God is watching the comments on this one 👀

I personally believe that I am very religious, although I do not believe in a God as such. And I write that with a capital letter out of respect for those who believe.

lol

@Jesus Christ care to chime in?

I think many religions have intriguing and even healthy and productive philosophies and ideas -that said, it's also just as obvious that religions are a product of man. Short version of a thought. - The 'Christian' religious person must admit that it is possible for an individual to exist, and to be 100% certain in their faith/correctness...and yet that same person be simultaneously 100% incorrect. All the 'Christian' must do is acknowledge the fact that there are 'Muslims' with the same degree of conviction etc. -- You run the same line the other way... and you come to the conclusion that they are an exact mirror .... and they are both their best argument AND EVIDENCE ...that they are both correct and incorrect. Which is to say...in the above it is a certainty that an individual in a position of MAXIMUM faith ...can also be maximally wrong. That above is a sort of prelude to a broad discussion with respect to why it seems a rather obvious thing that religions broadly are a creation of man..re seeking answers to shared unknowns..that are universal aspects of the human condition. Leaving the factual/real-or-not aspect there's the social effect. And I will say, that religion is an underrated aspect of some of the partisan and political gridlock today and I think one of the reasons why its so easy to spread and have an appreciable portion of various population adopt ideas and beliefs that...to a critical unbiased reasoned observer...are obviously false...like...blatantly.....super obvious. In a discussion with a friend an idea/thought to illustrate the idea of the degree of cognitive dissonance/willful ignorance for some in this area: 'An individual with all senses in perfect working order. Walks into a 10'x10' room ...all the walls are painted white...and in the room there is a completely white table with two objects on it. The only objects with any color other than white. -- On the table is a Green Triangle, and a Blue Square. --- The objective/goal ...is to be able to correctly identify....which is which.' THAT is the level of..... disconnect we've got -- where the above is impossible for some ie. 'flat earth' vibes .... Anyway...circling back to your question. Religion...establishes a life rhythm and convention that is strongly socially reinforced...where you go to a building...purpose built for it...you gather together....and typically some male dude...stands at the front of the room...and proceeds to break several laws of physics and in direct contraction to the evidence and data we experience and 'collect' every day. Why this is 'not so desirable' -- is that you then have a situation where every Sunday...a n appreciable portion of the population..gathers together...and communally agrees to.....without critical thought or question; on faith....just believe/accept...what the guy at the front of the room says. Even if it is contrary to all available, detectable, experienced and measurable evidence. THAT is dangerous. And it's part of the reason why its easy to get a good chunk of folks...vehemently behind...really destructive..and obviously incorrect or poor idea....and wouldn't ya know....if you look at the downstream outcome of alot of the bogus stuff folks are asked to support? ..... Typically ends up in garnering power or wealth to a very real....very HUMAN individual. Then..we get to sit through the silly bit where this same crowd says they don't just go along with the crowd' ...when a Speaker of a House can't get elected for instance. When the reality is...one of the greatest strengths of that voting block IS the power of having a giant group of people that - do not require evidence - they've got 'faith' -- and so on Sunday...a message goes from cable news --> pastors --> pews. No thought required! -- And boom 18% is vehemently ready to run out and tell their neighbors why 'Handmaids Tale' has some good points.... HA! This perpetual state of irrationality, paradox, and cognitive dissonance is how we then see...folks talking all about Jesus stuff...but support precisely zero 'jesus type shit' .... and 'freedom' ...but ....can't smoke this, can't have sex with this person, etc etc. This is of course...about control...by people that know very 'the game' ..that do not in any way 'believe' ...but they know they can acquire money and power....just gotta say the world...or hold the book up...even upside down. Don't even have to have read it...just be near it and say the things like you agree. Then we wonder why our taxes, money, and politics are a mess...

-grin-

#[3]​ are you? 😂

How would you say you are very religious without believing in god? Sounds very interesting.

Maybe #[4]​ or #[5]​ too 😂

This deserves a deeper answer, but for now I'll say... Pascal's Wager In the end, I don't think anyone will be able to prove or disprove anything. Pascal's wager mixed with personal conviction is what it boils down to for me.

I love it when someone is so religious about believing they are not religious . . .

