Religion vs Spirituality

[Scribbly]

There is a religion of sorts in every culture, yes, this is mostly true. However, have you considered that this is due to the way the mind works, and doesn't actually justify it in any way beyond that?

There was a study conducted on the aboriginal tribes and their religion, as it is the oldest religion, and it has (near as we can tell) changed that much. The conclusion reached was that- if this is how all religions formed- it is a way for man to attribute human characteristics to impersonal forces so that man can feel that they can appease them in some way.

For instance, there is a totem to the storm-god, appease the storm-god, you get rain/rain stops etc.

It was hypothesised that this could be taken to its next logical step- apply this concept to Christianity, for instance, and you have the worship of crosses/the Bible etc. Apease the biblical god, follow the book, you'll be rewarded. The baddies get what the are coming to them in the end.

Good things happen to good people, bad things happen to bad. The universe can be seen to be 'fair'.

It was further hypothesised that if there wasn't some way for the developing human cultures to be able to say that things always work out for the best for those that are 'good' people, civilization wouldn't have worked, and people would go mad.

But I am pretty sure the atheism movement has proven that we don't need that any more, I don't believe in god, I know that bad things happen to good people, and I'm perfectly sane. And mostly civilized.


Wibble.

[Cain]

Wibble.

*narrows eyes*

[Scribbly]

Whaaaaaat?

::eyeshift::

[Random Probability]

Wibble indeed....

Keep it up and everyone will find out yuo are teh admin..........

[Cain]

Whaaaaaat?

::eyeshift::

On another site I was on...that was a commonly used phrase by about...3 people.

[Scribbly]

I just stole it from blackadder... when he is pretending to be insane in the last Goes Forth episode...

I always use it when I say something about being insane...


I AM NOT AN ADMIN!11!11

*flees*

[Cain]

Suuuuuuuuuuure you're not.  I know your game.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

...

[Zurtok Khan]

Kai, I am well aware of the many reasons religion might exist, it's one of my favorite things to study.

I should also make this comment real fast, I don't necisarily believe some of the things I've been argueing in this thread, I'm playing devils advocate.

That said, I simply believe in the possibility that religion has a purpose.  I'm not sure either way, and I don't think there is a way to be sure, and since no one is holding a gun to my head telling me to choose...I won't.

[Irreverend Hugh, KSC]

Only that Random shouldn't havbe just talked about religion or spirituality or magic.

He should also talked about economics, politics, art, music, and science.

Anyone who believes in anything, even in the "self", is a fuck wit that deserves ridicule and anal fistulae.

[Scribbly]

Irreverend Hugh...


Do you believe that?

[Triple Zero]

Anyone who believes in anything, even in the "self", is a fuck wit that deserves ridicule and anal fistulae.

nice, that should be in fnordi's "wise shit" thread

[Random Probability]

Anyone who believes in anything, even in the "self", is a fuck wit that deserves ridicule and anal fistulae.

nice, that should be in fnordi's "wise shit" thread

This is correct.

Also, I didn't bother mentioning commercial products such as Economics, Politics, Art, Music, or even Science specifically because they are just that, products.  Their form is secondary to the perceptions of their consumers, therefore they are secondary to any other discussion and largely irrelevant.

Many "educated" people are way too hung up on art.

Another note:

ridicule and anal fistulae.

I'm thinking this is a turn on for most clergy.....

[Iranon]

Please to note Religionists.

So... either A) all mystical experiences are the result of slightly abnormal brain activity which can be induced by magnetic fields (and drugs, though the article isn't about that) B) we can sense other beings through the presence of their magnetic fields, and can duplicate the experience with these special hats, or C) the whole article is bogus, misinformation, or somehow twisted to promote a view of Reality(tm) that contains only easily explainable things (much like religion, although religious presentations of information tend to involve less experimentation and more sophistry).

I take it you were implying A? The experiment didn't eliminate the possibility of B, and options like C are always worth noting.

Back to the main rant... why not madgijkeque? Seriously. You can't prove it doesn't exist any more than anyone can prove it does.

As for the religion vs. spirituality thing, I think that at the present, the majority of people feel like they need to be told what to do - we have spent thousands of years living under systems that tell us what to think, how to behave, and what's Real(tm). They simply aren't prepared to Make Up Their Own Shit. It would drive them mad. In fact, just go propose the idea to someone: most people think you're kidding, or that you are certifiably insane. THEY need their hard-and-fast realities, their universal truths, their structured communities and religious worship. It's their spiritual life-support that keeps their pathetic excuses for lives afloat because they can't handle their own spirituality.

This, of course, applies to Scientism (the belief that the entire universe is knowable and can be explained through scientific research; not to be confused with Scientology) as much as it does any other belief system.

In the end, we're all just bullshitting anyway because none of us can prove anything but what we've experienced, and even that we can only prove to ourselves (maybe). It's just that some people listen to other people's bullshit and accept it as their own, which creates religious structures that make manipulation of others simple, while others of us like to make up our own bullshit, which means that manipulation of us is one level more subtle.

Everything I've said was either made up or stolen from someone who made it up, I'm not sure which. Validity not guaranteed, your mileage may vary.

[Triple Zero]

i just wanted to say that i really wanted to say something very much like what iranon wrote