Should Faith/Religion Have Such a High Value In Our Society?

[lambsy_uk]

I'm not here to trample all over people's faith/beliefs but to ask if/why such beliefs should hold such high value in our society?

So where am I comming from? Well we can freely question almost anything in our society/lives; morals, political beliefs, actions and reactions, motivations, interactions, foreign policy, education, welfare, how we raise our children, law and order and so on..........

However we are positively discouraged from questioning people's faith/beliefs/religion! We are also actively encouraged to accommodate and allow for people's religious beliefs, and this is the bit that really irks me! Why is it that if something is done in the name of a religious belief/practice then we are expected to accept it with little fuss where if any other excuse were used we'd be up in arms?

We endure arguments of whether animal rights should take precedence over religion, whether saving the life of a child should take precedence over their parent's beliefs, should freedom of expression take precedence over religious sensitivities?

For me you may as well base stuff on the football team you support;

"I can't comply with the company dress code because I'm a United fan and therefore I must be allowed to wear a United shirt at work."

As far as I'm concerned this is no more ridiculous than anything done/not done in the name of religious beliefs!

So why do religious beliefs hold such high status and is it right that they do?

[saasher2012]

I for one believe in Science, more than that it can be improved on & questioned!.

[bankhaunter]

Just replace the words God\Religion with Science and that applies to virtually everyone who doesn't

believe in God

No because science encourages thinking and reasoning it is a journey of constant testing and if the testing proves it necessary, changing, religion requires obedience, not questioning, it remains unchanged no matter the evidence that may say otherwise.

[paul4757]

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@bankhaunter wrote:

Just replace the words God\Religion with Science and that applies to virtually everyone who doesn't

believe in God

No because science encourages thinking and reasoning it is a journey of constant testing and if the testing proves it necessary, changing, religion requires obedience, not questioning, it remains unchanged no matter the evidence that may say otherwise.

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That may be true but how many just blindly accept what they are told.

You just need to look at how many beleive that the big bang theory is the only

explanation for the creation of the universe rather than a theory for the

expansion without addressing how the universe was created.

I am pretty much an agnostic with regards to both religion and science

[saasher2012]

Even now the Big Bang theory is being questioned by scientists, & other theories are being explored unlike faiths it is open at all times for discussion & new evidence to support them!.

[paul4757]

surely all religion is continually changing and evolving?

[saasher2012]

Yes to suit man & the modern way of life, not the original teachings for which there is no evidence it came from anyone other than man.
Science changes from day to day the difference being it has to be backed up with evidence & facts or it would be dismissed as ramblings!

[Anonymous]

So here we have a god, being alone in an empty universe for an age, and he/she picks one day to feel loansome, and decides why am i alone? i dont like being alone, i know i will create a universe, with loads of life, and i will not be alone again, and whats more they will all praise me for making this universe! So back to my point, Just why did god what to create a Universe in the first instance?

[bankhaunter]

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@paul4757 wrote:

surely all religion is continually changing and evolving?

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There has been a little change with some in that they have made space for such as evolution but there are others who still take the Bible lterally believing everything it says without question.

Many skip over the nasty parts but others don't including the writers of a book called 'To train up a child' which is based on spare the rod and spoil the child.

For the under one year old, a little, ten- to twelve-inch long, willowy branch (striped of any knots that might break the skin) about one-eighth inch diameter is sufficient

Almost unbeliviable, children have died, nothing evolved about that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25268343

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnByMXrdvbY Warning can be very upsetting.

[paul4757]

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@bankhaunter wrote:

---

@paul4757 wrote:

surely all religion is continually changing and evolving?

---

There has been a little change with some in that they have made space for such as evolution but there are others who still take the Bible lterally believing everything it says without question.

Many skip over the nasty parts but others don't including the writers of a book called 'To train up a child' which is based on spare the rod and spoil the child.

For the under one year old, a little, ten- to twelve-inch long, willowy branch (striped of any knots that might break the skin) about one-eighth inch diameter is sufficient

Almost unbeliviable, children have died, nothing evolved about that.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25268343

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnByMXrdvbY Warning can be very upsetting.

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But that is the same for atheists surely?

There are nutters in every walk of life whether religious or not who believe

their faith gives them some rights over and above the rest of the world and

most try to ridicule others beliefs.

