DO YOU THINK RELIGION IS A SCAM? (page 2)

bobxkawasaki

Some are, some aren't. Ditto for atheism. Some atheist groups will scam you; others won't. Quit trying to paint things and whole groups of people all black or all white. There's shades of gray in everything.

misanthropic

I believe it's a control mechanism and often times used as a scam, but I do believe there are some honest people who get caught up in it who aren't out to control or scam anyone.

poppers

I think for the most part it's the blind leading the blind, except the leaders don't know they are blind.

nvrgnbk

Any instrument used to intentionally obscure reality is a scam.

Mysterious

And a racket?

juni

religion fills a social need for some

nvrgnbk

Humanity will not reach the next plateau until religion is discarded.

greendawn

Not necessarily, but as it turns out human vanity takes over and all Christian religions lose sight of their objectives. There will never be an ideal religion (ie religious organisation) even if there is an ideal religious philosophy behind it. It wil never be applied.

SnakesInTheTower

Since this is a board about and for ex-JW (and those still in looking out), let me comment on this question from the JW perspective, since that is all I have been. At no time, even when I was an elder, did I think I (nor do I believe most JW's) think I/we were scamming people by inviting them to "take life's water free" ™ . ..yeah, for most of us at least, our collective stomach churns at that classic JW catchphrase.... but we believed it truly. It sounded so good...Paradise Earth... Live Forever.... No More Death, No More Sickness, See Your Dead Relatives Resurrected. Of course we liked that concept. (just as most mainline religions use "going to heaven" as their carrot).... Do you think we would have bit at the JW line if the only thing was about "Universal Sovereignty" and "Making God's Name Known"...without the benefits of Paradise et al? Not likely.... most humans, if we are honest with ourselves, are not as altruistic as we would like to believe we are. (as a side note about altruism: I took a philosophy class in college a couple years back... I think this was what started cracking the JW armor.... we discussed altruism,...even a mother who would give her life to save the life of her child is not truly altruistic.... could she live with herself if she did not do everything possible for her child...no.... so..indirectly...it was about the child and herself...not just the child) Did we become JW just to scam people? No, Personally, I can think of easier, more financially productive ways to scam people. We wanted to share what we felt was true. Why did we stay so long...even as we realize the scam is on and the promises are nothing but a fantasy?.... because we wanted it to be true....so badly... I still want to see my daddy again...and part of me (the selfish side) wants the JWs to be right about this.....but I have to buck up and accept that the fantasy is just that..... Are we more gullible than others because we became JW (or any religious faith)? I dont think so.....just human. NOW....I DO BELIEVE THAT INDIVIDUALS, ESP. MANY ELDERS (but not all of course) ARE IN IT FOR THE SUPPOSED PRESTIGE, POSITION, AND POWER that comes with moving up the ladder in the WTS. For brothers, it is: publisher, pioneer, MS, elder, CO, DO (or Bethel, Gilead, MTS).... for sisters (and again...NOT ALL..so dont shoot the snake!), it is: publisher, pioneer, marry your way up the Theocratic social strata up with a brother...gain power indirectly by influencing their elder husbands thinking. (How often did you hear about something in the congo that only an elder should have known about?) ... for me, in my opinion....THIS IS WHERE THE SCAM IS...THESE INDIVIDUALS....ENABLED BY THE GB....but more specifically... by the REAL POWER BROKERS..... The SERVICE DEPARTMENT...now coupled at the hip with the LEGAL DEPARTMENT....who both in turn control WRITING/TEACHING.........

nvr:

Humanity will not reach the next plateau until religion is discarded.

ABSOLUTELY... Also...I appreciate the opium comments made by a couple of posters here and other threads......I believe this too...humans, all of us, just want to be happy, just like the dope head wants to be happy... but like the dope head, those pursuing religion will never find lasting happiness in religion....scam or not... here's to moving on to another plateau...and a little more deep, independent philosophical thinking..... SnakesInTheTower (of the "not to be scammed again" Sheep Class)

DO YOU THINK RELIGION IS A SCAM?

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