questioning religion

[C0Dy_626]

i think religions hav alot of gray areas like in catholisism, thier bible says nothing about things like dinosaurs, ancient mammals and that stuff. somy question is why do we follow religious beliefs, is it for self pity and the ability to blame things on a higher power? or is it out of fear, fear of not being able to control wat we do?  

[lazy bonz]

I think it's an easy way to give meaning to life.

What's disturbing is how religious conflict has been around as long as religion.  

[C0Dy_626]

if u ask me thats only 50% true. like i sed religion has given people something to blame and a reason for self pitty i see where the after life may reduce the fear of death but wen u get down to it people dont really know if there is somthing after dieing we can only wait and live life while we do so. meaning to live.....i dont see where religion would give that  

[Sh4dowsin]

yep yep true so true  

[Earth Energy]

The meaning of Gaia..

Gaia
by Ron Leadbetter
Gaia or Gaea, known as Earth or Mother Earth (the Greek common noun for "land" is ge or ga). She was an early earth goddess and it is written that Gaia was born from Chaos, the great void of emptiness within the universe, and with her came Eros. She gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) and Uranus (the Sky). This was achieved parthenogenetically (without male intervention). Other versions say that Gaia had as siblings Tartarus (the lowest part of the earth, below Hades itself) and Eros, and without a mate, gave birth to Uranus (Sky), Ourea (Mountains) and Pontus (Sea).

Gaia took as her husband Uranus, who was also her son, and their offspring included the Titans, six sons and six daughters. She gave birth to the Cyclopes and to three monsters that became known as the "Hecatonchires". The spirits of punishment known as the Erinyes were also offspring of Gaia and Uranus. The Gigantes, finally, were conceived after Uranus had been castrated by his son Cronus, and his blood fell to earth from the open wound.

To protect her children from her husband, (the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, as he was fearful of their great strength), Gaia hid them all within herself. One version says that Uranus was aghast at the sight of his offspring so he hid them away in Tartarus, which are the bowels of the earth. Gaia herself found her offspring uncomfortable and at times painful, when the discomfort became to much to bear she asked her youngest son Cronus to help her. She asked him to castrate Uranus, thus severing the union between the Earth and Sky, and also to prevent more monstrous offspring. To help Cronus achieve his goal Gaia produced an adamantine sickle to serve as the weapon. Cronus hid until Uranus came to lay with Gaia and as Uranus drew near, Cronus struck with the sickle, cutting the genitalia from Uranus. Blood fell from the severed genitals and came in contact with the earth and from that union was born the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and the Meliae (Nymphs of the manna ash trees).

After the separation of the Earth from the Sky, Gaia gave birth to other offspring, these being fathered by Pontus. Their names were the sea-god Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. In other versions Gaia had offspring to her brother Tartarus; they were Echidna and Typhon, the later being an enemy of Zeus. Apollo killed Typhon when he took control of the oracle at Delphi, which Gaia originally provided, and then the "Sibyl" sang the oracle in Gaia's shrine.

It was Gaia who saved Zeus from being swallowed by Cronus, after Zeus had been born, Gaia helped Rhea to wrap a stone in swaddling clothes, this was to trick Cronus in to thinking it was Zeus, because Cronus had been informed that one of his children would depose him, and so to get rid of his children he had swallowed them, Gaia's trick worked and Zeus was then taken to Crete.

Gaia being the primordial element from which all the gods originated was worshiped throughout Greece, but later she went into decline and was supplanted by other gods. In Roman mythology she was known as Tellus or Terra.  

[C0Dy_626]

wat was the point of that?  

[Naynram Ukir]

How does religion give people self pity? Unless they're using it wrong.
A religion is an ontological or ethical opinion on life, and it is organized into a fashion capable for daily observance, adherence, and ritual.

Some religions are atheistic, not requiring any god, and others have a god where their observances are made around that deity.

We follow it for order, really. Whether it's observed in the mind, or aloud.
Some people may follow it to blame things on a higher power, or fear... but some people aren't all religions.

 

[lazy bonz]

Religious organizations give great power (and wealth) to the few, to control the thoughts, beliefs and behaviors of many.  

