Nice thoughts VJ......

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Cheers,
JSethi

Thanks Jsethi,

Rgds,

VJ

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Orginally posted by JSethi

Nice reply mercury and pretty logical, fear definately is the root cause of concept of prayer, god and maybe religion too .......
but Fear might have created the first religion, but what is it that has stopped us from continuing under one global religion. What were the people afraid of that caused the inception of one religion after another.
Is it really fear or complete misunderstanding of religion on the part of human brains.

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I once made a mistake, but I was wrong about it.

First and foremost, I am an aethist but here is my take on religion.
Religion is not based on logic, but on faith.Be that as it may, religion was created by man for several reasons. First, religion conveniently explains natural phenomenon, personal disaster and coincidence.

Secondly, man's ego refuses to accept that death might be the end of a person's existance. It is hard for some to think that a dead loved one is gone forever, or that they themselves will entirely cease to be once they draw their final breath: thus, the concept of an afterlife.

Third, it gives some a sense of purpose. For those with empty lives, religion can supply a sense of direction or the comfort of thinking that "God has a plan" and all one has to do is wait for it to be revealed. Also, bad experiences can be more easily endured if one believes that they will be rewarded if they respond to hardship properly.

Fourth, there is a comfort in believing one is being watched over and tenderly cared for by a deity who protects and guides his followers. "Giving it over to God" is very stress-relieving. If one believes that God will solve all of their problems, and all they have to do is submit to his will, there's less worry.

Fifth, there is grim pleasure in believing that wrongdoers will be eventally punished, if not in this life, then the next. (And, according to the Christian Bible, those in heaven will be able to watch the torment of those who were bad.) Nothing is more frustrating than seeing the wicked flourish while the good suffer and struggle. Believing that the scales will eventually be balanced gives some a needed sense of justice.

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Diogenes
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The Cynic

Nice thoughts mercury, I respect your view, and DiogenestheCynic, your first post was really nice.
What I understood from the two posts is that the religion resulted either from ignorance or escapist behaviour of human mind ......
But why is that in todays times when we think ourselves to be so well informed and educated, we still get stuck when it comes to religion.
Why is it important to be religious to believe in god. I know this may not be true for all ( speically not for you two guys ) but u will agree that majority in todays world have great hang ups when it comes to religion.
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God please cure this world of all religions.......

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Cheers,
JSethi

Kudos to all for handling this topic so well...some very insightful thoughts.

I read a bumper sticker which said

"O God , save me from your followers"

Speaks volumes about the state of the world today in the name of religion.

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What can be imagined, can be achieved.

Hi
That's an interesting question. If we refer to vedas, which are supposed to be one of most ancient scriptures, there is no mention of any religion anywhere. Vedas refer to dharma etc. ,not a religious seggregation of people based on thier faith. Vedas even go to the extent of defining god as Neti,Neti. That means, neither this, nor that.Actually,there is not even a single word about the possible existence of different faiths. So the one possible way to provide an origin to the religion based seggregation is fear and survival instincts as noted by others in this discussion.
Regards,
Jay

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Orginally posted by JSethi

Guyz,
There is a thought that has always disturbed me and I have never been able to find a satisfactory answer to it. I will like to throw this question to dear canadiandesis. Also, I mean no offence here and dont want to hurt anyone's feelings.......
Why is it that every prophet, guru, bhagwaan has preached respect for other religions but at the same time has created a new religion. Considering the fact that they were gods ( or messenger of god) didnt they foresee that religion could be so easily used as a dividing factor between people. I am a firm believer of god but dont understand the concept of religion which, historically, has been the number one cause of distress to mankind. More people die in the name of religion than of anything else.
As I said guyz, I dont mean to hurt anyones feelings. If the moderator thinks this thread is offensive, I would request him to delete it......

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