I have always thought that the idea of saving souls and healing through prayer to be pretty irrational. I can't say that I have ever had nearly enough faith in anything to allow myself to believe that religion could save anyone or set anyone on a different track. Nevertheless, many people claim that faith is what brought them through the toughest of situations. People are grateful to god and church in times of distress, violence, sickness and depression. Religious faith has been linked to healing patients of substance abuse, cancer, major surgery including cardiac surgery, suicidal tendencies, and criminal behavior. Although I don't quite understand this phenomena, I cannot deny that it occurs. I only wonder if there is any evidence that proves that prayer and religious faith effects people psychologically. The information that I found while researching doesn't seem to offer any type of scientific proof or explanation, it just supports the argument that religious faith increases the hope that people feel and allows them to remain mentally focused on a positive outcome. I guess sometimes people just need something to believe in. They need to believe in something that goes beyond rational thinking in order to have faith in themselves or to believe that they are going to make it out of whatever hardships are troubling them. According to an article on medscape.com "Faith-based, positive religious resources can help patients recover from cardiac surgery, according to findings from a study presented at the 114th annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA). The study suggests that enhanced hope and perceived social support can protect psychological well-being during stressful procedures and experiences, whereas having negative religious thoughts and struggles may hinder recovery." This idea very much reinforces the concept of the power of positive thinking. If patients believe that there is a powerful force of good out there trying to help them then they find in much easier to stay positive and strengthen themselves. But is this really attributed to God? Couldn't we find other ways to remain positive in distressful situations without turning to religion? I like to think so, but in a world ridden with pessimistic ideology and money woes I guess there almost needs to be some sort of magic supernatural thought to really inspire someone to stay positive. Reality just doesn't quite cut it.
This video is a quick explanation of how religion effects the brain, and how the feeling of transcendence, which is linked to spiritual healing, can be explained scientifically.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0UqLRdPc24&NR=1
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Was Jesus a vegetatian.
The idea that Jesus was a vegetarian is almost as ignorant as proclaiming that George Bush knew exactly what he was doing in office. Although I’m no scientist when it comes to religion, I am however well versed in the teachings of both protestant and catholic traditions. When I was growing up in the family, religion was an important part of our culture. There are many references in the Bible to the consumption of both bread and fish, which automatically disqualifies any and all of these ridiculous and credulous assumptions. The fact that PeTA encourages this type of thinking should clearly indicate to us that they are unreliable both in their judgment and their philosophies. In my opinion, such a social atrocity of lies and unsustainable evidence to support their idea’s, is much worse a fallacy then to have religion provide a social and cultural role in people’s lives or even serving a political or civic role to society. Groups and organizations such as these actually rob people’s minds of their personal judgment and provide a getaway plan for the conscious theft of our individuality as well as our health.
This video may have a point but i still like to grill my steak outside on a nice summer day. Cheers...
This video may have a point but i still like to grill my steak outside on a nice summer day. Cheers...
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Parody Religions
So, this whole year we’ve been talking about the major religions like Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Native American beliefs, Buddhism, Hinduism, and a bunch of other ones. But what about Googlism? The Invisible Pink Unicorn? And Pastafarianism? Some of you may be aware of these unheard “parody” religions, but I wanted to look into them a little closer. Most of the religions poke fun at the established religions today like Christianity, but surprisingly they have pretty good points and theories that are just as “correct/ridiculous” as the religions of today.
Googlism is one of my favorites because it outs a few things into perspective This is on the main web page of The Church of Google (which is not affiliated with the actual Google Company of course).
“We at the Church of Google believe the search engine Google is the closest humankind has ever come to directly experiencing an actual God (as typically defined). We believe there is much more evidence in favour of Google's divinity than there is for the divinity of other more traditional gods.”
I took a moment and thought about that quote. To me, that statement seems pretty accurate, especially in these modern times.I look more to google than to God to figure out my problems. I looked further into the website and found they created the “9 Proofs” that show how close Google is to a modern god. A few examples of them are “Google is all knowing, Google is everywhere, and Google answers prayers.” Sound familiar? This is just like the Christian's (or any other major religion's) God, just Google can’t smite you if you do something it doesn’t like. This actually sounds like a pretty good religion to me now that I think of it.
Another one I found pretty intriguing was the Invisible Pink unicorn. According to the belief as explained by Steve Eley:
"The Invisible Pink Unicorns is a being of great spiritual power. We know this because she is capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorn is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that she is pink; we logically know that she is invisible because we can't see her."
It looks silly what the above statement says, but that statement is pretty much based off of any religion out there today. You can’t see a god because he/she/it is invisible, but you can’t prove it doesn’t exist because it isn't visible. Of course these religions aren’t practiced as vigorously as modern religions (at least I don’t think) but they are there just to show that there are some foolish and silly ideas and beliefs of those religions.
