Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Chui  If you haven't found them already, there are a number of fairly good responses to the leveled accusations from people on the other side of the fence. It doesn't last out until the end, perhaps unfortunately, since it degenerated again. I imagine the discussion is over by now.
If I recall correctly, Mnemosyne, no one in that thread claimed any religion had the right answers: the primary claim was, interestly, that a religion had the wrong answers. As that thread seems to imply, that can be just as bad... unless it's true? |
Michael,
I only ready read the first page or two of the thread, but yeah, I did see a few really good responses. Nevertheless, it didn't sit well with me.
I just don't really understand why there is so much conflict surrounding religion.
I'm going off topic a little, so I apologize.
My main questions are...
1. What is religion?
2. What is the purpose of religion?
3. Why is there so much conflict surrounding religion? (Assumes that the answer to question 2 is something positive)
4. What is the difference between religion, spirituality, and philosophy?
But I suppose there is conflict with pretty much everything, as jpfieber pointed out...
Christian vs. Muslim
Democrat vs. Republican
Mac vs. PC
IE vs. Firefox
Ford vs. Chevy
... So it might be a little unfair to single out religion.
In addition, people have mentioned that religion is a way to explain phenomena such as floods and earthquakes, and to control society. These are aspects of religion that I hadn't really thought about (and I'm sure there are several other aspects I haven't thought about either).
I think part of my problem is that I had some misconceptions about what religion is and what it stands for.
If religion represents someone's belief system, maybe it doesn't matter what religion is or what it stands for. People in general don't like to be wrong, especially when it comes to their beliefs. So maybe they'll do whatever it takes to preserve their beliefs, and maybe that's why there's conflict. And maybe power. I think power is a big motivation for people, and that's somehow linked with religion.
I don't know, though. My head is starting to spin. I don't have the capacity to think of really big concepts.
