Do You Truly Think Religion Is Helping The World Today?

What religion does is separate us. It makes people hate each other. It gets in the way of education. It gets in the way of freedom. It keeps people from thinking for themselves. Keeps them closed minded.

@forlorn3



A comparison between the Bible and other so-called holy books, the Qur'an included, reveal that only the Bible contains many, many highly specific prophecies that were fulfilled exactly as predicted. No other text – religious or otherwise – holds such an esteemed distinction. Given that it's humanly ** impossible ** for anyone to predict with full accuracy what's going to occur from one hour to the next it's clear that Bible prophecies are not of human – thus divine – origin :)

@forlorn3



Actually, available today are thousands and thousands of ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek manuscripts of the Bible. In fact, no other ancient writings are as well attested to as the Bible's. When you compare these manuscripts to modern Bibles it's clear that these accurately render the ancient texts. As such, there's no reason to worry that additions, deletions, edits, margin notes or other changes have affected the text of today's Bibles :)

@forlorn3



Where does the Bible advocate hatred of marriage, the kidnapping and selling of human beings and the stoning of disobedient children? :)

Absolutely! :) Where can I see them? :)

Actually, the reason why there's so much suffering isn't because God is causing it or can't stop it but because people just don't care. They don't care about the horrible things they do to themselves much less what they do to other people. So if people cared more about themselves and others there wouldn't be so much suffering in the world. What a thought! :)







Btw, just out of curiosity, what are you majoring in? :)

You and I are on the same page. I too dislike all those religions whose members participate in warfare, terrorism, corruption and the sexual abuse of innocents, among other things. What I've learned is that there is a stark difference between man's religions and what the Bible teaches.



In fact, for the past 30 years I've been reading the Bible and applied its wisdom to every facet of my life. It's helped me be a great friend, son, student, brother, father, husband, employee, boss and counselor. More importantly, it's helped me find satisfying answers to questions like, What is the meaning of life?, Why are we here?, Who made us and why?, Is there life after death?, What happens to us when we die?, Why does a God of love permit so much suffering?, Is there hope for our dead loved ones?, What hope is there for the future of humanity? and many, many more.



Just out of curiosity, have you ever asked these kinds of questions? Have you been able to find satisfying answers for them? :)

LOL :) Just as you pointed out the dangers of drug use in your article, I'm trying to point out the dangers of the type of sexual behavior you crave.



Does that mean it's wrong for you to get turned on by girls? Absolutely not! Having sexual feelings is completely normal. You can no more control your sexual urges than you can feelings of hunger or thirst. Your natural sexual impulses are nothing more than a gift from your Creator intended for you to enjoy in a healthy relationship with a spouse within the bounds of a loving marriage. In the same way our urge to eat and sleep are limited by healthy boundaries so too our need for intimacy.



Now, while you can't control your urges what you can control is how you behave. Because you were created with Free Will, you ALWAYS have complete control over what you decide to do at any time (assuming, of course, you're not contending with a mental illness). While many will tell you that there's nothing wrong with sexually gratifying yourself, what they fail to mention is that those who habitually view pornographic material and then ********** end up suffering from an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Make no mistake, developing an obsessive-compulsive disorder will wreak havoc on your life for many, many years. This means it's healthy to avoid ************ and other forms of unhealthy sexual gratification.



Don't misunderstand now. I'm not advising you to repress your sexual feelings. As I mentioned earlier, your sexual impulses are a natural biological function that were not designed to be "turned off". Trying to repress them is an exercise in futility and will only leave you feeling exhausted, frustrated and feeling very, very guilty. This is something you need to be wary of because persistent feelings of guilt can trigger clinical Depression and that's not what God wants for you. In time, though, the intensity of your sexual impulses should subside. That too is a natural function of your design as you mature.



As many can attest to, abiding by these limitations leads to healthy, long lasting relationships. The importance of these limitations is underscored even more so when children come into the picture. This is evidenced by all the pain and hardship endured by the staggering number of children who don't know who their fathers are or have been abandoned by them. Statistics even show that these emotionally damadged children are more likely to commit suicide, drop out of high school, abuse chemical substances, commit rape, or end up in prison.



Just as a busy city without traffic laws would result in a kind of anarchy that would lead to many unnecessary deaths and accidents, God's moral laws serve to keep us safe, healthy and happy - truly happy :)

Easy, easy bud :) We're just exchanging ideas here, that's all. I'm not making assumptions about you whatsoever :)



Now, were you aware that having the kind of indiscriminate sex you desire with that kind of frequency "messes people up" just as bad, if not worst, than a drug addiction? :) http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/what-is-sexual-addiction/

Great question! :)



As I'm sure you know, doing drugs can be just as pleasurable as having sex - for some even more so. Since your life philosophy revolves around you having as much pleasure as possible, why is one ok but not the other? :)

@Ticia



These are treated the exact same way apostates and others who violated God's laws were treated by the Christian congregations of the first century. - 1 Corinthians 5:11-13; Titus 3:10, 11; 1 Timothy 1:19, 20; 1 John 2:18, 19.