Here are a few Parody religions/beliefs if you’re interested:
The Church of Google
The Invisible Pink Unicorn
Pastafarianism (Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster)
Last Thursdayism
Russels Teapot
Googlism is one of my favorites because it outs a few things into perspective This is on the main web page of The Church of Google (which is not affiliated with the actual Google Company of course).
“We at the Church of Google believe the search engine Google is the closest humankind has ever come to directly experiencing an actual God (as typically defined). We believe there is much more evidence in favour of Google's divinity than there is for the divinity of other more traditional gods.”
I took a moment and thought about that quote. To me, that statement seems pretty accurate, especially in these modern times.I look more to google than to God to figure out my problems. I looked further into the website and found they created the “9 Proofs” that show how close Google is to a modern god. A few examples of them are “Google is all knowing, Google is everywhere, and Google answers prayers.” Sound familiar? This is just like the Christian's (or any other major religion's) God, just Google can’t smite you if you do something it doesn’t like. This actually sounds like a pretty good religion to me now that I think of it.
Another one I found pretty intriguing was the Invisible Pink unicorn. According to the belief as explained by Steve Eley:
"The Invisible Pink Unicorns is a being of great spiritual power. We know this because she is capable of being invisible and pink at the same time. Like all religions, the Faith of the Invisible Pink Unicorn is based upon both logic and faith. We have faith that she is pink; we logically know that she is invisible because we can't see her."
It looks silly what the above statement says, but that statement is pretty much based off of any religion out there today. You can’t see a god because he/she/it is invisible, but you can’t prove it doesn’t exist because it isn't visible. Of course these religions aren’t practiced as vigorously as modern religions (at least I don’t think) but they are there just to show that there are some foolish and silly ideas and beliefs of those religions.
Here are a few Parody religions/beliefs if you’re interested:
The Church of Google
The Invisible Pink Unicorn
Pastafarianism (Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster)
Last Thursdayism
Russels Teapot
Friday, April 24, 2009
Media, Morality and Religion
A topic that I have focused a lot on this semester throughout the readings in this course and that of Capitalism and Democracy is that of the media and its similarities to religion and its corresponding role in affecting morality. Essentially, the technology change in the past decade alone has allowed for a huge increase in the availability of the media essentially-everywhere. We as a society are not so dependent on our cellphones and I-phones, I-pods and X-box's that maybe these new devices are the futures bible. Are our children going to grow up learning morals and ethics essentially handed down throughout generations of Christians in our nation from the bible like its been? I dont think so.
It is truly scary to think about the next generation and the advent affect technology and the media's increasing availability will have on them. I find myself as many of my peers would I believe in the middle, not too old that it takes me 5 min. to send a one word txt, not too young to be liking the crazy new video game systems and games that come with them now. I'm not saying I know exactly where I fit into the generation graph but I do know I'm in the middle of a serious change in how one generation to the next finds itself nurtured by the media. Personally, Im terrified...
Sacred and Secular, symbolic or stupid, satisfied or sadened. I think that one thing I have taken away from this class, and one thing I hope the next generation takes away from the media is that there are always in betweens, everything is always relative, no one is ever truly "right" or "wrong" in an ethical or moral stand point because no one can judge that. There will always be different ways to obtain common ethics and morals known as "good" to a society, and there will always be ways that are viewed as "bad". There will always be parts of the media that corrupt, and parts that triumph in doing good, sharing knowledge and spreading information. Whatever happens happens is the long run in the grand scheme of things, be here now. om.
It is truly scary to think about the next generation and the advent affect technology and the media's increasing availability will have on them. I find myself as many of my peers would I believe in the middle, not too old that it takes me 5 min. to send a one word txt, not too young to be liking the crazy new video game systems and games that come with them now. I'm not saying I know exactly where I fit into the generation graph but I do know I'm in the middle of a serious change in how one generation to the next finds itself nurtured by the media. Personally, Im terrified...
Sacred and Secular, symbolic or stupid, satisfied or sadened. I think that one thing I have taken away from this class, and one thing I hope the next generation takes away from the media is that there are always in betweens, everything is always relative, no one is ever truly "right" or "wrong" in an ethical or moral stand point because no one can judge that. There will always be different ways to obtain common ethics and morals known as "good" to a society, and there will always be ways that are viewed as "bad". There will always be parts of the media that corrupt, and parts that triumph in doing good, sharing knowledge and spreading information. Whatever happens happens is the long run in the grand scheme of things, be here now. om.
Religion and Moral Development
I wanted to share with all of you this theory I came up with while doing the most recent homework assignment (overview of each section of the course).
