Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Keith Johnston on June 24, 2010 at 3:07pm

"People who masturbate"
Guess that's everybody then!
Heaven must be one lonely place.

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Permalink Reply by RamNex on June 25, 2010 at 4:02am

If you're a good boy tho you get 72 virgins :)

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Permalink Reply by Tera on June 25, 2010 at 9:10am

To do what with, exactly? I hope you can get married in Heaven, otherwise all those virgins are totally useless. :-(

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Permalink Reply by Esther Rhymes on July 7, 2010 at 3:41pm

except for the girls in somalia :(

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Permalink Reply by Tera on June 25, 2010 at 9:31am

*sigh* I went straight to Hell with the first two :-(

Organized religion and the "values" they hold so near and dear were nothing more than an inspired way for the people in charge to keep themselves in power and in control of the masses. They impose their own sense of morality on those they rule by threatening suffering, death, and then punishment that exists beyond death (and indeed into eternity) for not keeping with those values. As someone posted previously, it kept their pockets lined with gold and their beds full.

From a pure survival standpoint, though, some of the rules that seem ridiculous and outdated in modern times actually made sense in terms of the world that existed when texts such as the Christian Bible were created. Rules about what food you could and couldn't eat were practical advice made mandatory by the threat of punishment by an all-knowing and all-powerful being. The reality is that eating certain foods was potentially deadly, and such rules existed to keep people alive.

Even values about sexuality and reproduction make sense when you think of them in context. Prostitutes were exposed to many different people and communicable diseases. Avoiding them meant not getting sick. Christianity's focus on purity and virginity could have stemmed from this, as well. Less sexual partners equals less chance of disease and a higher chance of healthy, viable offspring.

Homosexual unions (a hot-button issue, I know) do not produce children. In an ancient world with a much smaller population where your work force and livelihood depended upon family, a union that could never result in children wasn't practical. Lifespans were short and family groups depended on the next generation for survival. So, "values" were invented to discourage it.

I'm not a historian, though I do have an amateur interest in anthropology and archaeology, so please remember that all of the above is based totally on my personal opinion and observation. My point is that, though impractical and outdated today, some of these "ridiculous" values may have been set in place for more practical reasons that were turned into moral issues over the centuries.

-Tera

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Permalink Reply by Peter Price on June 26, 2010 at 3:25am

wow!
Thanks Tera, for the reply... I guess I'd never thought about that way...
The problem now is; people are still stupid enough to believe it, and though most people can accept that these verse are outdated - so you should go around on a killing spree, there are some who still hold on to the "values"...

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Permalink Reply by Eoganacht on July 10, 2010 at 10:22pm

A good summery.
The only problem with this is that religion is using mind control to inforce common sense practice. Maybe the ruling classes realized that the majority of humanity was stupid; as Terry Practett put it, if you had a button in a cave somwhere and a sign next to it saying 'end of the world button, do not press' the paint wouldnt have had a chance to dry. Maybe Humanity needs a unquestioning leader to follow as to not kill itself in a mildly amusing manner. But then there might be a better way of governing the mindless masses rather than using lies. The end does not justify the means.
Unfortuntely, i think that the end of humanity will either be very amusing or very depressing. (Either a comady or tragidy play, take your pick)

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Permalink Reply by Eric Lawson on July 25, 2010 at 11:04am

Absolutely brilliant! It's amazing(and sad) that more people don't see the bible and other holy books for what they really are. I've lost a lot of facebook friends over the years for calling them out on their bullshit when they post scriptures and other god-babble. Then again, who needs 'em, right?

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Permalink Reply by Esther Rhymes on July 7, 2010 at 3:39pm

It's ironic too that God is a male, with a small dick.

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Permalink Reply by Brent on July 25, 2010 at 12:34am

There are only 144,000 seats available in heaven and no one is being let in until Jesus returns (which was supposed to happen during the lifetime of the authors of the NT). Hell is going to be so full of fundamentalists who couldn't get a seat in heaven that there will be no room for us non-believers.

The rules of religion are there to scare you into following the church leaders. Tolerance for not following means people could exercise free will and leave the church. That is unacceptable to an institution built on fear.

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Permalink Reply by Mario Rodgers on July 25, 2010 at 1:33am

Religion creates the disease to offer the cure. That is my single sole point of hatred for monotheism.

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Permalink Reply by Wayne Wilson on July 25, 2010 at 10:44am

ALL religion is fear worship.

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