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?

[bankhaunter]

An ex Hindu was asked on an atheist talk show why it was that they didn't hear of many atheists who had been Hindu.

He replied that with Hinduism if you didn't like one god, you just picked another one you liked more.

In the early days of Christianity old writings making up the Bible were certainly chosen to suit those in power at the time and no doubt a few alterations and additions were made, the last few verses of Mark for example.

[tommy.irene]

We have the man who walked on water ..Had fishes and bread and fed thousands.. his mate Moses killed thousands by drowning them ..he was able to hold the sea back.. Abig Ark was built and was filled with all the animals in the world ..these are storys for little children to be told to get them to sleep.

[cee-dee]

Ah now that raises a story of convenience.

A cetain bloke was married to a woman for 25 years. When she died he married a widow but he also soon after married a 6 year old girl.... Within the space of ten years he took 12 or 13 other wives and several concubines. A lot of his faithful followers were scandalised so he had to resort to what he claimed to be special revellations from god to justify his conduct. Really?

A modern retort to that would be "You couldn't make it up" but he certainly did.

[ronnybabes]

Ah! CD.... One flaw.  You could never found a religion on something like that.

Could you??

[bankhaunter]

I've realised that it cannot be the Devil that affects what I say because I live in Wales.

Not far from where I live there is a narrow gorge which is crossed by three bridges one on top of another, the smallest bridge was bulit by the Devil who swore he'd have the soul of the first living thing that crossed it.

Hiding behind a tree he watched with glee as an old woman and a dog approached but just as she got to the bridge, the old woman took out a lump of bread and threw it across the bridge and before the Devil could stop it, the dog raced across the bridge to get it.

The Devil was so mad at being tricked he vanished in a puff of smoke and was never seen in Wales again.

So I'm quite safe.

[lambsy_uk]

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@bankhaunter wrote:

I've realised that it cannot be the Devil that affects what I say because I live in Wales.

Not far from where I live there is a narrow gorge which is crossed by three bridges one on top of another, the smallest bridge was bulit by the Devil who swore he'd have the soul of the first living thing that crossed it.

Hiding behind a tree he watched with glee as an old woman and a dog approached but just as she got to the bridge, the old woman took out a lump of bread and threw it across the bridge and before the Devil could stop it, the dog raced across the bridge to get it.

The Devil was so mad at being tricked he vanished in a puff of smoke and was never seen in Wales again.

So I'm quite safe.

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So Neil Kinnock was just one of his minions then! 

[bankhaunter]

Too much of a lesser demon to do much.

[tommy.irene]

http://www.jwstruggle.com/2010/10/top-ten-things-wrong-with-jehovahs-witnesses/

Welcome to JWS Thousands have awakened to the serious problems existing in the WT Organization. Our goal is to give help and support to those JWs and former JWs that want it. We DO NOT wish to beat our fellow slaves or to disrespect other Witnesses that do not share our views. Many feel "tossed about like sheep without a shepherd" due to harsh treatment from local elders or the extreme policies that the WT has adopted. Nearly two out of three that become JWs leave at some point according to a Pew research study. Does this strike you as a healthy statistic? Or does it tell you that something is terribly wrong? Why do so many leave? Read more at http://www.jwstruggle.com/2010/10/top-ten-things-wrong-with-jehovahs-witnesses/

[tommy.irene]

Yes i agree...... http://www.irishcentral.com/news/politics/Irish-politicians-call-for-ban-on-Lords-Prayer-in-Parliame...

[bankhaunter]

I think this statement hasn't got it quite right

“The idea that prayer has no place in a modern parliamentary system is, quite frankly, absurd,” McGrath said.

Should read "The idea that prayer has any place in a modern parliamentary system is, quite frankly, absurd".

Along with the blasphemy law it shows the Catholic Church in Ireland still has a fairly good grip even though it may be severely weakened.

[tommy.irene]

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/world-news/two-cult-members-sentenced-death-4418634

[bookhunter2007]

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@bankhaunter wrote:

I think this statement hasn't got it quite right

“The idea that prayer has no place in a modern parliamentary system is, quite frankly, absurd,” McGrath said.

Should read "The idea that prayer has any place in a modern parliamentary system is, quite frankly, absurd".

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Religious ideology is quite a factor though regarding the origins of political faultlines and ideology. e.g. Tories = Protestant Ethic; Labour = Catholicism;  Lib Dems = Atheism; Greens = Holism; Respect = Islam; UKIP = Born again Christian fundamentalists.

Take the "big two". I'd say religious ideology has a massive bearing on how "the poor" - at home and abroad - are viewed within each party.  With Labour/Catholicism. the motto Ite, missa est implies, 'to go on a mission', often to aid the poor, hence historically (esp 60s onwards) resulting in the growth of Marxist political ideology in South America and areas with a high Catholic population (Liverpool). On the flip side, with the Protestant ethic and Spirit of Capitalism, esp Thatcherism, you have the growth of materialism, individualism and contempt at those who live in poverty.

In other words, someone doesn't always have to believe in religion or prayer to subscribe to a set of cultural or political beliefs with strong religious origins.

[tommy.irene]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/80-dont-regularly-worship-bis... We need your money.

[tommy.irene]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2804151/Archbishop-welfare-sex-abuser-priest-child-victims-J...

........................Archbishop 'put welfare of sex abuser priest before child victims': Judge says actions allowed paedophile to escape exposure or punishment Report claims Church of England Archbishop covered up abuser's crimes Judge Sally Cahill said Lord Hope allowed reverend to escape punishment Sex offender priest, The Very Reverend Robert Waddington, died in 2007 Report listed seven breaches of Church safeguarding rules by Lord Hope ..

[bankhaunter]

They don't like parting with their money either.

Refusal of religious orders to compensate Magdalenes ‘beggars belief’

http://www.thejournal.ie/magdalenes-nuns-redress-995106-Jul2013/

[tommy.irene]

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@bankhaunter wrote:

They don't like parting with their money either.

Refusal of religious orders to compensate Magdalenes ‘beggars belief’

http://www.thejournal.ie/magdalenes-nuns-redress-995106-Jul2013/

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There is no God bigger than the money God.

[bankhaunter]

'God' has been at it for a long time, probably ever since priests saw it as a way of accumulating wealth without having to work for it.

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD.

Leviticus 17:30

[ronnybabes]

According to the Bible, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in Palestine, a country where people are called Mohammed, Abdul, Mounir, Aziz, Ahmed, Farid, Omar, Youssouf, Mouloud, etc..... 

And he managed to find 10 friends called John, Peter, Paul, Phillip, Mark, Thomas, Luke, Mathew, Andrew and Simon .... who all drank wine !!! 

[marshallhouse]

Yes, people in Palestine have these Islamic names now, but at the time of Christ it was a Jewish country and the people had Jewish names (700 years before Islam was founded).  These names have been anglicised in the English translation of the Bible, and appear as their equivalent in other languages.  For example, Peter (English), Pietro (Italian), and Pierre (French), all originate from the Greek Petros meaning stone.  James is Jacob in Hebrew, Jacques in French, Iago in Spanish (e.g. Santiago de Compostela).  Bartholomew is thought to come from the Aramaic Bar-Talemai.  I could go on, but hope this helps to clear up the misunderstanding.

[tommy.irene]

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/popes-bank-cleanup-man-found-stuck-in-elevator-wit...

Pope's bank clean-up man 'found stuck in elevator with rent boy'