At some point in the discussion we have mentioned whether or not religion promotes morality or not. As Wolfe claims, "Both morality and religion are far too dynamic for any one-to-one relationship between them to remain stable for any long period of time" (Wolfe 128).
I believe that religion does serve a purpose in spreading morality. Specifically, religion gives a motivation for people who are not yet developed enough to do good for the sake of doing good. This is not to say that religion is only for such people, but that it does provide alternative motivations for obeying moral law. My justification for this stance is as follows:
Lawrence Kohlberg outlined six stages of moral development (check this link):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development
Basically broken down into:
Level 1 (Pre-Conventional)
1. Obedience and punishment orientation
(How can I avoid punishment?)
2. Self-interest orientation
(What's in it for me?)
Level 2 (Conventional)
3. Interpersonal accord and conformity
(Social norms)
(The good boy/good girl attitude)
4. Authority and social-order maintaining orientation
(Law and order morality)
Level 3 (Post-Conventional)
5. Social contract orientation
6. Universal ethical principles
(Principled conscience)
A person with stage 4,5, or 6 morality will attempt to seek morality in order to maintain social order, maintain a social contract, or because their sense of universal morality guides them to (respectively). Obviously, nothing about religion is prohibitive of these stages and there is nothing about reaching these stages that would inherently drive a person away from religion.
However, for those majority of the populous who fall into stages 1, 2, or 3 of moral development, religion offers reasons to act within a set of moral boundaries that a person with that level of morality would be unlikely to develop autonomously.
For those at stage 1: "Do what is right or God(s) will punish you!" There is no escaping His (or their) judgement, so the "its only wrong if I get caught" mentality of the Stage 1 person does not apply.
For those at stage 2: "What's in it for you? Salvation! When you die (which is inevitable) you will go to a wonderful place as long as you follow all of the rules right now."
For those at stage 3: "Why should you do it? Because everyone else in the community/society do also." Even if you are on the lower end of the moral totem pole you can still hold yourself up by mimic-ing the superior moral behavior outlined by a figurehead such as Christ, Buddha, or other religious figure.
Thus, I believe that religion can serve as a powerful motivating force for the portions of the population that have not yet developed higher level morality.
Once again I must stress that this does not indicate that religious people are somehow lagged in moral development or anything of the sort. I just wanted to provide a potential explanation for how religion can assist in spreading morality to those who might not otherwise have found it.
For course readings click here:http://secularsacred05.blogspot.com/search/label/course%20texts
At some point in the discussion we have mentioned whether or not religion promotes morality or not. As Wolfe claims, "Both morality and religion are far too dynamic for any one-to-one relationship between them to remain stable for any long period of time" (Wolfe 128).
I believe that religion does serve a purpose in spreading morality. Specifically, religion gives a motivation for people who are not yet developed enough to do good for the sake of doing good. This is not to say that religion is only for such people, but that it does provide alternative motivations for obeying moral law. My justification for this stance is as follows:
Lawrence Kohlberg outlined six stages of moral development (check this link):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kohlberg%27s_stages_of_moral_development
Basically broken down into:
Level 1 (Pre-Conventional)
1. Obedience and punishment orientation
(How can I avoid punishment?)
2. Self-interest orientation
(What's in it for me?)
Level 2 (Conventional)
3. Interpersonal accord and conformity
(Social norms)
(The good boy/good girl attitude)
4. Authority and social-order maintaining orientation
(Law and order morality)
Level 3 (Post-Conventional)
5. Social contract orientation
6. Universal ethical principles
(Principled conscience)
A person with stage 4,5, or 6 morality will attempt to seek morality in order to maintain social order, maintain a social contract, or because their sense of universal morality guides them to (respectively). Obviously, nothing about religion is prohibitive of these stages and there is nothing about reaching these stages that would inherently drive a person away from religion.
However, for those majority of the populous who fall into stages 1, 2, or 3 of moral development, religion offers reasons to act within a set of moral boundaries that a person with that level of morality would be unlikely to develop autonomously.
For those at stage 1: "Do what is right or God(s) will punish you!" There is no escaping His (or their) judgement, so the "its only wrong if I get caught" mentality of the Stage 1 person does not apply.
For those at stage 2: "What's in it for you? Salvation! When you die (which is inevitable) you will go to a wonderful place as long as you follow all of the rules right now."
For those at stage 3: "Why should you do it? Because everyone else in the community/society do also." Even if you are on the lower end of the moral totem pole you can still hold yourself up by mimic-ing the superior moral behavior outlined by a figurehead such as Christ, Buddha, or other religious figure.
Thus, I believe that religion can serve as a powerful motivating force for the portions of the population that have not yet developed higher level morality.
Once again I must stress that this does not indicate that religious people are somehow lagged in moral development or anything of the sort. I just wanted to provide a potential explanation for how religion can assist in spreading morality to those who might not otherwise have found it.
