Shooter gave me a good idea (and I didn't want to hijack the incest thread. Boy..that sounds funny). We should start a debate about it. I'm being honest. Why are some religious "facts" (or the foundation of a religion) ok, and others are not? Why are there some religions (Scientology or Mormonism) that are routinely mocked for their founding beliefs (not necessarily by you Shooter), but others are not? I know it's popular to both make fun of Catholics and Christians, and to play the victim role as a Catholic or Christian, but I think that's not as common as people think. How is the founding of the Mormon church any more credible than that of Jedi's? Or Scientology? That's some crazy shit. But the funny thing is, there is some crazy shit in the founding of the Jewish, Catholic/Christian religions too. Why is one persons strange story valid and another is not? Also, why is it that the same story of Christ (son of a virgin, heal the sick, a John the Baptist character beheaded, rising from the dead, had a kick ass Iroc) is evident in other cultures prior to the story of Christ? I'm not saying that to prove one way or the other, but to open it up for Debate. I think it'd be fun to debate that stuff, without judging someone for believing or not believing (it's incredibly hard for either side to not judge someone, overtly or not).
I am religious. And I am pretty careful to not mock some of the so-called "strange" or "crazy" religions, since many / most religions have portions that are pretty far out there, including my own. I am a believer that people shouldn't take everything in their religion's doctrine literally. I don't think the bible should be taken literally. I like to look at the big picture of the religion and ask if it makes sense for me. For example: Christianity - living your life as Jesus did. As a general, big-picture guideline, it is pretty hard to go wrong with that. I don't know what the big-picture, over-arching message of Scientology.
The cause of the worlds problems is organized religion. Dubya talked to god before making the decision to bomb Iraq. Osama said it's a religious duty to obtain nuclear weapons to wipe out the infidels. There is no god of theology. Something created the Universe but it's not the guy sitting on a thrown in heaven looking down on us granting prayers like a genie in a bottle.
We wouldn't have hunger, or disease, or cancer, or violence, or greed, etc if we didn't have organized religion? Interesting position to have.
I think a lot of the mockery of the other religions comes down to either a misunderstanding of the religion or the "unknown" of the religion. I'm not saying that some religions aren't wacko, just that the mockery starts with those first items. We're all raised by parents with certain belief sets. And whether we claim our independence from our parent's beliefs or not, there is always that tinge of their belief system that resides in us. Add to that the environment and culture around us and that affects our perception of others. It's, in a very basic way, much like eating animals. We wouldn't eat dogs, but others would and we find it disgusting. Others find us eating cows disgusting. Why is one right and one wrong? I think in the end it comes down to whether a religion agrees with very core principles that you believe in about life and/or your purpose within it.
i am agnostic/atheist, and it is this reason why I love it when i get my Christian friends to mock Scientology or Mormonism... MMMmmm hypocrisy
Because just reading the bible in public school isn't enough? Or information from a father that spent two years in seminary school?
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155423 The debate is what to call ourselves: The United Athiest Alliance or Allied Atheist Alliance?
A real discussion on this topic would be interesting. Unfortunately, these things always devolve into trash talking.
We're ultimately all praying to the same God. As in, each religion has their own hierarchy of religious icons, and each religion has their own "bible," etc...etc....but ultimately it was all created from the simple belief in a God. Culture, then language, and now greed and fear have blurred the lines and created disharmony among "different" religions. At least that is my theory in a small nut shell. What is God? Don't know, but I do know that something created all this, and I believe it's (a) God, because what I see around me didn't just "happen." That is as basic as it gets. And I am certainly a believer. Organized religion is dangerous. This coming from an ex leader of a christian outreach program after I graduated high school. I've had years of experience with organized religion, and though it blessed me with a ton of great friends and experiences, it ultimately taught me every thing I needed to know about religion. I don't have to be part of an "organization" to have a relationship with God. No one does.