More importantly, you overlook the fact that these are lovingly welcomed back with open arms once they've shown their lives once again conform with God's laws -



"5 Now if anyone has caused sadness, he has saddened, not me, but all of YOU to an extent—not to be too harsh in what I say. 6 This rebuke given by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary now, YOU should kindly forgive and comfort [him], that somehow such a man may not be swallowed up by his being overly sad. 8 Therefore I exhort YOU to confirm YOUR love for him. 9 For to this end also I write to ascertain the proof of YOU, whether YOU are obedient in all things. 10 Anything YOU kindly forgive anyone, I do too. In fact, as for me, whatever I have kindly forgiven, if I have kindly forgiven anything, it has been for YOUR sakes in Christ’s sight; 11 that we may not be overreached by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs." -2 Corinthians 2:5-11



"8 Hence even if I saddened YOU by my letter, I do not regret it. Even if I did at first regret it, (I see that that letter saddened YOU, though but for a little while,) 9 now I rejoice, not because YOU were just saddened, but because YOU were saddened into repenting; for YOU were saddened in a godly way, that YOU might suffer no damage in anything due to us. 10 For sadness in a godly way makes for repentance to salvation that is not to be regretted; but the sadness of the world produces death. 11 For, look! this very thing, YOUR being saddened in a godly way, what a great earnestness it produced in YOU, yes, clearing of yourselves, yes, indignation, yes, fear, yes, longing, yes, zeal, yes, righting of the wrong! In every respect YOU demonstrated yourselves to be chaste in this matter. 12 Certainly, although I wrote YOU, I did it, neither for the one who did the wrong, nor for the one who was wronged, but that YOUR earnestness for us might be made manifest among YOU in the sight of God. 13 That is why we have been comforted." -2 Corinthians 7:8-13



"No discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness." —Hebrews 12:11.

I can see why you feel the way you do. In fact, I would say that it's not uncommon for young people like you to feel the same way. It seems your philosophy is to have as much pleasure as you want to. If that's true, do you regularly use drugs like meth and crack? :)

That's an interesting way of looking at it :)



If I could ask, how did you come to develop this concept of God? What evidence is it based on? :)

Well thanks! I think you're pretty swell too, hahah :)



Let me ask you now, do you think God loves you or is he indifferent to you? :)

You're right. There are hundreds of thousands of religions in the world. If God set these up for us to learn to worship Him properly, learn to love one another, and have useful, peaceful lives, we can only arrive at one of two conclusions: Either he failed miserably or he didn't set them up in the first place and something else is behind them. What do you think is going on?

What problems are you referring to? The fact that they refuse to join the military and kill for the government? That problem? :)

Do you know of any other global religious organization that's been able to accomplish what they have? The proof, as they say, is in the pudding :)

You don't suffer from Amnesia do you? :) The premise of your story is that all religion is bad. I gave you real world examples that contradict your generalization. The Christian religion Jehovah's Witnesses practice is extremely good. In fact, it's so good it's been able to overcome many of the social ills plaguing mankind such as racism, bigotry and hatred. Even atheists haven't been able to accomplish that. If what you're trying to figure out is how to make the world a better place I'd suggest you take a closer look at them. They've figured it out :)

Actually, what you should be asking is, why are Jehovah's Witnesses the only Christian religion that's been able to accomplish this? What are they doing right? That's the million dollar question! :)

Of course it isn't ok for anyone to force their beliefs on anyone. Jesus shared his beliefs with those who wanted to listen. He never forced anyone to believe anything he had to say. Those who didn't want to listen he left alone.



As to your question, you asked if religion was helping the world today and, with the examples of the Jehovah's Witnesses I should you how they have been able to break through the barriers of racism, bigotry and hatred precisely because of their faith. Instead of hatred, their faith breeds unity and love. It's a characteristic unique to members of their faith :)

You asked a question and I gave you the answer, that's all :) If you don't want answers, why do you ask so many questions? :)

See for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rwandan_Civil_War

If what you claim is accurate, why do Jehovah's Witness Arabs and Israellis love one another? Why, during the bloody Rwandan civil war, did Jehovah's Witness Hutus willingly sacrifice their lives to protect their Tutsi brethren? :)

If the kingdom of heaven is "within", as Jesus said it was, where then is the kingdom of hell?



Paul/Saul (who established christianity as it exists today) would have you believe that the kingdom of heaven is up there somewhere - in the sky - perhaps alongside Mithra?



I find it interesting that christians choose Paul's take on the matter. How much easier it is for one who is to be afraid of something that doesn't exist than it is to learn about something that does.



So an entire religion was established that worships a man whose ideas are rejected - hence the need for the provably make-believe crucifiixtion story.

If the kingdom of heaven is "within", as Jesus said it was, where then is the kingdom of hell?



Paul/Saul (who established christianity as it exists today) would have you believe that the kingdom of heaven is up there somewhere - in the sky - perhaps alongside Mithra?



I find it interesting that christians choose Paul's take on the matter. How much easier it is for one who is to be afraid of something that doesn't exist than it is to learn about something that does.



So an entire religion was established that worships a man whose ideas are rejected - hence the need for the provably make-believe crucifiixtion story.

Oh wait, I just remembered something. Jesus has healing powers. He can heal people & stuff like that. Ok, theres something.



But, if his return means the end of the world, then......isn't that the oppisite of healing people? Like I said, plot holes.

But seriously, were did Jesus go?

You pretty much said it helps you. I can understand that. I truly do. I live by my own code of life, that in away is a religion. Its just the actual religions I don't like. If you think outside of what they believe in, they treat you badly. I mean, maybe, just maybe they made sence to the people when religions were first invented, but now a days, its stupid. I said this in another story of mine. If God had a concence, then he would be able to up date religion, & make new definations to what a "sin" is.

All I can attest to is that it helps me, my friends and family. Since we are all part of this world and strive to love the person and hate the sin.Then yes I believe religion is helping the world today.