[dreamerofthedark]

My belief is diffrent from everyone who has voiced their opinion so far...I believe that religion is just faith and faith is the most powerful thing one can have because if u believe in something really truly believe it is true in your eyes...no matter what religion u come from its all about having faith...another thing is the reason we question religion is not because their are flaws in the bible or their are flaws in other religions its because were human with emotions and as a human we can become greedy,manipulative, and tend to question things ...if something to blame about self piety its ourself and how we make i mean think about we all have free will and we chose to do with it as we please ....  

[Grimm IronShade]

religion makes no sense, each religion either contradicts itself or other religions, how could a single one be true?
Who knows maybe their is some kind of being waiting for us to solve the meaning of life, maybe it's to find which is the true path and fallow it, or maybe there is no meaning...

according to most religion, if you are not apart of that religion you're going to hell or some kind of purgatoy, therefore we're all going to hell, purgatory or care bear land (in my religion that IS hell)

I'm a former catholic and current budhist, for a while I have been searching for the answer to my problemes a path that will better my life, and from what i've gathered I don't think any religion is right, hell for all we know they could be there to temp us and joining a religion could send us to hell...
but the way I see we fallow our own path, not one someone laid out for us, that's stupid why believe what others tell us too?

it's a know fact that the church used fear and controlle to pretty much run everything in the older times, like the gouverment does now.

But the catholic contradicts itself many times, for example the most obvious one

according to the bible:
love everyone as your brother, sister, mother or father
honor thy parents

yet regardless of these circumstances...

gays are to be stoned (not the fun way, the way that involves big, sharp and pointy rocks being tossed at you)
sinners are more or less condemed (and I think something about stoning them too) even though we can repent at any given moment, if true then we could live a life with all the seven deadly sins, break the ten comandments, and on our death bed repent?
this makes no sense, and if sinning was so wrong then why give us the abbility to sin?
God gave us free will aperently right?
well then we could choose to fallow those rules or not, but if not go to hell, then why give us free choice? It seems like GOD is sinning if he's letting millions of people go to eternal torture or nothing ness because of how HE created us

the only thing to me that could make sense is reincarnation...

chosse your life, then when it ends, begin another make new choices
this would exlain how history has repeated itself multiple times


if there was one true religion if lets say I could chose the rules all must fallow then I would make it as so

chose and chose, die and come back untill you accomplish what life's great plan is for you then enter a relm of peace and happiness

seeing how the only way of peace is to kill EVERYTHING
as long as there are humans there will be war

and although I should have fit this up there somewhere
I find it odd in the catholic religion priests are not allowd to mate, allthough god created us to do this and we were tod this is how things are done, create the future, why not make priests like not have sexual organs? I thought only the DEVILL tempted people, but a single priest sworn to celebacy? oh he's tempted alright.

and if we creat the future, make offsprings teach them and make sure things continue as they should then WE are god are we not?

We give birth to humans
We set down rles
we create many kinds of life
we help and punish those who have made mistakes
we tempt, remove temptation, be slefish and selfless
we try as hard as possible to make ife a great place

I think we are "god" things only happen if WE do soething about it right? you pray for some girl to go out with you, but then ask her and and she says yes, seems to be YOU granted that prayer (alright bad example but you get the point right?)

I could keep going but have decided not to, I shouldin't be telling you these things anyway this is my opinion make your own

and that was my rant(if you acctually read the whole things you're some kind of crazy)

sorry for spelling mistakes its not that im horrible at spelling, I type fast and am too lasy to correct all of that
and I also go to a french school  

[naive melody]

Religion is a crutch.  

[xDorminx]

I this remember reading somewhere...

"God created man in his image. Man being a gentleman, returned the favor."  

[Lovely Rainbow Samantha]

They're all biased and twisted by mankind.

I believe that religion was first made to control people.

I do believe that there is a God, but not all of Christianity or any other religion is 100% true.

 

[A Fluorescent Adolescent]

I believe that religion is a reassurance that there is something when we die.
They have found evidence that people living thousands of years ago, buried bodies with tools. They too didn't want to accept an end.  

[Oakeyo]

That's a little close minded of you.