Is there a peaceful religion?

[StatsManD]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: Andyb23
Um the definition of Buddhism is:

Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, Pali: ????? ????, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of applied psychology

it specifically says non-theistic StatsMAn.

I know they are non theistic. Just saying it so retarded, how they can be smart enough to not accept god, but stupid enough to actually think bullshit like rebirth, and other realms are real. Laughable really.

Surely you see that your utter disbelief in an afterlife and their affirmation of one are equally laughable. You're both drawing conclusion about something that you can't possibly know anything about...

You are confused I know their is no afterlife.

 

[Auggie]

Originally posted by: StatsManD
FACT: There is no God.
FACT: There is no afterlife.

Facts? What are "facts" but our observation of physical reality? I'm a PhD candidate studying genetics. I strongly believe in the empirical method as the best (and only) way to accurately deal with our world.

The thing is, religion discusses things that are, by their very nature, beyond the reality of this world. Beyond physical reality. You can't look at a rotting corpse and draw any conclusion other than the biological functions that drove that person's existence are at an end. That's it.

Your extension of that observation of no life to the statement that "there is no afterlife" is a wild and unsupportable claim, at least not supportable with "facts."

What it is, is a kind of faith, albeit in a direction opposite from religious believers. But it is still faith.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: Andyb23
Um the definition of Buddhism is:

Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, Pali: ????? ????, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of applied psychology

it specifically says non-theistic StatsMAn.

I know they are non theistic. Just saying it so retarded, how they can be smart enough to not accept god, but stupid enough to actually think bullshit like rebirth, and other realms are real. Laughable really.

Surely you see that your utter disbelief in an afterlife and their affirmation of one are equally laughable. You're both drawing conclusion about something that you can't possibly know anything about...

You are confused I know their is no afterlife.

You are confused if you really think you know that, but I'll humor you.


How did you come by this knowledge?

 

[Andyb23]

Originally posted by: Auggie

Originally posted by: StatsManD
FACT: There is no God.
FACT: There is no afterlife.

Facts? What are "facts" but our observation of physical reality? I'm a PhD candidate studying genetics. I strongly believe in the empirical method as the best (and only) way to accurately deal with our world.

The thing is, religion discusses things that are, by their very nature, beyond the reality of this world. Beyond physical reality. You can't look at a rotting corpse and draw any conclusion other than the biological functions that drove that person's existence are at an end. That's it.

Your extension of that observation of no life to the statement that "there is no afterlife" is a wild and unsupportable claim, at least not supportable with "facts."

What it is, is a kind of faith, albeit in a direction opposite from religious believers. But it is still faith.

But is there any empirical proof for what religion discusses that is outside of reality?

Surely being a PhD in advanced science you can say that most of the non-philosophical dealings in the Bible seem very... suspect to say the least.

 

[Andyb23]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: Andyb23
Um the definition of Buddhism is:

Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, Pali: ????? ????, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of applied psychology

it specifically says non-theistic StatsMAn.

I know they are non theistic. Just saying it so retarded, how they can be smart enough to not accept god, but stupid enough to actually think bullshit like rebirth, and other realms are real. Laughable really.

Surely you see that your utter disbelief in an afterlife and their affirmation of one are equally laughable. You're both drawing conclusion about something that you can't possibly know anything about...

You are confused I know their is no afterlife.

You are confused if you really think you know that, but I'll humor you.


How did you come by this knowledge?

I came by it by sitting in a cave and receiving the knowledge from the Earth Mother.

Does that now make me just as valid as Mohammed?

 

[everman]

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: Andyb23
Um the definition of Buddhism is:

Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, Pali: ????? ????, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of applied psychology

it specifically says non-theistic StatsMAn.

I know they are non theistic. Just saying it so retarded, how they can be smart enough to not accept god, but stupid enough to actually think bullshit like rebirth, and other realms are real. Laughable really.