For course readings click here:http://secularsacred05.blogspot.com/search/label/course%20texts
Religion & Christian Capitalism in the US
In light of my previous post, looking at religious spikes in times of woe, and a way to tie these two core courses together here at the end of the semester, the role of capitalism and religion together was on my mind. It's a funny thought that when times are tough, people generally flock to religion when the money goes. However ironically, religion in modern America is deeply ingrained within the capitalist system, focusing a great attention on spending tremendous amounts of money on mainstream material religion, on worthless products for the masses. This consumerist segment of religion stems from commercialism and material culture.
Religion in America alone is greatly part of material culture, marketing products and unfortunately beliefs. Religion is a large profit source in this country, serving to be greatly entwined within the capitalist framework we base our country on. They both work together with this notion of religion and capitalism comprising hand in hand. Also this country bases huge values on religion, and bases its economic foundation on a capitalist system, therefore two huge entities running a country side by side, coincide together to create one material American culture of religious capitalists, to speak very generally.
To further describe this notion that religion integrates well with a capitalist society, Colleen Mcdannell in her text, "Material Christianity" highlights the close interrelation between the two. She states,
"Christian retailing - the selling of Christian goods and services to a buyer for personal or household use - is a significant aspect of contemporary religious life in America. During the early 1990s, the sales of Christian products in bookstores exceeded $3 billion annually!"
The success of the Christian retailing market is undeniable, as religion is fueled by capitalism's framework. Using Christian retailing specifically material Christianity, religion creates a specific culture in America. This culture is a result of the capitalistic system in place governing and working with religion, allowing a place for it. If $3 billion a year doesn't correlate a religious money making market within a strong capitalist structure than I don't know what would!
McDannell continues, "By buying and displaying Christian art in their homes, giving gifts with biblical sayings, or wearing T-shirts, conservative Protestants translate their beliefs into visible messages." This transformation of belief to material items, creates a religious culture based on buying and selling, within a capital driven political system. This notion clearly links the two realms of religion and capitalism, finding a common place between the two in our American society.
For some external input, I found another blog from about.com relating to someones strong atheistic views on materialism in religion, specifically in Christianity in regards to Christmas and other commercialism. The blog is quoted,
"...inherent tension between the evangelical right and the corporate right, both of whom try to live together within the GOP. Pure market capitalism does not respect traditions or religion. Capitalism doesn't care. The market doesn't care. All that matters is how to make the best profit possible from selling to the public" (Cline).
With this is mind, pure capitalism feeds of markets, and the massive market that religion offers is able to provide the economic framework a lot of revenue. Capitalism in our country thrives with religion's markets, and religion thrives more so with the help of a profit driven economic system behind it. Separation of church and state doesn't matter when money is involved, especially when its benefiting the system itself.
Works Cited:
Cline, Austin. "Material Excesses of Christmas are a Moral Problem: Objecting to the Extreme Spending, Borrowing, Materialism." Agnosticism / Atheism - Free Inquiry, Skepticism, Atheism, Religious Philosophy. 25 Apr. 2009.
McDannell, Colleen. Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
Religion in America alone is greatly part of material culture, marketing products and unfortunately beliefs. Religion is a large profit source in this country, serving to be greatly entwined within the capitalist framework we base our country on. They both work together with this notion of religion and capitalism comprising hand in hand. Also this country bases huge values on religion, and bases its economic foundation on a capitalist system, therefore two huge entities running a country side by side, coincide together to create one material American culture of religious capitalists, to speak very generally.
To further describe this notion that religion integrates well with a capitalist society, Colleen Mcdannell in her text, "Material Christianity" highlights the close interrelation between the two. She states,
"Christian retailing - the selling of Christian goods and services to a buyer for personal or household use - is a significant aspect of contemporary religious life in America. During the early 1990s, the sales of Christian products in bookstores exceeded $3 billion annually!"
The success of the Christian retailing market is undeniable, as religion is fueled by capitalism's framework. Using Christian retailing specifically material Christianity, religion creates a specific culture in America. This culture is a result of the capitalistic system in place governing and working with religion, allowing a place for it. If $3 billion a year doesn't correlate a religious money making market within a strong capitalist structure than I don't know what would!
McDannell continues, "By buying and displaying Christian art in their homes, giving gifts with biblical sayings, or wearing T-shirts, conservative Protestants translate their beliefs into visible messages." This transformation of belief to material items, creates a religious culture based on buying and selling, within a capital driven political system. This notion clearly links the two realms of religion and capitalism, finding a common place between the two in our American society.
For some external input, I found another blog from about.com relating to someones strong atheistic views on materialism in religion, specifically in Christianity in regards to Christmas and other commercialism. The blog is quoted,
"...inherent tension between the evangelical right and the corporate right, both of whom try to live together within the GOP. Pure market capitalism does not respect traditions or religion. Capitalism doesn't care. The market doesn't care. All that matters is how to make the best profit possible from selling to the public" (Cline).
