Do you believe in God?

[Pyron]

Originally Posted by juvenilepunk

Agreed, the same could be said about Santa Clause, The Easter Bunny, and any other legend or myth. They have been around for hundreds of years passed down from generation to generation. They are not real but they are still told to enlighten peoples lives.

The Easter rabbit and Santa Clause can only be compared to religion if they meet the following criteria: a) have changed the lives of billions of people, b) are the cause of much conflict including wars, c) control most of the world, d) hold a gross income of most of the world's wealth. You can't say religion isn't real when it exists, evidently and it can't be compared to these things.

Originally Posted by #21

cunt: Do not spam this thread with petty comments.

sithlord: Religion has been around for so long because people have not gotten around to the fact that they are just being controlled. Think about it. They are following a book and other people who are following a book. They just don't see this. They want to study this in the event that there is some sort of after-life. Why is this? Because they are afraid of death. Death is the only reason religion was ever invented. However, seeing as nobody has come back, or any proof whatsoever of there being anything fun when you die, people are stupid to follow.

Originally Posted by juvenilepunk

As #21 said, most people follow religion for the fact they are afraid. With fear you can do anything. Strike fear into something/someone and they will listen. Religion has done nothing but cause problems and it will only continue to cause problems. A world without religion is a safe and smarter world.

What you are saying leads me to believe that you believe in the theology and philosophy of Thomas Hobbes who believed that humans are evil by nature and only appear to be good because they submit to a higher power out of fear of violence, punishment and death. Furthermore, humans were born evil and have the right to property they can steal and can kill whomever they want. Fear is the only thing that stops people from doing things we deem as 'illegal' or morally wrong, sometimes.

Since you are saying that a world without religion would be a better place, since there would be no fear, then there would be no control as the theory goes. The world would fall into chaos.

So in order for religion to be evil and bad, we humans have to be evil and bad. But in order for religion to be good then we humans must be good. One does not work without the other.

I believe in good, not evil.