jesus and Mohammad popped up today, both would condemn what has been do by their followers and their religions hierarchies..

I can argue against the morals of either religion. Care to argue for them?

Here are a couple of issues. Pick your poison if you think you can justify their immorality.



Regards
DL
 
No, I don't think everyone has. I think some people are just religious bigots.

Are you capable of conversation without insult? You also dodged my point.

I don't think people of faith have to be "religious" per se.

You can pick someone from any group (not just religious groups) and give examples of things they are doing wrong. It doesn't shore up your claim that all religion is bad.
 
Religion and Sex have one big thing in common.

Those who talk about it incessantly--and most fervently--are not getting much of it.
Both are quite personal--and should involve only two.
 
No, I don't think everyone has. I think some people are just religious bigots.

Are you capable of conversation without insult? You also dodged my point.

I don't think people of faith have to be "religious" per se.

You can pick someone from any group (not just religious groups) and give examples of things they are doing wrong. It doesn't shore up your claim that all religion is bad.

I did not say all religions are bad.

I also do not see anything with a question mark in you post so have no idea what question you think I dodged.

As to insult, it was only an insult if your thinking was wrong.

Regards
DL
 
I did not say all religions are bad.

I also do not see anything with a question mark in you post so have no idea what question you think I dodged.

As to insult, it was only an insult if your thinking was wrong.

Regards
DL

You said they are fairy tales. I was also addressing the fact that not everyone looks into religions before condemning them.
You think people do, and stated that if I differ in opinion, I'm not too bright. I see plenty of bright people on here who don't agree with you.

I didn't say question. I said you dodged my point, which was that religious people are held to higher standards.

In your opinion....
 
You said they are fairy tales. I was also addressing the fact that not everyone looks into religions before condemning them.
You think people do, and stated that if I differ in opinion, I'm not too bright. I see plenty of bright people on here who don't agree with you.

I didn't say question. I said you dodged my point, which was that religious people are held to higher standards.

In your opinion....

All the Abrahamic cults are following a fairy tale religion. Have a look at this ling and decide if you agree with me or not.

http://www.raceandhistory.com/historicalviews/doubtingexodus.htm

If you found that interesting at all then the following will helps you as well.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/03132009/watch.html

Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus, said that when asked to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching, while he stood on one leg, said, "The Golden Rule. That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the Torah. And everything else is only commentary. Now, go and study it."

Please listen as to what is said about literal reading.

"Origen, the great second or third century Greek commentator on the Bible said that it is absolutely impossible to take these texts literally. You simply cannot do so. And he said, "God has put these sort of conundrums and paradoxes in so that we are forced to seek a deeper meaning."

--------

" I was also addressing the fact that not everyone looks into religions before condemning them."

Those who would condemn anything without looking into it are immoral and fools. As an esoteric ecumenist that would be a capital offence against me if I did such a thing.

----------

"You think people do, and stated that if I differ in opinion, I'm not too bright."

I think we miscomprehend each other here thanks to poor writing.

Lets move on.

Regards
DL
 
Religion and Sex have one big thing in common.

Those who talk about it incessantly--and most fervently--are not getting much of it.
Both are quite personal--and should involve only two.

Religion, as with some other things, is a person's personal business. However, if it forced upon children, then that's another matter. In reality, parental religious indoctrination of children is totally legal, and even raising kids to be white supremacists.
 
For me, religion is a personal matter and should be kept and treated that way. If I was religious (I'm not by the way) it wouldn't matter to me what people thought, even if they did think that what I believed in was a fairy tale.

There's no point in trying to force your opinions on people that don't want to accept them, and sometimes it's better to just let people live how they want to, especially if what they believe isntvaffecting you directly.
 
Werbung:
Religion, as with some other things, is a person's personal business. However, if it forced upon children, then that's another matter. In reality, parental religious indoctrination of children is totally legal, and even raising kids to be white supremacists.

Well, people indoctrinate their children with all sorts of things, including anti-religious dogma. Schools indoctrinate children with all kinds of garbage too. So, I guess we shouldn't wave pitchforks at people for taking their kids to Sunday School. If it's cult-like (or hate group stuff) then yeah, there are concerns.
 
Back
Top