With this is mind, pure capitalism feeds of markets, and the massive market that religion offers is able to provide the economic framework a lot of revenue. Capitalism in our country thrives with religion's markets, and religion thrives more so with the help of a profit driven economic system behind it. Separation of church and state doesn't matter when money is involved, especially when its benefiting the system itself.
Works Cited:
Cline, Austin. "Material Excesses of Christmas are a Moral Problem: Objecting to the Extreme Spending, Borrowing, Materialism." Agnosticism / Atheism - Free Inquiry, Skepticism, Atheism, Religious Philosophy. 25 Apr. 2009
McDannell, Colleen. Material Christianity: Religion and Popular Culture in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
Religion and State
The idea of religion has been around as long as humans have been walking this earth. The definition of religion is the worship of any superhuman controlling power, often a personal God or gods. What makes religion interesting is how everyone has their own idea what religion means to them. Across the United States, there are people who dedicate every day of their lives to worship and there are people who worship nothing. Because of how diverse our country is, state and religion should never be paired together. A good example of a conflict caused by this can be found in any Amish Commune.
The problem with religion and state is where the state draws the line as to where religion is involved. Children are required to attend school until they're 16. But in Amish communities, it is believed that the youth needs no further schooling beyond 8th grade. As you can see, this can cause many conflicts between the state, the first amendment, and citizens right to freedom of worship.
The problem with religion and state is where the state draws the line as to where religion is involved. Children are required to attend school until they're 16. But in Amish communities, it is believed that the youth needs no further schooling beyond 8th grade. As you can see, this can cause many conflicts between the state, the first amendment, and citizens right to freedom of worship.
Technology v. Solitude
After giving a group presentation in different forms or religion and practice, I’ve spent a little more time thinking about meditation and solitude. As I’ve said in my previous post, I was raised Catholic and quickly lost interest once high school came around. Religion was never really something that made me feel better or put me in touch with myself. Often times it was quite the chore to even get out of bed and attend mass. The thing that’s always been important to me is time for myself. Being able to have an hour or two each day where I can relax, day dream, listen to music, and reflect on my day/week really helps me feel grounded. It also helps control the stress a bit too.
While I work pretty hard to make sure I have this time each day, I feel that our society (specifically Gen Y) is having a lot less alone time as a whole. Technology here is what’s to blame. Everyday I walk around campus and everyone is either on their laptops, PDAs, cell phones, texting, or actually interacting with others. Don’t get me wrong because I definitely participate in all of the above while on campus, but with these technologies it’s becoming harder to actually get away and truly be alone when all someone has to do is send you a text or IM. I really enjoy technology and how much easier it makes life. For example, I’m writing this right now away from my apartment on my laptop while simultaneously texting a friend. Technology allows me to keep my friends and family only a few buttons away no matter where I go. But this constant connectivity makes it hard to really be alone. I found an interesting video on Youtube by Dina Rudick and Scott Helman-
While I work pretty hard to make sure I have this time each day, I feel that our society (specifically Gen Y) is having a lot less alone time as a whole. Technology here is what’s to blame. Everyday I walk around campus and everyone is either on their laptops, PDAs, cell phones, texting, or actually interacting with others. Don’t get me wrong because I definitely participate in all of the above while on campus, but with these technologies it’s becoming harder to actually get away and truly be alone when all someone has to do is send you a text or IM. I really enjoy technology and how much easier it makes life. For example, I’m writing this right now away from my apartment on my laptop while simultaneously texting a friend. Technology allows me to keep my friends and family only a few buttons away no matter where I go. But this constant connectivity makes it hard to really be alone. I found an interesting video on Youtube by Dina Rudick and Scott Helman-
Religious Tolerance
As we are nearing the end of this course, the questions of religion have just began flowing. If religion is supposed to be something that works as a guideline of how people to live good and decent lives, why is there so much hostility and hatred in the world? With all of these different religions, it is almost impossible for people to agree on their beliefs. I grew up in private catholic schools and have frequently felt like religion was being forced upon me. In no way should this ever happen, your beliefs should be brought about by your own experiences and interpretations of events that have happened. Going back to what Kant said, people should not rely on others for their beliefs and virtues.
