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Deviate
newbie
Registered: 04/20/03
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Why are people so offended by religion?
#18740029 - 08/21/13 09:57 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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So as I expressed in the Ramana Maharshi thread and have expressed many times in various ways on this forum, all religion was created for, was as a tool to provide means for removing the obstacles to experiencing the bliss of the mind full of awareness. Why should this be so offensive and objectionable?
Yes, I know that religion has misused. But so have other tools. Hammers have been used as murder weapons. Sticks have been fashioned into spears. Tools have been used to rape, pillage and enslave. Are you people offended by hammers? what do you do when you need to drive in a nail? Of course, using a hammer would be out of the question.
Edited by Deviate (08/21/13 09:59 PM)
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Sse
Saṃsāra

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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Deviate]
#18740165 - 08/21/13 10:31 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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"the only way is through Jesus Christ"
-------------------- "Springs of water welling from the fire" "Life may seem to flee in a moment, but when the mind is freed of the veil of ignorance, and illusion that comes between the mind and the truth, life and death are only opposite sides of the same coin - "water welling from the fire."
"Within us, we carry the world of no-birth and no-death. But we never touch it, because we live only with our notions." -Thich Nhat Hanh instant "Experience always goes beyond ideas"
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jyubai
getting there



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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Deviate]
#18740175 - 08/21/13 10:34 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I suppose your going to say 'religion doesnt kill people, people kill people' next. You seem to be suggesting that religion is the only way to awareness.
I would use a flat lump of steel, or a hard rock to bang in a nail just to name a few.
-------------------- what goes up, eventually comes down...
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jyubai
getting there



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Posts: 76
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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: jyubai]
#18740186 - 08/21/13 10:39 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I always felt that the 'religious texts' were for fools that needed to be told how to live. I personally dont need them...I have my own moral compass.
-------------------- what goes up, eventually comes down...
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deCypher



Registered: 02/10/08
Posts: 56,232
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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: jyubai]
#18740218 - 08/21/13 10:49 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I'm offended by the social institutions that seek to wield power and control, usually for the purposes of financial gain, under the guise of offering salvation or spiritual liberation. Given that this is basically the operational definition of the majority of religions out there, it makes sense for me, as well as many others, to say that we're offended by religion. I'm fine with the message and actions of most founders of religion, though--it's the actions of the people who come chronologically after the founders and distort their message for their own selfish purposes that I find truly insulting.
I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. --Gandhi
-------------------- We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.
 
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viktor
psychotechnician



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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Deviate]
#18740484 - 08/22/13 12:24 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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It seems to me that religion is little but false spirituality. I've got no problem with spirituality, it's the "you're doing it wrong therefore you must die" religious mindset I don't like.
-------------------- "They consider me insane but I know that I am a hero living under the eyes of the gods."
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Dark_Star
train driver pervading a desktop


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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: viktor]
#18740843 - 08/22/13 03:48 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I don't have a problem with religion itself. If a certain belief system helps you get through life, that's awesome. My problem is when people try to force their religion down other people's throats....especially when laws are based off of these beliefs. A woman's right to choose & gay marriage are both examples of this. Abortion was illegal for quite some time; thanks to Christianity. If conservative Christians have their way it will be illegal again. Gays & lesbians cannot get married, cause Christians have defined marriage as between a man & a woman, and get all uppity when folks try to change that. Islamic countries take this shit even further. A woman can be raped, then stoned to death for adultry if she goes to the authorities. That's bullshit. Believe what you want, but the second you try to force that on me, we have problems.
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eve69
--=..Did Adam and ...?=--



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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Dark_Star]
#18740995 - 08/22/13 05:59 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Religion is weak ideas enforced through the most wrothful excesses.
People who promote religions have no understanding that the seeker who becomes satisfied with some codex is no longer a seeker, but a seller.
Deception. If you don't have the entire truth don't pretend.
Bullshit. It's a package deal. Get a bit of truth get a whole landfill of bullshit with it.
Worst thing though is religion props the stupidest bullies and unprops the person looking for truth.
Religions are the works of bullies.
-------------------- ...or something
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FishOilTheKid
Ascended


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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: eve69]
#18741081 - 08/22/13 07:12 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
...was as a tool to provide means for removing the obstacles to experiencing the bliss of the mind full of awareness.
They're parasites harvesting 'God' given attributes from the surrounding people and dealing them out to their followers. Course they think this is God or blessings or some such bullshit. They're prayer for Jesus and longing for his return 'pulls' on what's up. Their representatives on the mental plane or spiritual are like immature brats and all they engage in is an emotional fucking game. They won't acknowledge the root to their belief. They create schizophrenia and other illnesses and torture. Its mind control when you really get into it. I mean control by etheric beings that have some soft spot for this bullshit. Its offensive because its my biggest problem and obstacle. I'd destroy it.
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Bill_Oreilly
ANIMALS (the RAINBOW SERPENT)


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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: FishOilTheKid]
#18741088 - 08/22/13 07:18 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I just want to add that me growing up in a Christian household has had much more positive effects nd here that grew up with no religion. They are not spiritual, open-minded, courageous..etc. They are afraid of drugs and the wjole 9. Now im not crediting my "open-mindedness" to religion, but it has helped separate me from the pack of sheep.
-------------------- Something there is mysteriously formed, Existing before Heaven and Earth, Silent, still, standing alone, unchanging, All-pervading, unfailing, I do not know its name; I call it tao. If forced to give it a name, I call it Great (ta). Being great, it flows out; Flowing out means far-reaching; Being far-reaching, it is said to return. It's just a shot away..
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery



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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Deviate]
#18741091 - 08/22/13 07:19 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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It certainly was used against me by my parents as a child. Their lack of love and focus on hellfire and damnation created some life long anxiety in me. Not to mention how it ruined their relationship to each other.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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Yogi1
Squatchin
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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Deviate]
#18741471 - 08/22/13 09:38 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Deviate said: So as I expressed in the Ramana Maharshi thread and have expressed many times in various ways on this forum, all religion was created for, was as a tool to provide means for removing the obstacles to experiencing the bliss of the mind full of awareness. Why should this be so offensive and objectionable?
Yes, I know that religion has misused. But so have other tools. Hammers have been used as murder weapons. Sticks have been fashioned into spears. Tools have been used to rape, pillage and enslave. Are you people offended by hammers? what do you do when you need to drive in a nail? Of course, using a hammer would be out of the question.
Oversimplification on your part. Some religions like Christianity and Abrahamic religions were almost certainly created for control. Even if Chris was a real guy and a wise saint, the bible canon was put together selectively by a Catholic power hierarchy.
I believe Buddhism and the yogi systems of belief are an attempt to help people reach enlightenment but any religion with a dogma and specific rules for living have to be control mechanisms imo.
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Fryer Mike
Lost in the fourth dimension.


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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Yogi1]
#18741719 - 08/22/13 10:41 AM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I think religion itself is fine, in certain doses. What offends me is that parents force their beliefs on their children, or agree to have someone else force it upon them.
Yes, other beliefs are forced upon them, but they are not apparently punishable by eternal damnation some call hell. I am speaking mainly of Christianity, and other sub-categories of Catholicism. I think that religion should be snuffed out of education, and should only be allowed to be taught to people over the age of 18.
Also, religion harbors all sorts of horrible personalities. One of which is the famous pedo-priest, but I'm talking more on the spiritually evident level. For example, I have a friend whom believes wholeheartedly in Christianity and all its teachings, as he is an Evangelical. He's a pretty nice guy, but he is very pretentious and believes he is more righteous than anyone else. This is a bad thing, and seems to be quite common among religious folk.
Another problem I see that forms out of the christian mind-set is the thought that they can do what they want, and treat people like shit, because all they have to do is ask for forgiveness, and they're good. Or because they've been baptized, or because they call themselves christians. Like.... really? That's not how it's supposed to work. If it's real, and you think like that, you're surely going to hell because there's no way the God that they worship would tolerate that.
--------------------
DON'T READ THIS! Any information/ pictures/ text that implies I grow or use illegal substances is false and/ or for entertainment purposes. Nothing I say or submit to this forum or to any other should be taken literally. I am become death, destroyer of worlds. Fryer Mike
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Deviate
newbie
Registered: 04/20/03
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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: jyubai]
#18748580 - 08/23/13 07:19 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
jyubai said: I suppose your going to say 'religion doesnt kill people, people kill people' next. You seem to be suggesting that religion is the only way to awareness.
I would use a flat lump of steel, or a hard rock to bang in a nail just to name a few.
Where did I say religion was the only way to reach awareness?
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Deviate
newbie
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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Yogi1]
#18748603 - 08/23/13 07:25 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
Yogi1 said:
Quote:
Deviate said: So as I expressed in the Ramana Maharshi thread and have expressed many times in various ways on this forum, all religion was created for, was as a tool to provide means for removing the obstacles to experiencing the bliss of the mind full of awareness. Why should this be so offensive and objectionable?
Yes, I know that religion has misused. But so have other tools. Hammers have been used as murder weapons. Sticks have been fashioned into spears. Tools have been used to rape, pillage and enslave. Are you people offended by hammers? what do you do when you need to drive in a nail? Of course, using a hammer would be out of the question.
Oversimplification on your part. Some religions like Christianity and Abrahamic religions were almost certainly created for control. Even if Chris was a real guy and a wise saint, the bible canon was put together selectively by a Catholic power hierarchy.
I believe Buddhism and the yogi systems of belief are an attempt to help people reach enlightenment but any religion with a dogma and specific rules for living have to be control mechanisms imo.
I must disagree. Buddhism has specific rules for living just like Christianity. In fact, all the faults that can be found in CHristianity, can be found in Buddhism also. It is only people who don't know much about Buddhism or how it is practiced is some countries, that think it is on another level than Christianity.
Who cares who put the Bible together? It contains the teachings of Jesus Christ, the sage, as well as the prophets. If you read the other books of the Bible, you will see they are teaching the same thing as Jesus Christ taught. The Bible is literally overflowing with divine wisdom.
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usulpsychonaut


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Re: Why are people so offended by religion? [Re: Deviate]
#18749684 - 08/23/13 11:57 PM (10 years, 5 months ago) |
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I was offended by religion because all the religious people in my life talked a whole lot of shit that never worked for me. I somewhat lacked the strength of character to live the lies. Now I am very religious. Have found some practices that seem to be working. I've not been able to figure anything out on my own, always learning from smarter people. I still find dogma offensive.
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