The religion thread.

Started by Diomedes, January 18, 2009, 08:09:54 AM

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rjs246

I'm talking about the study of religion smart stuff, not the act of being religious.
Is rjs gonna have to choke a bitch?

Let them eat bootstraps.

Diomedes

vigy is onto something there.  What's the difference between Harry Potter fantasy tales and god worship fantasy tales? 

Not farging much.

Let the Potterites have some time to study it, create a library of theories and essays on it, gain a bunch of converts and presto...Harry Potter joins the ranks of the highest intellectual pursuits.

It's all bullshtein.  Potter, Odin, the great Spirit, the Bible.  Utter bullshtein, propped up by ages of habit and so called academia.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

Phanatic

Look at Star Wars. Some crazy apes created a religion around it already.
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Diomedes

Give 'em a few hundred years and rjs will  consider people who study it to be engaged in the highest form of intellectual endeavor.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

rjs246

Settle down, monkeys. Religion has defined the majority of human experience for thousands of years. But you're right. Studying that type of phenomenon is just like reading Harry Potter.
Is rjs gonna have to choke a bitch?

Let them eat bootstraps.

Diomedes

Glad you came around.

also...defined human experience...ha.  What does that even mean?  Religion defines the experience humans have of birth?  Of death?  Of farging a hot bitch?  Religion defines taste, pain?  Religion defines colors, motion?

Come on.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

ice grillin you

weather has defined the human experience for thousnds of years but i wouldnt call it intellectual...then again mother nature might be one deep and thoughful bitch for all i know
i can take a phrase thats rarely heard...flip it....now its a daily word

igy gettin it done like warrick

im the board pharmacist....always one step above yous

Diomedes

the study of weather is far more intellectually challenging than the study of god worship, that's for farg sure.

weather is some complicated, fact based shtein.  religion is simple mumbo jumbo made to seem complicated by "people of faith" twisting their dick brains into pretzels to explain and understand imaginary shtein.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

Phanatic

Historically speaking and from an anthropological perspective it is very intellectual. Don't worry sodomites. Your not validating it by admiting that it is a facinating study of the human condition.

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Diomedes

Well it's academic.  I don't know how intellectual it is.  And yes, it's fascinating in a "see how they run" kind of way.  But I don't consider it anything like the highest form of intellectual pursuit.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

Cerevant

Yeah, I think RJS is thinking more of sociology than religion, although the two are closely tied.

Playing devil's advocate, what makes a religion bad? (hows that for irony?)
- Bogey-man god figure?
- Scripture?
- Rituals?
- Moral guidance?
- Evangelism?
- Social community?

Therefore, by extension, can you eliminate what is "bad" about religion, yet still have religion?
An ad hominem fallacy consists of asserting that someone's argument is wrong and/or he is wrong to argue at all purely because of something discreditable/not-authoritative about the person or those persons cited by him rather than addressing the soundness of the argument itself.

shorebird

The only bad thing about religion is those who want to cram it down your throat and think your evil and blastphamist if you don't conform to their way of balling like a baby with your hands in the air and throwing yourself down rolling across the floor every Sunday. I luv the way people who go to church on Sunday make them think it gives them the right to look down their noses at you because you want to drink beer and smoke cigars. My ex in-laws were holy rollers like that.

Otherwise it's harmless.

Diomedes

Social community is easily the thing on that list that pops out to me as the principle benefit to believers and society generally, so long as we define it as social and not military or political.  Insofar as reglious groups involve themselves in military and political concerns, the result is universally bad.

But as a social community, I'm not as critical.  Church communities do a hell of a lot of good, that I don't deny.  The soup kitchen I volunteer with is full of them.  I rather enjoy it when we all introduce ourselves, most of these people telling me they go so such and such parish or synagogue.  I tell them I'm there as an atheist from a community of one, and I enjoy the puzzled looks I get.  They literally feed 500 to 800 homeless and working poor every day, straight out of churches in the area.  It's a community thing for them.  They enjoy giving some help to people and it's an excuse for them to get together.  Nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately it has to be said that without church, without believing in magic, these people would not likely be enjoying community companionship, or helping anyone.

People suck.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

Diomedes

There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger