Which Religion is the best!

[God]

Which Religion is the best and most worthy of your time?

Now, FIGHT!

[lemons]

science

[Kardan]

This can only end well.

[Jordan]

im not religious and i dont think its a competition of being the best either.

[Sian]

spaghetti monster.

Edited by e5 (Forum Super Moderator) - Please do not post pointlessly, thanks!

[buttons]

Chinese

[Kardan]

spaghetti monster.

Edited by e5 (Forum Super Moderator) - Please do not post pointlessly, thanks!

Clearly e5; has never typed in 'Spaghetti monster religion' into google.

[e5]

Clearly e5; has never typed in 'Spaghetti monster religion' into google.
Nope, and I have no intention to since I know the poster understood :-)

I'm not religious or anything so don't have a favourite or whatever

[Kardan]

Nope, and I have no intention to since I know the poster understood :-)

I'm not religious or anything so don't have a favourite or whatever

But it's actually a religion...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_of_the_Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

:P

[Kyle]

all religions are equal and most religious teachings ask that we respect those of others. clearly u just want to cause conflict, dont think this is worthy of debate.

[sex]

my religion is better than yours if you disagree youre going to hell

[-:Undertaker:-]

Christianity - the success of Christian countries (specifically protestant) in my eyes shows it.

[MKR&*42]

Ehhh if you class Deism as a religion, I guess that.

Otherwise I wouldn't like to say anything specific. I believe that Asian 'religions' (more heavily philosophy based I'm given to believe) are something that I'd want to look into and feel it worthy of my time :P

[FlyingJesus]

Tommism

[-Moniquee.]

Think it is wrong to do a debate other this; I don't think any religion is superior and everyone has their own beliefs which they are entitled to. I am Christian and I don't think that Christianity is 'better' than any other religion.

[Drunq]

There is no better religion. They cause nothing but trouble...

Sent from my GT-S5830i using Tapatalk 2

[karter]

Ancient Hinduism and Buddhism tbh

[Eric]

Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Confucionism

[Kardan]

Jediism.

[Empired]

I think all religions are wrong. I know most people seem to disagree with me but I think they just promote segregation, people thinking they're better than others, terrorism and favouritism (in schools, etc). I can't see anything good coming from any religion.

[karter]

i forgot Taoism yh that too

[buttons]

I think all religions are wrong. I know most people seem to disagree with me but I think they just promote segregation, people thinking they're better than others, terrorism and favouritism (in schools, etc). I can't see anything good coming from any religion.
not that i disagree but just the good nature of some people who have religious beliefs that they might not have if they weren't religious, yes there's lots of beliefs promoting hate but not all. don't think u can generalize all religion like that or even one religion. u get good n bad in each, they interpret their religion differently. used to go to church and they were the nicest people u could meet, did charity and soup n sweets for homeless etc u do get the odd extremist but it's the same w/ people without religion

[Empired]

not that i disagree but just the good nature of some people who have religious beliefs that they might not have if they weren't religious, yes there's lots of beliefs promoting hate but not all. don't think u can generalize all religion like that or even one religion. u get good n bad in each, they interpret their religion differently. used to go to church and they were the nicest people u could meet, did charity and soup n sweets for homeless etc u do get the odd extremist but it's the same w/ people without religion
That's true for individuals but it always seems to me that the bad in the religion always seems to outweigh the good people do. I think religion looks good on paper but in practice it always ends up being taken over by terrorists, bible bashers, those creepy christian child rapists or whatever who just make the whole religion look bad if that makes sense

[buttons]

yh that's what am saying, that's a majority of people & their bad shouldn't overlook the contribution of the good people. like good stuff about religion is never put on the news, only bad stuff is hence y everyone so against it all

[GommeInc]

But it's actually a religion...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gospel_of_the_Flying_Spaghetti_Monster

:P
Even if it wasn't, the whole point of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is entirely relevant (there's about as much evidence for it than there is for God seems to be the ultimate point). That post has a point, so the moderator's edit to a relevant post is pointless - which surely is worse? Can he be sacked or disciplined for being uneducated about the Flying Spaghetti Monster? He ultimately should not get involved moderating a forum he doesn't have a clue about or even the topic that's being discussed. Sometimes moderators just seem to want to destroy discussion rather than protect it :/ It's even worse saying he has no intention - if you're that lazy don't get involved and leave the discussion as it is. It's incredibly frustrating when they do that :/

Also all religions hold the same values. What makes them different are the individual groups and people who interpret it for either their own gain or the value of the society in which they hold a position over. Religion isn't necessarily the problem, but the followers.

[Kardan]

Even if it wasn't, the whole point of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is entirely relevant (there's about as much evidence for it than there is for God seems to be the ultimate point). That post has a point, so the moderator's edit to a relevant post is pointless - which surely is worse? Can he be sacked or disciplined for being uneducated about the Flying Spaghetti Monster? He ultimately should not get involved moderating a forum he doesn't have a clue about or even the topic that's being discussed. Sometimes moderators just seem to want to destroy discussion rather than protect it :/ It's even worse saying he has no intention - if you're that lazy don't get involved and leave the discussion as it is. It's incredibly frustrating when they do that :/

Also all religions hold the same values. What makes them different are the individual groups and people who interpret it for either their own gain or the value of the society in which they hold a position over. Religion isn't necessarily the problem, but the followers.

Apparently the edit stands because the user accepted the warning :P

[Brad]

This thread is a ticking time bomb. There are those who are not going to automatically agree with others who feel their religion is right. Most believe in a religion based upon their family background, and heritage- where some believe in a religion because of what country they are from, and it's the norm to do so.
Personally, I am a Christian. I have been one since 2008, so I haven't been a Christian for that long. From living for the world, to living with a purpose- and knowing that I will be in heaven afterwards does not make me feel superior to others. I have been in the shoes of those who do not believe in God. Heck, my whole family does not believe- but it definitely is a choice.

And to those who feel that religion is to promote segregation, I am sorry; that is not how Christianity is supposed to be like, it is to bring unity to all people, accepting one another- maybe not liking what they are doing, but not to discriminate against them.
Even Christianity has had its fair share of those who thought they were listening to God's voice, and started causing segregation.
Jesus, when he was preaching, told the disciples to love one another as you love yourself. So, I do have to apologize to those who have the preconception that Christianity is a group of believers at think they are better than everyone else.

Because let's be honest; we're all sinners, I am a sinner, but there is the power of grace, and mercy from Jesus himself, that was shown that day that allowed me to stand before God.

[Empired]

And to those who feel that religion is to promote segregation, I am sorry; that is not how Christianity is supposed to be like, it is to bring unity to all people, accepting one another- maybe not liking what they are doing, but not to discriminate against them.
Even Christianity has had its fair share of those who thought they were listening to God's voice, and started causing segregation.
Jesus, when he was preaching, told the disciples to love one another as you love yourself. So, I do have to apologize to those who have the preconception that Christianity is a group of believers at think they are better than everyone else.

While religion is not supposed to cause segregation, it almost always does. I have no problem with people if they want to be a Christian or whatever, but I really don't like it when they shove it in my face. (I do actually mean shove it in my face, like the man in town who keeps telling everyone that they're going to hell but that's okay.) I know that's not what Christianity and other religions are about but it always ends up with the believers wanting more people to join the faith and they'll do some weird things to make that happen.. Actually, saying that, atheists seem to spend a lot of their time trying to make religious people see the "gaps in their faith" or whatever..

[Brad]

While religion is not supposed to cause segregation, it almost always does. I have no problem with people if they want to be a Christian or whatever, but I really don't like it when they shove it in my face. (I do actually mean shove it in my face, like the man in town who keeps telling everyone that they're going to hell but that's okay.) I know that's not what Christianity and other religions are about but it always ends up with the believers wanting more people to join the faith and they'll do some weird things to make that happen.. Actually, saying that, atheists seem to spend a lot of their time trying to make religious people see the "gaps in their faith" or whatever..

It's always going to be a never-ending battle between religions. There are some who take "preach the good news" to the negative, and there are some people here where I live that are like that and it makes me sad because that's not Christianity should be portrayed.
In the end. It is a personal choice whether to believe in a religion. The more someone shoves a religion in your face, the least likely you are to even consider looking into it.
Although there's not a lot of people who even want to talk about religion, but everyone has an opinion :P

[buttons]

While religion is not supposed to cause segregation, it almost always does. I have no problem with people if they want to be a Christian or whatever, but I really don't like it when they shove it in my face. (I do actually mean shove it in my face, like the man in town who keeps telling everyone that they're going to hell but that's okay.) I know that's not what Christianity and other religions are about but it always ends up with the believers wanting more people to join the faith and they'll do some weird things to make that happen.. Actually, saying that, atheists seem to spend a lot of their time trying to make religious people see the "gaps in their faith" or whatever..
if religious people are trying to promote good then i really don't think it much of a problem, maybe a little annoying but no reason for atheists to begin to pick apart their religion and discriminate against them
its only problematic once they preach that their way is the only/right way eg homosexuality is wrong yaddyyaya
honestly doesn't bother me religious people askin if i would listen to their beliefs bc I know many of them believe and ARE doing right, like i mentioned before with them giving free food to homeless, raising money for charity et

[Evanora]

stupid debate
who r u to decide which religion is best?

[Empired]

It's always going to be a never-ending battle between religions. There are some who take "preach the good news" to the negative, and there are some people here where I live that are like that and it makes me sad because that's not Christianity should be portrayed.
In the end. It is a personal choice whether to believe in a religion. The more someone shoves a religion in your face, the least likely you are to even consider looking into it.
Although there's not a lot of people who even want to talk about religion, but everyone has an opinion :P
No, yeah, I can't actually remember my original point now. Basically I don't mind when people want to tell me about their faith but I think standing on a box in the middle of a market square is a silly place to try and attract more followers. People are busy and in a rush and you're just going to annoy them, which will actually make them less likely to want to see life from your perspective in the first place! On the other hand, I've had a friend come up to me before and talk to me quietly about how faith found them and I found that really nice. It didn't make me want to be religious but it did make it easier for me to see where she was coming from and why she believed if that makes sense :P

So yeah.. I suppose it's not religion that bothers me at all, it's just how people act. I think it's really silly to try and preach to a load of people who aren't listening. Faith should be a personal thing to share with people you want to help, it shouldn't be shoving leaflets in peoples' faces and shouting at them in my opinion :P Like I've said before, I know only a few people actually do things like that but they do it so often and on more than one occasion I have actually been chased by them until I get into a shop because they "just want ten minutes of my time". It just puts everyone else who does good for Christianity, etc in a bad light :(


if religious people are trying to promote good then i really don't think it much of a problem, maybe a little annoying but no reason for atheists to begin to pick apart their religion and discriminate against them
its only problematic once they preach that their way is the only/right way eg homosexuality is wrong yaddyyaya
honestly doesn't bother me religious people askin if i would listen to their beliefs bc I know many of them believe and ARE doing right, like i mentioned before with them giving free food to homeless, raising money for charity et
^

[Shar]

to me asking what religion is the best is like asking what skin colour/ethnicity is the best.

[James]

Dragga trying to cause more arguments, as per usual.

"Which religion is most worthy of your time?"
What kind of question is that?

this thread isn't even worth my time.

[God]

Dragga trying to cause more arguments, as per usual.

"Which religion is most worthy of your time?"
What kind of question is that?

this thread isn't even worth my time.


Um excuse me mister moody, but I created this thread for these people to debate (basically fight it out) tyvm.

Anyways, I feel that no religion is the best, not to say im not Spirtual, but I believe in MYSELF, not someone else (some god or deity thingy) to do things for me.

Heres one of the many sayings I've heard, and I really like is this one.

"Dear World,


Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it,
but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around...
and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat.




Sincerely, tired of hearing your religious guff"

[Drew]

Um excuse me mister moody, but I created this thread for these people to debate (basically fight it out) tyvm.

Anyways, I feel that no religion is the best, not to say im not Spirtual, but I believe in MYSELF, not someone else (some god or deity thingy) to do things for me.

Heres one of the many sayings I've heard, and I really like is this one.

"Dear World,


Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it,
but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around...
and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat.




Sincerely, tired of hearing your religious guff"


So why would you want people to fight over who has the best penis?

[karter]

"Dear World,
Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it,
but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around...
and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat.


Sincerely, tired of hearing your religious guff"




why is this dry loser quote still being used it's not like it's quirky or something it makes you look like a passive aggressive atheist with an agenda

[Kyle]

Um excuse me mister moody, but I created this thread for these people to debate (basically fight it out) tyvm.

Anyways, I feel that no religion is the best, not to say im not Spirtual, but I believe in MYSELF, not someone else (some god or deity thingy) to do things for me.

Heres one of the many sayings I've heard, and I really like is this one.

"Dear World,


Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one and it's fine to be proud of it,
but please don't whip it out in public and start waving it around...
and PLEASE don't try to shove it down my child's throat.




Sincerely, tired of hearing your religious guff"



This "nobody dictates what I do but ME" lark is getting very old very fast. Religion is no more or less a means of creating and maintaining ideologies than anything else in your life. Just because religion may be dying out in some areas of the world does not mean that you are living a life free from prods and pokes in the direction that is deemed correct. The cult of the individual is on the rise and the self and our interactions with others are laced with notions of the sacred. God may be dead for some but , as Nietzsche put it, "his shadow still looms" - without faith in a higher power we get people like you and Hitler that take it upon themselves to act Godly and dictate how others should lead their lives! :P

Kinda tired of armchair sceptics that know little-to-nothing about religion itself other than that which is presented to them through outlets with their own agendas piping up about how religious institutions are full of whackjobs that let the word of a God dictate their every move. You watch/read the news, you obey the law, you go to school and you will eventually enter the labour market. We are all chained in this cave together.

The ritual denunciation of God and His teachings by atheists is just as dogmatic as anything any religious text will 'teach'. Stop generalising by banding all Christians (as well as seemingly all religious folk) together and making assumptions about their faith/interpretations of texts written thousands of years ago. Too often are those that followed religion regarded as ignorant and this is simply something that should not come into it.

Since we're using vacuous/meaningless quotes to back up our points, here is one from Francis Bacon:
" It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion."

and another from somebody else:
"Atheist's don't exist. If you ask anyone why they are an atheist they will proceed to explain their religion of non belief."

[Chippiewill]

The church of the flying spaghetti monster.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6e/Touched_by_His_Noodly_Appendage.jpg/330px-Touched_by_His_Noodly_Appendage.jpg

[Ardemax]

There is no better religion. They cause nothing but trouble...

They cause nothing but trouble... and society.

[StevenWinehouse]

I don't believe that one religion is better than the other. Sure there are religions that are bigger than the others (Christianity is the biggest religion in the world).

Even though the original poster said that "he didn't want to cause a pissing match" or something along those lines, this debate always down the road does cause one. Especially when you name the thread like this, when I first saw the thread I was like "oh boy, this certainly caused some major arguments." To my suprise there wasn't any "THIS RELIGION IS BETTER THAN YOUR RELIGION", the arguments were more like to the nature of " this debate is stupid, and you're an idiot to post something like this"


On another note, I'm going to say what I am since people have already stated what they are. I'm an atheist. So there is that

[GommeInc]

Apparently the edit stands because the user accepted the warning :P
So two wrongs make a right mentality sets in? :P It should be removed - as it wasn't pointless. Ignorance and agreeing to "authority" doesn't right the problem :P

[-:Undertaker:-]

While religion is not supposed to cause segregation, it almost always does. I have no problem with people if they want to be a Christian or whatever, but I really don't like it when they shove it in my face. (I do actually mean shove it in my face, like the man in town who keeps telling everyone that they're going to hell but that's okay.) I know that's not what Christianity and other religions are about but it always ends up with the believers wanting more people to join the faith and they'll do some weird things to make that happen.. Actually, saying that, atheists seem to spend a lot of their time trying to make religious people see the "gaps in their faith" or whatever..

Morality by it's nature is discriminatory.

Christianity for example teaches (to various degrees) that anything outside of lifelong marriage between a man and a woman is wrong. Now whether you agree with this moral principle or not, that's the nature of having a moral system.

If there's one thing that is killing religion across the western world, and specifically the useless Church of England, it's soppy liberal priests accepting anything and everything. The Bible and Christian doctrine are very clear on certain beliefs, if liberal priests don't like it then they should join the Labour Party. :P Sadly though it's been the other way around, and CoE members have been flocking to the Catholic Church instead.

[Liva]

Erm. I would say atheism, due to the single fact that we don't have rules or shape our lives around an idea (religion).

[God]

(Chants Jerry, From Jerry Springer) JERRY JERRRY JERRRY JERRY JERRY JERRY JERRY


This here will be my final words on the subject.


Most of you would say, Evolution, is a theory right?


So Is gravity, and I don't see you guys jumping out of buildings.





If anyone would like to strike up a debate on religion, then please start a new thread, as this is about which religion is the best.

[Derrener]

surely there's not a best religion? they're all best just in different ways

I dunno

[Kyle]

This here will be my final words on the subject.
Most of you would say, Evolution, is a theory right?
So Is gravity, and I don't see you guys jumping out of buildings.

If anyone would like to strike up a debate on religion, then please start a new thread, as this is about which religion is the best.
wh-...what? Have absolutely NO idea what point you are trying to convey about gravity, could you please elaborate?

This 'debate' is by its very nature "on religion" so to dismiss any argument about the positive nature of religion is a bit weird. I'm interested to find out further reasoning behind the decision that no religion is best other than the default 'coz i am an independant atheist who dont need nobody tellin me wat 2 do' argument. Not saying I don't agree with the final decision or accept your beliefs, just trying to look a little deeper into your own reasons for decision. It was you that brought the topic up...

[Empired]

(Chants Jerry, From Jerry Springer) JERRY JERRRY JERRRY JERRY JERRY JERRY JERRY

This here will be my final words on the subject.
Most of you would say, Evolution, is a theory right?
So Is gravity, and I don't see you guys jumping out of buildings.

If anyone would like to strike up a debate on religion, then please start a new thread, as this is about which religion is the best.
Er, gravity is not a theory. Hence why it is called Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation (the law of gravity).

The two "points" you made ("gravity is a theory" and "I don't see you guys jumping out of buildings") are completely random? Are you trying to say God is real because no one can prove he doesn't? Are you just trying to tell people not to jump out of buildings? Or are you trying to say something else? I genuinely can't tell..

Also, like Kyle said, this is a debate on religion. Debates and threads work by growing and expanding onto news topics which are all related. There isn't exactly much to debate about the original question anyway, as there can never be any proof or figures to show which religion is best as it's purely opinion.

[Aiden]

neither
they all have good and bad things lol

[-:Undertaker:-]

neither
they all have good and bad things lol

Really?

So as a gay guy, would you rather live in a Christian or an Islamic country?

Where does this strange tip toe attitude come from? I think it's a case that people are afraid of upsetting a certain religion by criticising it.

[Aiden]

Really?

So as a gay guy, would you rather live in a Christian or an Islamic country?

Where does this strange tip toe attitude come from? I think it's a case that people are afraid of upsetting a certain religion by criticising it.

christian because i pretty much do i think lol

it's not afraid there's just no point in picking a 'best' religion... you can't say who has a better faith in something

well i'm sure YOU can :) almighty undertaker

[-:Undertaker:-]

christian because i pretty much do i think lol

it's not afraid there's just no point in picking a 'best' religion... you can't say who has a better faith in something

well i'm sure YOU can :) almighty undertaker

Well i'm at least honest and rational in saying that I would want to live in a Christian country than an Islamic one, absolutely. I would want to live in a Christian country as I do whereas I wouldn't want to live in an Islamic one. Nor would you as you admit. Doesn't that tell you something?

[Aiden]

Well i'm at least honest and rational in saying that I would want to live in a Christian country than an Islamic one, absolutely.

What has that got to do with anything? I'm stupid sorry lol.

Are you jewish? jw.

[-:Undertaker:-]

What has that got to do with anything? I'm stupid sorry lol.

Are you jewish? jw.

I'm Christian, former atheist/agnostic.

And what has it got to do with anything? Well, if we're making judgements on the two religions then surely it's rational to look at the societies and cultures where those religions are abdundant...... and then we make an education judgement on which is the better one that we ourselves would wish to live in; and I can firmly say that I wouldn't want to live in a country with an Islamic-dominated culture.

[The Don]

There is no best religion. The idea that one religion is better than the other is foolish as there's no meaningful way to compare them and people are going to have different opinions on what constitutes as 'best'.

[karter]

Christianity and Islam equally condemn homosexuality idk where you're going with the "where would you prefer living as a gay guy" people's perception for a thing does not necessarily relate to religion that's nothing to say that homophobic hate crimes occur at a very large scale even in the liberated first world

[-:Undertaker:-]

Christianity and Islam equally condemn homosexuality idk where you're going with the "where would you prefer living as a gay guy" people's perception for a thing does not necessarily relate to religion that's nothing to say that homophobic hate crimes occur at a very large scale even in the liberated first world

A religion isn't just scripture, it's also the culture that derives from that religion.

[The Don]

A religion isn't just scripture, it's also the culture that derives from that religion.

no, culture is separate from religion.

[-:Undertaker:-]

no, culture is separate from religion.

Not at all, both are closely linked as is the history of a nation.

The modern European - later world - definition of national sovereignty after all arose from the break with Rome by northern European nations.

That's just one example.

[karter]

Kay....Westboro Baptist Church represents Christianity then? I don't know just an example tho...

[-:Undertaker:-]

Kay....Westboro Baptist Church represents Christianity then? I don't know just an example tho...

Because the Westboro Baptist Church is really representative of Christianity and thousands of years of western civilisation.

[The Don]

Not at all, both are closely linked as is the history of a nation.

The modern European - later world - definition of national sovereignty after all arose from the break with Rome by northern European nations.

That's just one example.

Closely linked does not mean they are the same. Religion is not the same thing as culture, culture is a broader term used for all things that contribute to a society (one of which is religion), religion is a set of rules and beliefs. A monkey is an animal but not all animals are monkeys.

[-:Undertaker:-]

Closely linked does not mean they are the same. Religion is not the same thing as culture, culture is a broader term used for all things that contribute to a society (one of which is religion), religion is a set of rules and beliefs. A monkey is an animal but not all animals are monkeys.

That's true but it's also true that religion has had a huge effect on culture and to this day has a strangehold on the cultures of Arab countries. The doctrines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and virtually all of the others is based fiercely on Islam where as this is not the case in the Christian western world as we've gone through the seperate of powers, the overthrow of the divine right of Kings, the split within the Church and the modern idea of national sovereignty and the nation state.

Islam and Christianity in 2014 are by all accounts two very different beasts, and i'm somebody who believes the world would be worse without both.

[GommeInc]

Religion could be seen as the foundation of a culture. Italy is quite an interesting example and the take on Christianity. It's heavily embedded in the culture but the two are distinguishable - lifestyles, science, philosophy etc are all derived from their own identity rather than what the Bible or religion states. That said, many of their works of art celebrate religion and then it evolved into renaissance etc. Or, it was heavily embedded - not so much now. Islam is an interesting religion. There was a week long exhibit on it recently and some of the teachings are incredibly interesting and it can be argued it is a modern religion, but it requires you be devout and unfortunately it does let itself be open to a lot of interpretation which ultimately destroys it. Humans are terrible - they destroy or manipulate things to their advantage. Nothing new there :P

[Metric1]

What a stupid thing to debate about. It's like debating over who likes what on their pizza, I may like pepperoni and cheese, you may like vegetable - I'm not going to force my choices on you, I'm not going to defend why I like pepperoni better than vegetable.

[Rachel]

I am Catholic / Protestant. Although I do not go to church anymore been a few years. I still have my beliefs.

[Wengles]

I don't think there is any 'best' religion; ironically there is only evolved religion.

I've spent 6/7 years now studying religion best I can; I'm starting to come to the end of my journey.

Steven Weinberg said 'With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion'. I think that aptly makes my opinion clear.

[Wengles]

I should add that I now have no interest in arguing the existence of God. It's trying to disprove a negative. If you enter a debate with the religious without an audience you're wasting your own time. I now only argue against God, his word and his people. Whether he exists or not is really none of my concern. I'm an antitheist not an atheist.

- - - Updated - - -


That's true but it's also true that religion has had a huge effect on culture and to this day has a strangehold on the cultures of Arab countries. The doctrines of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and virtually all of the others is based fiercely on Islam where as this is not the case in the Christian western world as we've gone through the seperate of powers, the overthrow of the divine right of Kings, the split within the Church and the modern idea of national sovereignty and the nation state.

Islam and Christianity in 2014 are by all accounts two very different beasts, and i'm somebody who believes the world would be worse without both.

Just quickly. Christianity and Islam both still have strangleholds over a lot of the world. The idea that the west has arguably (and I stress arguably) overcome that is not indicative of a large proportion of Christian states.

[karter]

don't link religion with theism though...buddhism is nontheistic

[Wengles]

don't link religion with theism though...buddhism is nontheistic

That's often said isn't it. That it's non-theistic. But it's sort of true and sort of untrue I think. There is no God in Buddhism who is a Creator, Omnipotent, Judge - which is the grounding of major religions certainly. Non-theistic isn't completely true because the suttas and sutras reference supernatural beings from demi-gods, ghosts, bodhisattvas, devas, and brahmas to celestial buddhas. Buddha himself, is often described as “a teacher of gods and men”. I've gone on about it at length best as I can before from someone who's openly somewhat ignorant when it comes to buddhism.

But I'd argue that it's certainly not monotheistic at all but completely non-theistic... I'm not so sold on. I'm not convinced our language adequately describes it.

But it's an ongoing discussion in the buddhist community I think.

[Reality]

All religions are to their own their teachings are different and if you're a believer in that religion you're drawn to say that is better as this is what you believe in, I don't think it should matter what is the best, just that everyone has their voice heard!!