I really do respect religious people. I think it’s easier for religious people to be happy in life than for non religious people, and that alone is a benefit worth considering but my personal thoughts on religion (which align with yours for a large part) are as follows: Religion is a tool, there are some who wield it, and there are some that are wielded by it. But there are also some who have made themselves incompatible. Don’t trust, verify ✌️

I think Pascal’s wager does have a small (addressable) problem though. The problem is many different religions believe many different gods exist and want you to live your life very differently. Even if you wager that the Christian god exists and lived a Christian life. It’d suck to have a bad afterlife because you ate Pork (sin for Jews and Muslims) or beef( a sin for Hundus). Your wager probability wise was not sound in the first place. At the end of the day it’s just a theory, but there are multitude of different theories to choose from and once you consider that, Pascal’s wager, isn’t that logical.

A sound argument. I will ponder this for a while. ♥️♥️♥️

I think it’s fine, I think being religious just means being firm in your beliefs, and they really are what you “believe in” at the end of the day. We should respect everyone no matter which side of the belief system we find ourselves on.

I’ve always looked at religion as the actions people take physically, regardless of the ideas they have in thier heads , what they actually do they do religiously, so to me if you observe someone’s actions through thier religious daily patterns you can get an idea of what beliefs they may have, sometimes . But I think I understand how your using the world religion in your case .

Sigh… I miss our conspiracy chats 🧘🏼‍♀️

I miss them too! Any conspiracies on religion? 😂

Don’t come for Jesus.. Lol

🤔

I can’t believe I wasn’t paying attention to that. It only just started showing up for me yesterday while I was on tho…

I have a fun story about that nice gentleman. One of these days ;)

SUMMONED!!! XOXOXO

That would be wonderful. You’re voice is the sweetest💕

Aww thank you 💓

Might as well share your thoughts while you are here 😂

I had a dream once. In it, religion never happened.

There’s not enough room 😉

Be kind not religious

You can believe me 🥲

You know why you’re so obsessed with me? #[6]​ *whispers* Because my soul is so shiny ✨ 🧘🏼‍♀️

😂🤣

I do like Shiny things

Comsider reading Genesis 1-3, then the gospel of John, and then ask yourself again afterwards. Approach with an open mind. 🤙🏼

A commendable response. Kudos to you for acknowledging the counter argument.

Where did you land with this?

Pascal's Wager is only useful as a starting point. It suggests it's better to act as if God exists. Which God, and what religion? We can use the tools of logic to discern which religion is most likely to be true. Once you've figured out what religion is most likely to be correct, and you've decided that it's worth acting as if God is real, then you begin to live according to the dictates of that religion. If the religious claims are true, then you'd expect to gradually start to see fruits of your faith emerge in your life. Pascal's Wager isn't the end, but it can kickstart a life of faith.

Not a question of should/shouldn't, I think. If a religion enriches culture and/or strengthens people's ties to the local land then it is beneficial overall. Should never be socially or legally mandated. Christianity has sadly eradicated cultures historically speaking. All who do conversions and missionary type stuff are doing more harm than good. All religion is a foolish answer to a foolish question. We need foolish questions.

On it🫡

Agreed. I (maybe wrongly) equate religion with curiosity. We’ve all had similar foolish questions and it helps to know how our ancestors attempted to answer those questions. Plus texts such old as religion generally have some wisdom if you read it with an open mind.

I suspect I'd answer with a question: "How badly do you want to know the true nature of reality?" I have found very, very satisfying answers in the Christian Bible, and I write a lot about a lot of different things. I invite you to have a look and see why I've come down on the side of recognizing the man commonly known as "Jesus" as the one Paul describes as "the Blessed and Only Sovereign." He is my King, the only one worth my time, the one I will follow to and through the gates of hell.

PeakD

My ~/Permanent\~ Library | PeakD

Welcome to @creatr

These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, [false] humility, and neglect of the body, [but are] of no value against the indulgence of the flesh. - Col 2:23 NKJV If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion [is] useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, [and] to keep oneself unspotted from the world. - Jas 1:26-27 NKJV It wouldn't be a bad thing if mankind was a bit more religious.

Exactly. Seek not what our ancestors did. Seek what our ancestors sought.