jrMartinez24

You must spread some reputation before giving it to TypeX again

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firmhonda

I may not agree with your method of saying what you're saying, but I definitely agree with the purpose. And for what it's worth, it seriously reminded me of these lyrics from when Incubus used to be a decent band.

Dark.GEAR

click here and read

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guanyin

it's about a goddess worshipped in chinese buddhism....

articsilber323

+1 X 99

Type X

hahah I dont really listen to them, but they sound cool as $hit

firmhonda

Yeah, if you like funky rock that's orchestrated very well and has extremely well written lyrics, then I would suggest picking up a copy of Incubus - s.c.i.e.n.c.e. immediately. It's one of the best albums ever recorded. That is not my opinion, it is fact.

Also, I've got to say that the exchange that you just had with honda06si is almost identical to an exchange that Janizary and I had a while back.. It was that little exchange that "broke me in" as far as forums are concerned and I think it's the ability to have those debates that makes forums great.

But to be honest, I would probably just get flustered and start tripping over all my own words if I were to ever do that against you or him in person..lol. Anonymous text is such a powerful thing.


I'll get back to the religious side of things in a bit.. I've got to jump to another thread and explain why I feel that Americans have too much freedom.

e60.deluxe

and that has nothing to do with my respose to aki which is what you quoted me on. i admit that i dont know much on chinese buddhism, but if you remember my first post i said that as spread to east asia it was stuffed with 'sheeple control'

Dark.GEAR

does that make it any less of a religion?

blue rocket

religion is a crutch for people who can't stand on their own...my personal opinion. If you need religion to get through life, you have a lot of other big issues.

Dark.GEAR

i guess billions and billions of people throughout the world have a lot of other big issues....

i don't think thats always the case...depends on how dependent they are on the religion...

MBK

eh... Buddha was a central figure of "worship" in the Sangha, and that's therevada buddhism which is as orthodox as it gets. i think tibetan and nepalese buddhism have their own pantheon and it is rich with more of this. seeing as it is eastern, and assuming you don't know that much about it, i ask that you don't say such things as "sheeple control" as it is misleading to people. thanks.

MBK

you ever hear the saying about a virtuous man and sleep?

Type X

Are you refering to the Bodhisattva of Pure Wisdom w/ Buddha proverb?

Zesti1

I guess no one told you peeps that your not supposed to talk about Religion or Politics because arguments can/will ensue.......

civsnake

Frankly, yes, billions of people have a big issue. They've refused to move on to new ways of thinking. In a lot of cases it's not really their fault, they've simply never been told that there's another way to look at things.

THEORY:
The main thing seperating humans from other higher-level primates is cognitive ability. When the split occured, our genetic line evolved into higher level problem solvers. As we became physically less capable we developed a brain that allowed for the reasoning and problem solving so we could overcome these disadvantages. We don't have claws, but we can sharpen volcanic glass and lash it to a stick, etc. Humans are genetically hardwired to solve problems.

Early in human history we could only figure out so much. But what about natural occurances? Why does it rain? A man sticks his hand in a river, cups it, and brings the water back out. He tips his hand and water trickles out in drops. Observation: water fell from thin air because I made it happen. It couldn't have done so otherwise. In order for water to fall from the sky, something must be willing it to happen. It must be like a man, because it decides to make water fall from the the sky, otherwise water would always fall from the sky. But it's bigger than a man, more powerful. It decides when water falls from the sky. Eureka, we've figured it out! Powerful beings with human-like personalities cause weather. We've just invented deities! If they're like us, they're subject to moods and desires. We should do our best to make sure they're happy. We would like to be worshipped, why wouldn't they? Hooray, we just invented religion!

Skip through the next several ages of man and you can easily figure out how people realized they could gain power and wealth by exploiting the system, but it all started with the first people who were willing to settle for the "God's Will" answer for probelms that were, at the time, inexplicable.
END THEORY

I think religion is a relic of times passed. It persists because some people need it to find hope and because we still haven't figured out all the answers to the universe. So blue_rocket is correct; for some people it really is a crutch. Others just never knew there was another way to see things.

Michael Bolton

ugghhhh "I'm here for the gangbang?"

wing_gundam

I am of the school that thinks there was a genetic advantage in religion:

It kept groups together/united for survival.


That is all.

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Jaranath

You're not alone in your hypothesis. A number of academics think more or less as you do, and naturally argue about it. A typical argument is between those who think religion/supernaturalism is itself an adaptive trait (does religion increase your evolutionary fitness?), and those who think (as you suggest) that it's an "epiphenomenon," an unintended result of another adaptive trait: a curious brain that's good at spotting patterns and sussing out causality and intent in events and the environment, e.g. "Why did Joe share food with Bob? Is that bush over there shaking because it's hiding a lion?", but is thus susceptible to perceiving patterns, causality and intent where none exist.

Jaranath

Hehe, nice timing. I used to agree, but now I favor the "epiphenomenon" hypothesis more.

aki

I don't see how the bible's message of dying to yourself can be construed as a feel-good, pick-me-upper.

If Christianity is a crutch, it's not a terribly good one. The message of Christianity is that your efforts to impress God fail, and that only by Christ's sacrifice on the cross are you redeemed. It doesn't seek to "help" you--it tells you that you can't help yourself. That's not a terribly comfortable thing to hear, which is why I don't think it's much of a crutch.

And self-sufficiency is overrated. Any honest person should be able to say that they need something else to get through life, whether it be relationships, God, material wealth, or whatever else people seek to fulfill themselves.