I feel if people relied less on religion to tell them what to do, there would not be as much religious intolerance from their beliefs telling them others' are wrong. Religious tolerance is something that should be worked upon much harder globally. Why spend so much time looking at the differences when you should be focusing on the similarities?
have a nice summer
I feel if people relied less on religion to tell them what to do, there would not be as much religious intolerance from their beliefs telling them others' are wrong. Religious tolerance is something that should be worked upon much harder globally. Why spend so much time looking at the differences when you should be focusing on the similarities?
have a nice summer
Will Religion Ever Die
For my final blog post I was thinking about how long different forms of religion have lasted and have continuously been followed over time. This made me wonder whether or not religion as we know it will ever come to a complete stop or if everyone will one day believe in the same thing. Faith is such a strong thing and it made me think, even if someone had scientific proof of how we were created and what was really true, would all people except it or continue to follow what they believe to be true in their religion. On page 109 in The Stillborn God Lilla describes the human curiosity and how it can lead to beliefs in science or religion. This leads me to believe that we will never stop questioning our world and that we will always rely on science or religion for comfort.
A Gathering Storm
I found this video on youtube, and I DEFININTELY recommend that you all watch this, it's almost too funny.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Enlightenment...My Final Conclusion
Now that our class is coming to an end for the semester I can’t help but look back on all that I have learned and how it has had its impact on my beliefs. It is obvious to me, as it seems it is with most Americans, that our society has drastically changed over time and is continuing to change. Religion is still a very dominating issue within the United States, but over the years it has taken a new look. There is a greater variety of religions as well as a greater number of people without any religion at all. This class has led me to lean towards the belief of enlightenment and each person having their own understanding of things. Enlightenment seems more and more prevalent in our society, and others, because of the developments in education and societies understanding of the world we live in. Some of our class readings and an article I read online enforced my opinion on this belief and helped me understand where its origins really came from in the United States. I will start by sharing my favorite quote on enlightenment:
“Have the courage to use your own understanding” (Western World 149)
I feel that this quote says a lot about enlightenment and what is needed to allow it. Enlightenment is just the idea of every individual using their own knowledge and intelligence to understand life and everything concerning it. One must have the courage to step out of the pack and general consensus and allow themselves to believe in what they feel is right.
“This enlightenment requires nothing but freedom—and the most innocent of all that may be called “freedom”: freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters.” (Western World 150)
Freedom has not always been easy to come by in our world. Now that more freedoms are allowed to individuals in most countries, and especially the U.S, it is acceptable for an individual to believe in whatever they want and share it with others who might share their ideas. It seems that the United States has always been ahead of other countries when it comes to this freedom, and this is with good reason.
“Dr. Wood introduced enlightenment as a primary building block for America as a nation. Early Americans considered themselves pioneers of enlightenment, and they used this self view to establish and define the nation, a first in world history.”(Thomson).
America was founded by free thinking individuals who felt the best way to create a fair and equal nation was to allow freedom of speech, religion, and other beliefs. It seems to me that although we have had our ups and downs with these freedoms our nation was definitely created in a manner which would allow America to be the center of enlightenment and equality.
“Men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were stepping out of the monarchial traditions of their fathers and into a republican ideal in which all men are created equal. The people became citizens – individuals with equal say. Book learning was no longer reserved for the social elite. Eighteenth century Americans believed they have erased the idea of elitism in the first place! Here, according to Dr. Wood, we see the beginnings of the concept of a liberal arts education.”(Thomson).
My conclusion is that enlightenment will only grow as individuals advance in education, acceptance, and understanding of the world we live in, and although there may always be religious institutions, the overall freedom of allowing each person to believe in what they want, and express their beliefs, will become increasingly prevalent. This is now what I believe to be true.
“Eighteenth century America was not the climax of enlightenment. Instead, it served as a unique environment for the construction of a base for continual enlightenment. America's current values are rooted in those established during this time period. The American enlightenment represents the beginning of America's journey toward "true" civilization.”(Thomson).
Works Cited:
The Western World Philosophy. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Thomson, Natalie. "American Enlightenment." Summary of a lecture by Gordon S. Wood. University of Maine at Farmington, September 25, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2009 ..
“Have the courage to use your own understanding” (Western World 149)
I feel that this quote says a lot about enlightenment and what is needed to allow it. Enlightenment is just the idea of every individual using their own knowledge and intelligence to understand life and everything concerning it. One must have the courage to step out of the pack and general consensus and allow themselves to believe in what they feel is right.
“This enlightenment requires nothing but freedom—and the most innocent of all that may be called “freedom”: freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters.” (Western World 150)
Freedom has not always been easy to come by in our world. Now that more freedoms are allowed to individuals in most countries, and especially the U.S, it is acceptable for an individual to believe in whatever they want and share it with others who might share their ideas. It seems that the United States has always been ahead of other countries when it comes to this freedom, and this is with good reason.
“Dr. Wood introduced enlightenment as a primary building block for America as a nation. Early Americans considered themselves pioneers of enlightenment, and they used this self view to establish and define the nation, a first in world history.”(Thomson).