Surely you see that your utter disbelief in an afterlife and their affirmation of one are equally laughable. You're both drawing conclusion about something that you can't possibly know anything about...

You are confused I know their is no afterlife.

You can't even spell properly, how would you know about the existence of an afterlife?

 

[alrocky]

Originally posted by: StatsManD
It hard for people to understand but here it goes.

FACT: There is no God.
FACT: There is no afterlife.

Does this also mean that there is no HELL?

 

[concernedsophist]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: Andyb23
Um the definition of Buddhism is:

Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, Pali: ????? ????, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and a life-enhancing system of applied psychology

it specifically says non-theistic StatsMAn.

I know they are non theistic. Just saying it so retarded, how they can be smart enough to not accept god, but stupid enough to actually think bullshit like rebirth, and other realms are real. Laughable really.

Surely you see that your utter disbelief in an afterlife and their affirmation of one are equally laughable. You're both drawing conclusion about something that you can't possibly know anything about...

You are confused I know their is no afterlife.

You are confused if you really think you know that, but I'll humor you.


How did you come by this knowledge?

Knowledge does not entail certainty. You are confused if you think this is the case. Don't make the same mistake Descartes did.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Originally posted by: Andyb23

I came by it by sitting in a cave and receiving the knowledge from the Earth Mother.

Does that now make me just as valid as Mohammed?

I don't put any more stock in Mohammed's claims that I do yours, so...yeah.

If you say that there absolutely is no afterlife then you are speculating outside of what you KNOW to be true and what can be proven.

If you say that there absolutely is an afterlife then you are speculating outside of what you KNOW to be true and what can be proven.

Repeat after me:

All this afterlife/God stuff might be true, or it might not. I will treat it as what it is, something that I probably will never know for sure. I WILL NOT choose a side simply for convenience, and I won't worry about it overmuch.

I would much rather worry about the dire events depicted in the tome "I Robot" and discuss the prophet/demigod status of Isaac Azimov

 

[Andyb23]

Originally posted by: SlitheryDee

Originally posted by: Andyb23

I came by it by sitting in a cave and receiving the knowledge from the Earth Mother.

Does that now make me just as valid as Mohammed?

I don't put any more stock in Mohammed's claims that I do yours, so...yeah.

If you say that there absolutely is no afterlife then you are speculating outside of what you KNOW to be true and what can be proven.

If you say that there absolutely is an afterlife then you are speculating outside of what you KNOW to be true and what can be proven.

Repeat after me:

All this afterlife/God stuff might be true, or it might not. I will treat it as what it is, something that I probably will never know for sure. I WILL NOT choose a side simply for convenience, and I won't worry about it overmuch.

I would much rather worry about the dire events depicted in the tome "I Robot" and discuss the prophet/demigod status of Isaac Azimov

LOL I got you

 

[wetcat007]

Originally posted by: UNCjigga
Yeah there's a peaceful religion, mine.

Though its rather ironic one of our most holy symbols is the Swastika. And btw, I eat meat, drink, etc. so while I agree with Jainism's broader philosophies on life I am not a devout Jain.

Swastika wasn't considered evil until Hitler used it... Used to mean peace or good luck or something like that.

 

[Auggie]

Originally posted by: Andyb23
But is there any empirical proof for what religion discusses that is outside of reality?

Not really, hehe. As a Catholic, I can say that the best argument for the transcendental nature of God and the existence of this God is that the story fits. I guess what I mean by that is

Originally posted by: Andyb23
Surely being a PhD in advanced science you can say that most of the non-philosophical dealings in the Bible seem very... suspect to say the least.

No doubt. Impossible, a lot of that stuff.

But it depends on what you're talking about. I'm not a Fundamentalist - I don't think the Earth and cosmos were created in 6 days - that would go against all the basic observations we've been able to make about our world. But I do believe in the Virgin Birth of Christ.

Why believe in one and not the other?

