by minimus 24 Replies latest jw friends
I echo the sentiments of many here, I believe it's logical for people to want two things:
1.) Not To Die
2.) To understand why they're here
Religion answers both of them, so it's logical for people to be religious. There's a great quote "People can see things differently, but only religion can turn that into a long bloody war", I think that it's logical to turn to religion to answer life's questions, I also feel that when people discuss relgion (defend their beliefs) they become very illogical.
One thing logical, and one thing only. I feel that especially with ANY Christian denomination, it is very apparent that history will repeat itself as regards to professed truthful teachings. Look at how many different religions there are, all say they have the answer and will come and go, and always have. JW's have said they had the answers for over a hundred years, yet have changed things hundreds of times, and they will do so again.
Thus the logical thing about religion is that history proves they do not have a clue, will not have a clue, and will never have a clue......oompa
This site is s o o o s l o w today.
Religion bites, spirituality rules. So, no I don't find anything "logical" about following any man made directive regarding how to worship, what to worship, etc. What's logical in letting another person/group/organization, tell you what to believe and how to believe it?
So needing religion is for illogical persons??
Religion bites, spirituality rules. So, no I don't find anything "logical" about following any man made directive regarding how to worship, what to worship, etc. What's logical in letting another person/group/organization, tell you what to believe and how to believe it?
My experience is that there are three types of people in this world. 1) Those that lead. 2) Those that follow. 3) Those that do nothing.
Religion works for #2
So needing religion is for illogical persons??
Short answer, hell YES. I know I was very illogical when I was a jdub and IMO only those who are ruled by emotion or pressure or fear, etc., would stick with religion.
*Ducks now*
So needing religion is for illogical persons??
Short answer, hell YES. I know I was very illogical when I was a jdub and IMO only those who are ruled by emotion or pressure or fear, etc., would stick with religion.
*Ducks now*
Who was it that said, "People once thought that thunder was the gods fighting and witches caused crops to fail but stopped believing in those things when science proved them wrong AND enough people thought the ideas were ridiculous."?
I think personally that labels like religion, or spirituality or ghost, or instinct, or talent are really just a clever way of saying. "Wow that's interesting, I have no idea how that works." But either people are afraid to say "I don't know" or their ego won't allow it, or the answer they have decided is satisfying for them.
For me saying something is the result of Religion/spirituality/god/instinct etc.. is like saying "I don't know, but the answer is up there on the top shelf in a book (ie possible to find through study, research, and verifiable evidence), but i don't feel like looking for it. (performing experiments etc..) So I'll be happy placing a label on it."
No disrespect to people that have found comfort and satisfaction in the answers they have found. That is awesome for them, at times i wish it worked that way for me.
Is religion itself logical? No. Is the fact that religion has such tremendous influence logical? Yes. From a purely evolutionary standpoint – religion is logical because of the primitive development of some of our mental capacities. The tendency for humans to invoke supernatural explanations for misunderstood natural phenomena is a vestigial relict reaction that we carry from our primitive ancestors. Forgive me for bringing evolutionary biology and paleontology into this discussion but I think it is appropriate. In the field of paleontology there is the concept of “juvenile” and “mature” species. Juvenile species are those which never reach their full evolutionary potential before they vanish from the geologic record. On the other hand, mature species reach their full evolutionary potential by adapting to many different environments or niches, radiating into many varieties, and persisting in the geologic record over vast periods of time. IMHO, humans are a juvenile species that has developed in a rather disjointed, uneven manner. We are like gawky teenagers, with all of this power to do things, but without the mental development or wisdom of years to control the power. The human brain has the capacity to think beyond superstition, but our thought processes (as a species) are developmentally stalled at some remote spot in our ancient past. It is frustrating to those who can rely strictly on empirical evidence to explain phenomena in our world, when religion still seems to have such uncanny control over people. I fully agree with you guys who have said that religion is a mechanism used to deny our own mortality.
