Your Views

[Ian H]

I haven't read the whole thread but im sure some one has posted something similar to what im about to!

I dont believe in religion, at all. I personally just think its a method of control, which in all fairness works very well. Yes there are wars because of it but imagine life without religion, you would just have people trying to claim ownership of people/countries. I have nothing against religions or people who follow/believe them but HATE it when people ram it down my throat. If i want to believe in it i will, why should i be forced too?

I'm not sure if im an atheist or agnostic though, I dont believe in "something/some one" but at the same time i believe in spirits and other odd things.

One thing that always gets me though is the bible. Now im not having a go or anything but originally it was just one book/scraps of stone/paper (whatever they had!) there were no photocopiers so how do you know what you read is what was written? Its fairly obvious its not as whoever had the job of making copies would have skipped bits/ added bits - that's just human nature maybe it was laziness so missed a few bits or maybe it was eagerness and just over exaggerated.

 

[kribensis12]

Oh yeah thats another reason I don't like religion. They spead the hate againsed the gays.

That is way to general of a statement there. Some do, some don't. The Christian Religion (how I dislike that word, it groups people) does not support gays, but it does not hate them. For example, a lesbian couple started attending our church several weeks ago, they were treated like family, not outsiders. I don't think buddhists or Catholics, or Bahai's faith (spelling?) spread hate for gays either.

 

[Betta5]

I wouldn't concider Buddhism a religion as such. As for catholics, I thought homosexual acts were a sin?

Isnt one of the rules of christianity, man shouldn't lie with other men?

 

[Truck]

I wouldn't concider Buddhism a religion as such. As for catholics, I thought homosexual acts were a sin?

Isnt one of the rules of christianity, man shouldn't lie with other men?

I wouldn't say rule as such, I'd say guidance.

Homosexuality is a sin in the catholic church, but that wouldn't stop a worshiper from talking to or acknowledging a gay person, sins can be forgiven.

 

[Night61]

getting back to the subject at hand.

I am personally an agnostic, i beleive something is there but i just am not sure what.

when i was in college, i spent my semesters studing different religions. as history major, i noticed that history and ppls actions are often motivated my religon, so it seemed like a good idea to get a better idea of what they belvied in to understand their mind set.

anyways for there is a book i would recommend for those intrested. Religious litercy

it is a very good book i recommend it to everyone.

 

[kribensis12]

One thing that always gets me though is the bible. Now im not having a go or anything but originally it was just one book/scraps of stone/paper (whatever they had!) there were no photocopiers so how do you know what you read is what was written? Its fairly obvious its not as whoever had the job of making copies would have skipped bits/ added bits - that's just human nature maybe it was laziness so missed a few bits or maybe it was eagerness and just over exaggerated.

Actually, it is the complete opposite. The copies they have found are VERY accurate. They have found copies in different languages from different time periods that all say the same thing, or very close to it. In the New Testament, the accounts are VERY reliable. I would not hesitate to say that they are the most historically and in my opinion spiritually accurate accounts in existence. Why? Jews in the time of JC hated JC. They deemed him a false prophet and attempted to kill him many times. Why would a follower of JC (which endangered their lives) write down incorrect information? Back at that time, written word was the newspapers and television of today. So, it would make sense that they write down the most accurate information possible. Besides that, all the dates and places match up with real life history, which helps credit their writings.

 

[kaivalagi]

Still, you can't ignore the fact that the followers of JC through the years would be highly likely to dress up some parts to further glorify him...if I believed in something so fully I would make sure that whatever I wrote about it also conveyed that string belief within...it's only natural.

I think the main problem will be that the bible has been translated several times over, this in it's self will have missed key points and put more of a focus on others I'm sure.

Still it is a good read, and regardless of your beliefs I think everyone should read the bible, it's part of the worlds history

 

[chrisbassist]

I wouldn't concider Buddhism a religion as such.

you wouldn't consider one of the worlds largest religions as a religion? They pray to a god, through a prophet who can speak to him. They have rules they must follow about not killing anyone or anything, and others similar to the 10 commandments. Much like Christianity over the years there have been disagreements as to how to interpret the historical texts, leading to splits to form zen Buddhism, taoism, and others. If none of these similarities to the ones you would call a religion makes Buddhism a religion, what would?

There is sharing your view. Which up til now is all I think you've done, which while some may have read it as more, I think was just your way of saying, hey, this is why I don't believe and this is why I don't like the idea. Sure it's not exactly well informed but it's your view, and that's fine. This however, is an attack on one of the worlds largest religion, where you don't even give it enough credit to be a religion. I would do some research before making statements like that.

While it may be true that some Buddhist don't like to think of it as a religion, by pure definition it is. And if it is not, then neither is Christianity, neither is Judaism. Muslim? Nah, that's not a religion either.

They are all religions. Which means that buddhism is too.

 

[kaivalagi]

Just a quick look at Wikipedia: http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism The first 5 words are "Buddhism is a religion and philosophy"...

BUT....look at this: http/en.wikipedia....God_in_Buddhism , a couple of sentences that highlight the ambiguity:

"the refutation of the existence of a creator has been seen as a key point in distinguishing Buddhist from non-Buddhist views"
"Though many insist that it must be classified as a religion because it does contain all other religious beliefs: an afterlife, miracles, various spirits, including gods, who may help an individual, spiritual practices including prayer and meditation, and other things."

Not so clear a picture in my view, maybe any practising Buddhists could interject here and explain better than me?

 

[chrisbassist]

In my view you've said it there, they pray, they believe in gods, they believe in an afterlife,

That's clear cut enough for me. And I don't think it could possibly be ambiguous enough at all to merely dismiss it's existance as a religion.

It's full of misconceptions though. But to me it makes more sense than other religions. And also seems to be one of the only religions that follows it's own beliefs.

 

[kaivalagi]

It's full of misconceptions though. But to me it makes more sense than other religions. And also seems to be one of the only religions that follows it's own beliefs.

Agreed still a religion even if the god aspect isn't as clear cut as other religions

You can "use" it how you want, and that it's more about your own interpretation than someoneelse's...no wonder there are so many Zen Buddhists in the UK...

 

[chrisbassist]

You should check out Tao. It's one of the most restrictive religions on the planet

 

[kaivalagi]

Okay, so derivatives of Buddhism can have quite a range, from how you want to you must do this...

 

[chrisbassist]

Yeah, where with most forms you don't have to be vegetarian (as long as the meat wasn't killed just for you) Tao is very strict on things like that. It's also strict on owning too many personal belongings. Where others have adapted to fit modern life and the way we live now.

Similar to the way other religions have split, like the whole Protestant vs catholic stuff.

 

[OldMan47]

This is becoming interesting. I see people discussing whether or not one of the largest religions in the world should even be considered a religion. I am personally not a religious person but find the fact that Wiki does or does not support a view interesting.
The thing I must comment about is using a wiki-anything to support a view. Each of us is free to hold any opinions that we wish but I hope we are all aware that Wikipedia and similar sites are nothing much more than blogs on individual topics that are organized under an umbrella location. If there is a subject where you are very competent to judge the content, try looking at a Wiki on that subject. You will quickly come to the same conclusion that I have. Wiki is a nice starting point for someone who is totally clueless on a subject. It will give you enough of the jargon and terminology to make your next search more productive in terms of getting facts. It may even give you a slightly over-simplified glimpse into a subject's content.