If God exists and is who we, as the faithful, posit him to be, it's absolutely no barrier or difficulty for him to accomplish anything, even creating the entire world in 6 24-hour periods of time, or having a virgin give birth to the Son.

The difference is that there's very clear evidence against one (Creationism), but there isn't really evidence either way on the other, other than the word of Mary and the fact that it, along with Christ's entire life and death, fulfills exactly the Old Testament prophecies, or rather perfects all the Old Testament writings.

 

[StatsManD]

Very scary that their are biologist who believe in god, even those with Ph.D. These people should have their degrees removed. Sorry Auggie that includes you.

 

[Auggie]

I don't have a PhD, which you'd know if you read what I wrote.

What reality do you live in where credentials should be removed from people based on their religious beliefs? I think Pol Pot did that when he was rounding up teachers and professors in Cambodia. Of course, he ended up having most of them killed.

Maybe we aren't understanding each other. My point earlier was that science deals with rational interpretation of natural phenomena. Because of this, the scope of scientific observation is reserved exclusively to the realm of our physical reality.

My ability to determine the function of a gene during development for my thesis has nothing to do with religious belief.

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: AnonymouseUser
Jehovah's Witnesses

Yup as long as they practice what they preach. Which the few I know do. No voting, no military service, and the only offensive thing they do is knock on your door.

 

[timosyy]

This thread is 6 pages long so I doubt anyone will read this but...

Speaking from sort of an outside perspective, Jews seem pretty peaceful (just in the way they live their life in general). Christianity, too, should be a peaceful religion, but gets tangled up in politics far too often, and we all know where that leads (Crusades, Inquisition, etc.- dark marks on Christian history. Wth is the point of trying to force people into Christianity? It goes against all their basic beliefs). If you actually just read the Bible/New Testament (Comparative Religions class), it sort of makes me wish I could see those values actually played out in real life. Unfortunately, like Gandhi, Christians tend to be "so unlike your Christ". Still, this is most visible in countries where Christianity has risen to affluence (ie. America).

When I read the New Testament I'm often struck at how different the world would be if Christians in large part actually lived out those tenants. I see it doing an awesome work in 3rd world countries, and it really does work best as the religion of the oppressed (as it was around its inception, before it turned political & the official religion of Rome). If these people, living in despair, can cling on to a message of hope for however short the remainder of their life, why would you (statsmand) deny them that small comfort? I see Christians doing more for theses people (missionaries etc.- they do far more than simply preach, they attempt to seriously better the quality of living for those they stay with, building schools, hospitals, etc.) than anyone else. Think the nuns in Calcutta, or the missionaries going to the poorest places in Southeast Asia & war-torn Africa. Regardless if whether or not their belief is right or wrong (if there is a God or not), I simply cannot condemn such acts of compassion. If it drives them to reach out toward people truly living in misery- people largely rejected by the rest of the world, then why not?

Again, you see most violence when religion becomes tangled in politics.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: StatsManD
IMHO you can't be a Buddhist and Atheist. Nearly all Buddhist sects teach about an afterlife. If you are an atheist and believe in an afterlife then something is seriously wrong with you.

Thank you for proving our point.

Its intolerant assholes like you that are one step away from killing for your god.
You're just too dumb and ignorant to realize it.

Do you think all those muslims were born killers? They had to learn it. And christians too.
The only thing natural and instincive for human beings is to survive. Everything else is learned.
And they way you are learning, you are headed for hate, anger and destruction.

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: StatsManD

Originally posted by: Aimster
what were the Arabs before they forced everyone to convert to Islam? Christians?

Moon worshipers, that is why the symbol of Islam is the crescent. It use to represent the moon. Allah was the name of the Moon God.

BZZZ wrong.

Crescent was the symbol of the Ottomons


Arabs were a mix of Christians and Jews (still are) and primarily animists. Animists were like pagans..just different names.

And a wikipedia search confirms that...