America was founded by free thinking individuals who felt the best way to create a fair and equal nation was to allow freedom of speech, religion, and other beliefs. It seems to me that although we have had our ups and downs with these freedoms our nation was definitely created in a manner which would allow America to be the center of enlightenment and equality.
“Men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were stepping out of the monarchial traditions of their fathers and into a republican ideal in which all men are created equal. The people became citizens – individuals with equal say. Book learning was no longer reserved for the social elite. Eighteenth century Americans believed they have erased the idea of elitism in the first place! Here, according to Dr. Wood, we see the beginnings of the concept of a liberal arts education.”(Thomson).
My conclusion is that enlightenment will only grow as individuals advance in education, acceptance, and understanding of the world we live in, and although there may always be religious institutions, the overall freedom of allowing each person to believe in what they want, and express their beliefs, will become increasingly prevalent. This is now what I believe to be true.
“Eighteenth century America was not the climax of enlightenment. Instead, it served as a unique environment for the construction of a base for continual enlightenment. America's current values are rooted in those established during this time period. The American enlightenment represents the beginning of America's journey toward "true" civilization.”(Thomson).
Works Cited:
The Western World Philosophy. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Thomson, Natalie. "American Enlightenment." Summary of a lecture by Gordon S. Wood. University of Maine at Farmington, September 25, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2009 .
Christian Rock
I realize we have already talked about religious music and the impact it can have on people, especially when they go to mass. A mass with great music is a more exciting mass than one with bad music. However, I want to talk about the other form of religious music. The mainstream kind, such as Christian rock. I have listened to a lot of Christian rock in preparation for this post, and if there is one thing I have noticed is how "normal" this music sounds. Seriously, go youtube the bands Red, Pillar, or Skillet and you will see what I am talking about. All there music is incredibly good and sounds just like the music I listen to in my free time (heck it might even be better than my music...really!).
Before I started listening to Christian rock I had a sense of what it was going to sound like. Some guy singing about god and Jesus with a "cool" sounding guitar riff in the background. This is just not true (it may be for the crap Christian rock bands) the lyrics are actually quite good dealing with mortality and love and things like that and not just about god and Jesus.
Alan Wolfe states in The Transformation of American Religion " Rock music-or,as it is frequently called, contemporary Christian music-is now a featured part of Sunday services at evangelical churches throughout the United States" (Wofle 28). Wolfe here calls the music we hear in church the Christian rock. But the thing is that the music you hear in church is nothing like these real Christian rock bands.
After I got recognized to the real Christian rock I started to wonder why I had this misconception about the music. Was it because I just wasn't aware of how the music really was and I was using church as my jumping off point to guess. Or was it because I was thinking all Christian rock bands would be singing really "lame" music because they are religious.
I also learned that a lot of world famous bands first started off as Christian rock bands before they made the jump to real mainstream music. Jessica Simpson first started her career trying to be a Christian rock artist, way before she hit the big time.
Could this then relate to how we perceive other religions? I think that may be a real possibility. We have all these conceptions about things we don't understand. If we don't understand what something is really like we tend to think of it in a real stereotypical manner. This only hurts ourselves because then we don't get to experience and learn things from these things we don't understand.
After learning this I can't help but feel a little stupid. Why would I think something about Christian rock and not even give it a chance before? Were my feelings just too strong to overcome that I just assumed no matter what the band is, if it is Christian rock it has got to suck. Well now I know the truth, and I urge all of you to see it too.
Citation:
Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.
Before I started listening to Christian rock I had a sense of what it was going to sound like. Some guy singing about god and Jesus with a "cool" sounding guitar riff in the background. This is just not true (it may be for the crap Christian rock bands) the lyrics are actually quite good dealing with mortality and love and things like that and not just about god and Jesus.
Alan Wolfe states in The Transformation of American Religion " Rock music-or,as it is frequently called, contemporary Christian music-is now a featured part of Sunday services at evangelical churches throughout the United States" (Wofle 28). Wolfe here calls the music we hear in church the Christian rock. But the thing is that the music you hear in church is nothing like these real Christian rock bands.
After I got recognized to the real Christian rock I started to wonder why I had this misconception about the music. Was it because I just wasn't aware of how the music really was and I was using church as my jumping off point to guess. Or was it because I was thinking all Christian rock bands would be singing really "lame" music because they are religious.
I also learned that a lot of world famous bands first started off as Christian rock bands before they made the jump to real mainstream music. Jessica Simpson first started her career trying to be a Christian rock artist, way before she hit the big time.
Could this then relate to how we perceive other religions? I think that may be a real possibility. We have all these conceptions about things we don't understand. If we don't understand what something is really like we tend to think of it in a real stereotypical manner. This only hurts ourselves because then we don't get to experience and learn things from these things we don't understand.