When I use the words faith and belief I also include atheists as well as the religious.

[paul4757]

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@saasher2012 wrote:
Yes to suit man & the modern way of life, not the original teachings for which there is no evidence it came from anyone other than man.
Science changes from day to day the difference being it has to be backed up with evidence & facts or it would be dismissed as ramblings!

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How can the original teachings be changed, they are thousands of years old?

[saasher2012]

Errr! Hello!! If you read the commandments , surely you can see that even the church has about faced & broken them to suit modern man!.& before you ask I won't give an example in case of offending .

[cee-dee]

You can't "offend" people who "believe" surely? Don't the Christians just regard it as a "sin" and forgive you?

Mind you there are religions where to offend would be fatal..........

[saasher2012]

True enough but then you would be accused of causing dissension on the board,
If a certain faith were to ever take hold we would not only not be allowed to discuss it but for us females we would be the first to suffer the consequences for even being here, sits back & waits for a slap! lol.

[**bustysinclaire**]

Sits back and waits for a slap! Wallop!!!! No, just joking lol xxx If you are only stating your opinion saasher then why should anyone get offended as long as it is purely that made respectfully. We all are under an obligation to treat everyone with respect, but still entitled to our opinions. On the board or off, religious or non religious. I believe God made everyone equal and that the laws given to us were for everyone to live by. Jehovah is certainly not parcial and women are just as important to him as man. You are right though there are some religions that take Gods commandments right out of context and exaggerate them to the point that it does become very harmful rather than protective.

[**bustysinclaire**]

I am sorry, but my posting facilities are all up the swanny today. lol............................................................................................Stupid ebay........

[bankhaunter]

But that is the same for atheists surely?

There are nutters in every walk of life whether religious or not who believe

their faith gives them some rights over and above the rest of the world and

most try to ridicule others beliefs.

Indeed there are atheists who behave badly but they don't use a religious book supposedly the word of God to justify what they do and which they can blame and which also commands they do things such as stoning to death a disrespectful son or it's okay to have slaves.

The Bible has been used in the past to justify slavery.

When I use the words faith and belief I also include atheists as well as the religious.

Atheism is neither a faith nor a belief.

Atheism is simply not believing in any god, faith is believing in something without having any evidence that particular something actually exists.

To say atheism is a belief is like saying not collecting stamps is a hobby.

[bankhaunter]

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@**bustysinclaire** wrote:
Sits back and waits for a slap! Wallop!!!! No, just joking lol xxx If you are only stating your opinion saasher then why should anyone get offended as long as it is purely that made respectfully. We all are under an obligation to treat everyone with respect, but still entitled to our opinions. On the board or off, religious or non religious. I believe God made everyone equal and that the laws given to us were for everyone to live by. Jehovah is certainly not parcial and women are just as important to him as man. You are right though there are some religions that take Gods commandments right out of context and exaggerate them to the point that it does become very harmful rather than protective.

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I find it slightly odd that there are those who feel their duty is to kill others who they feel have acted against their god.

Odd because one would think an all powerful being was perfectly capable of looking after themselves and would not need mere men to do it for them but perhaps he is not all powerful after all and without the help of his underlings would fade away and disappear completely.

That, I think, is nearer to the truth

Jehovah is certainly not parcial and women are just as important to him as man.

That isn't what the Bible says, a couple of example

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. Genesis 3:16

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Ephesians 5 : 22-25

The Ten Commandments could have had such as the following and it is notable that they are not included, God seems to think that kowtowing to him is far the most important thing for mankind to do.

You must treat men and woman in the same manner in all things

You must not own other human beings as slaves

[bankhaunter]

I forgot the bit that shows God did not dictate those Commandments.

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Since no evidence has ever been discovered that the Israelites were ever slaves in Egypt and there was ever an exodus it would seem to suggest that the Ten Commandments were written by someone after the story of the slavery had been around for some time and the writer would have had no proper knowledge of it.

[tommy.irene]

A little boy opened the big and old family Bible. With fascination, he looked at the old pages as he turned them. Then something fell out of the Bible and he picked up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that has been pressed in between pages. "Momma, look what I found," the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy's voice he answered, "I
think it's Adam's suit!

[saasher2012]

Lol!