Am I missing something? Religion.

[ButterflyTable]

I will caveat this by saying there was a point in my life when I was religious. However I now just feel religion is created by men; about men for men.

I look at women around me who are friends and religious, and their religion oppresses them. Much more than men.

I want to believe in God, or a higher power. But nothing in this world leads me to think there is a God as such. Granted I think there is energy, something out there perhaps connected to our ancestors or the Earth.

Religion to me seems about control, rituals, even having spent time around people of multiple faiths, in their holy buildings - I feel something, I hear a hymn, a call to prayer, I’ve sang I a church congregation. I’ve sat in Temples, I’ve been in Muslim countries and heard the prayers, I’ve experienced and read about a number of faiths. To the extent they all say pretty much the same thing, but I cannot believe in God.

I also feel faith holds people back. I’ve seen a lot wrong done by very religious people.

not saying anyone has to respect all beliefs. but that we can disagree vehemently with something and still express our views in a respectful manner and not insult the people holding the views. that was my point.

To quote:

American physicist Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize-winning theoretical physicist. Weinberg said: "Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it, you'd have good people doing good things, and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, it takes religion".

The issue is that religion can drive people to commit atrocities, but no one does bad things in the name of atheism. (Though atheists can obviously be bad people separate from their atheism)

@Parker231
Knowing that God loves me unconditionally is not just comforting, it's life changing. It gives me confidence and grounds me. It makes me want to do things that I know please God because I love Him. It doesn't make me a good person - it makes me a happy person because my life here and afterwards isn't determined by fallible men or women - it's based on infallible God. Jesus had a lot to say about the religious leaders of His time, and it wasn't complimentary. We shouldn't seek to be religious but to be Christian, i.e., to follow Jesus.

I'm sure you are right. personally for me it's important to hear all sides, I obviously can't speak for other religious people and how they behave. I can totally understand negative experiences or even sadly abuse occurring in institutions can push people away from faith. sadly these occurrences are not uncommon in pretty much all religions. I can only say that I feel for you and all others who have suffered at the hand of institutions ♡

Thank you. That means a lot x

I can’t speak for above posters, but I don’t know any Christian groups that teach killing someone is ok. It’s not a permitted part of the New Testament belief system, Jesus said the Law was summed up as two things: love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbour as yourself.

True Christianity is to wholeheartedly abide by those two laws. There is no room for killing anyone.

No one can deny the atrocities committed in the name of religion. In terms of the Christian religion atrocities are not committed by people who actually have true faith - they have been manipulated and controlled, because yes, religion when turned to fear can be a very effective tool for controlling the masses. But someone who wants to control the masses will do it by any means, not always religion.

Yes this!
I believe Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour. I seek a relationship with Him. That's why we follow his Word (the bible). No where in the bible does it command you to be 'religious'... 'Religion' is a man-made concept and replaces faith - the true foundation of worship.

I think there can be a lot of support and reassurance in having a faith. As someone who is agnostic at best. Coming together with people who share your values; making regular commitments to yourself to try to be a better person and do what you can to help others; prayer and places of worship can be very reflective, mindful almost meditative spaces. And getting support from that same community if you are in need.

Worship a god which doesn’t help people in need - children dying of cancer? Why would he help you and not them? (Not that I believe he exists).

You can be a good person with good values without a faith. Having a faith doesn’t make you a better person.,

I'm sorry but I'm not buying that one bit. As I said, look up the Tuam Babies, the mother and baby homes. And that's just a small example, from a very small country. They might not have actively killed, but they allowed babies to die, and then treated their remains like dirt. Look up sexual abuse in Christian schools. Religion/the church facilitated and then covered up these abuses, further traumatising the victims.

I lost my faith a few years ago. The veil just suddenly fell away like at the end of the wizard of oz

But don't throw the baby out with the bath water. In any institution there will be abuse. Abuse in the church doesn't mean god doesn't exist.

You’re not buying that atrocities have been committed in the name of religion but have nothing to do with the teachings of the religion?

Abuse should be exposed and dealt with thoroughly- and by the courts of the land, not internal investigations. Stuff like this makes me so cross because it’s diametrically opposed to the teachings of Jesus.

Of course you can and if you read my post I didn’t say or even imply that being part of a religious group makes you a better person.

Nobody is saying god doesn't exist, but religion is at best questionable imo.

I apologise if I didn't make myself clear. All of that was done in the name of god and religion. I don't know what Jesus would have made of it.

Hello, I hope this question doesn’t sound snarky, but where does homosexuality fit with all this? By which I mean, many religious institutions believe it to be immoral due to the Old Testament, where it literally says they should be put to death, but as you say Jesus said to love thy neighbour, so why would many still hold the belief that this is wrong, and in some super extreme cases, still believe they should be put to death (westboro Baptist chruch, as one example)

And it makes you 'cross'? Really? You should be utterly and completely enraged. This was abuse and murder, in the name of your God.

Go and climb a (small, accessible, probably-technically-a-hill) mountain OP. The combination of the physical exertion and the view from the top will give you a sense of scale and perspective and of belonging to something unimaginably huge. You’ll feel better. No religious dogmas, laws or tenets required.

I can’t see how the babies in Ireland were murdered in the name of my God - they were not. They were murdered by wicked individuals who only wanted to exploit the poor women in order to line their own pockets. That is utterly corrupt and horrific, and what’s even more horrific is the Catholic Church in Ireland has been incredibly slow to investigate and prosecute. It’s an abomination. You’re right - cross is not a strong enough word, but I am not a Catholic and I am not defending any of this.

Strange that an omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent deity wouldn’t put a halt to appalling abuses perpetrated in said deity’s name by those dedicated to his service,

Cue the usual gymnastic hand waving about ‘free will’.

'God' has been used in Ireland to abuse people for centuries. Women and children. Gay people. The babies were killed in the name of God, because the murderers felt above the law due to their religion. This was obviously quite some time ago, and didn't involve all catholics. But it has certainly been the nail in the coffin for many people when it comes to organised religion.

That’s truly naive. The babies weren’t ‘murdered’ by anyone. They died of disease and neglect in institutions (when they weren’t sold 50to suitable couples) run by those in vowed service to the Christian god, according to Christian ideas of redeeming sinners for Christ.

Neglect was murder.

No one should ever listen to anything Westboro Baptist say for a start. They are a cult like sect that no mainstream church has anything to do with.

I have never met any Christian in the U.K. who thinks homosexuals should be put to death. I’ve met Christians who don’t think same sec marriage should be allowed - but in my opinion they are utterly wrong so I can’t argue that point. Many things were deemed immoral in the Old Testament that weren’t deemed immoral in the New Testament. I don’t personally view homosexuality as wrong.

In all this discussion there must be an understanding that a lot of Christianity in America is very very different to mainstream Christianity in the U.K. I’ve had involvement in the past with very American influenced churches, and I found some of the teachings terrifying and incredibly far removed from the teachings of Jesus.

However there seems to be an increasing rise in fundamentalist teachings in America, and it will flow over to certain churches in the U.K. it’s Terrifying. I’ve had gay friends in America receive credible death threats. Horrific. But absolutely not the teachings of Christ.