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

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: Aimster
My lack of history/background. So educate, plz :

Did Muhammad actually fight in any wars?

I don't know about fighting in wars, but he was a great boxer.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: AbAbber2k

Originally posted by: Crono
Every single religion that exists says you can be saved by what YOU do (which is nothing but pride), but God says it is what HE has done by allowing His son to die on the cross for you. Man cannot save himself from sin.

Spare us. :roll:

The question was which religions are peaceful. Not which religions you think are right. It's sh1t like this that causes tension between different groups of people.

IMHO you have a little too much pride in the tenants of YOUR religion.

Define peace. Then examine what causes there not to be peace. The answer is that people do not know Truth. Without Truth, people disagree, and there is conflict. All I want to do is share the Truth of of the Word of God, so that people may also know the peace that I have in salvation- not through anything whatsoever I have done. I am weak, I am evil, I am completely unworthy of any good thing- and so are you, so is the president, so was our great grandfather to the x power (Adam), and so is every person on the face of this planet. There is definitely some pride that lingers within me that will surface every once and again, because I am not perfected in the image of Christ, and won't be until He comes again. I am not proud in the "tenants of [my] religion", because that would imply that I have some claim of worthiness. As Paul said: not I, but Christ; He alone is worthy of glory and honor. If I claim anything, I rob Him of the glory and honor due to His name. May it never be.

You don't know truth any more than anyone else. You believe truth.. not know it, there's a fine line of difference.

 

[sthaznpride17]

The flying spaghetti monster religion is the most peaceful.

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
atheism is peaceful

the way atheists flame religious people here on OT, that is questionable

 

[yhelothar]

The question one should ask, is not if a religion is peaceful, but how effective it is in creating peace in the real world.

A lot of members here argue about the peace and love christianity promotes.
It's true that christianity promotes peace. But that means very little if it's method of making people peaceful is ineffective.
When Karl Marx created communism, he wanted a way of bringing everyone together to live together in unity, peace, and love. Did he foresee that it would do the opposite, and create famine, poverty, violence, and destruction of freedom? He misaccounted many factors in reality that kept his plan from being successful. Thus, wouldn't you say that communism is ineffective for bringing unity, peace, and love, regardless of it's original purpose?
Religion is similar in that regard. It calls for people to be peaceful, loving to each other. But in reality, it often makes people do the opposite, due to the nature of people that religion unaccounts for. Therefore, what use is its original message for love and peace if the means of obtaining that message is ineffective in the real world?

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: Crono

Originally posted by: CKent
No, that's your interpretation of christianity. Those who interpret it as a license to kill one's enemies are every bit as christian, if it's the religion they claim. Likewise if they claim islam, buddhism, rastafarianism, etc.

"But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." -2 Peter 1:20

Someone can claim to be Christian, but if they do not obey His Word, he is nothing but a liar or he is living in sin. The mark of a true Christian is someone who loves the Word of God and seeks to do it. There are no interpretations of the Word apart from what the Spirit gives to the man of God. That is why it is imperative for each Christian to know and obey the Word, and to have a right relationship with God. All other good things ("every good and perfect gift is from God") will follow. What were the two great commandments given before all? Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. If you follow those two commandments earnestly, you will really know peace.

But what is 'his word'? There are so many contradictions and vague passages in religious texts that they are entirely open to interpretation. Proof of this is all the different denominations of each religion. Since it's subjective, no one claim is greater than another, and thus all who claim a religion are logically followers of that religion.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: FoBoT

Originally posted by: IHateMyJob2004
atheism is peaceful

the way atheists flame religious people here on OT, that is questionable

So far, no atheist member of Anandtech forums has rounded up a million jews and gassed them.
Peace doesnt mean everybody loves you and agrees with you and kisses your butt everyday.
It means they arent murdering you in mass numbers.
We should be grateful that the most happening here is a bunch of spiteful and inflammatory comments.