After learning this I can't help but feel a little stupid. Why would I think something about Christian rock and not even give it a chance before? Were my feelings just too strong to overcome that I just assumed no matter what the band is, if it is Christian rock it has got to suck. Well now I know the truth, and I urge all of you to see it too.
Citation:
Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Religion and Sports
Religion plays an enormous role in professional sports throughout the world today; most notably football players in the NFL are the most public and open about their faith. In a recent MSNBC segment they discuss up how football players publicly display their faith on the field by praying on the field after a game or by end zone blessings and if it is a problem. The video starts with a clip of Terrell Owens telling the media that he is going to play in the super bowl despite an injured leg and against doctors advice, Owens replied “I got the best doctor of all, and that’s god” when asked who cleared him to play. They then interviewed Kurt Warner who is a popular NFL quarterback and one of the most religious athletes in America today. Kurt explained that being religious on the field is no different than when he is religious at home with his wife and kids, it is just a part of who he is and doesn’t feel like there should be any regulation over religious celebrations.
After watching this video clip I also wondered if athletes like Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner would be as religious as they are now if they were not as gifted at sports as they are. I do not know much about how they were raised by their parents or the area in which they grew up. I do know many people who were raised to be extremely religious and lived in a religious community who grew up to be ordinary people who do not live very religious lives. It’s almost like the opposite of Michael Brooks’ article Born Believers; in the article he says how people create god when they are in fear. In this situation these athletes are creating god for being so successful.
Video
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=3af8575b-c30f-4b8e-a1cd-adc0f76f50ee
Works Cited
Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God."New Scientist. February 4, 2009.
Reagan, Ron, and Monica Crowley. Religion and Sports. MSNBC. 4 Feb. 2005Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Adam Carolla vs. Religion
In this radio clip Adam Carolla discusses how he believes religion is foolish and stupid. He continues to argue and gives his reasoning; first he says how he does not agree with all of the religious requirements that people have to follow, he gives the example of Muslims who have to dress in robes and pray five times a day. Adam goes on to give more examples of how religion is foolish and wrong; however he then talks about how sports can be like religion which I would have to agree with. Many Americans today worship and idolize sports teams and athletes. Many religious people have crucifixes, mezuzah, etc in their home while many people who worship sports team will have team colors, posters, and so on. In a religion many people who all believe in the same beliefs come together and practice those beliefs, in sports people come together to watch their team play whether it be at a bar, a friend’s house or the actual stadium. Over the course of history countless people have died fighting for their religion. If you have ever been to a Red Sox Yankees game you would know that just like religion fights and battles between the two sides occur and tragically people are seriously injured and killed. Adam Carolla also talks about how religion can be passed down through family, just like sports teams. Growing up my family was die hard Red Sox fans and practiced Judaism and because of them I now consider myself a diehard Red Sox fan and a Jew. While Sports teams cannot answer the question to god but they do give many people a sense of hope and can bring communities together.
Carolla, Adam. "Adam Carolla." Adam Carolla with Teresa Strasser. KLSX. Los Angeles. 5 Mar. 2008.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Going Home for Easter
Going home for Easter Sunday this year was a bit different for me. The day started as usual with Mass. After that, we visited my grandfather's grave in the local cemetery, which we've been doing every holiday since his passing. At this point we deviated from what I we used to do when I was younger. We used to travel an hour to Ludlow, MA to visit my grandmother's sister and her family, on my dad's side. It was enjoyable. We ate traditional Polish food and the past few times, had an Easter Egg hunt with her granddaughter. This year, however, we stayed closer to home, having an early dinner at my other grandparents' house.
This was very strange for me. I grew up doing one thing and now that I have grown up, a family tradition has changed. Family traditions come and go, but religious ones seem to be going more than coming these days. I know it may not be true for all families, but it is with mine and in others I have seen. This hits me especially hard being here at college while all this is going on.
This goes back to our discussion at the beginning of the semester when we talked about traditions that we each have. I believe that as we grow older, some of those traditions have to change and others may disappear entirely. But when we strike out on our own and have a family that we need to care for, some of those old traditions will come back in our households and will become a reminder to us of how we were raised.
This was very strange for me. I grew up doing one thing and now that I have grown up, a family tradition has changed. Family traditions come and go, but religious ones seem to be going more than coming these days. I know it may not be true for all families, but it is with mine and in others I have seen. This hits me especially hard being here at college while all this is going on.
This goes back to our discussion at the beginning of the semester when we talked about traditions that we each have. I believe that as we grow older, some of those traditions have to change and others may disappear entirely. But when we strike out on our own and have a family that we need to care for, some of those old traditions will come back in our households and will become a reminder to us of how we were raised.
Scientific look at Religion
I should first say that if someone already talked about this, I sincerely apologize. My brain doesn’t have the capacity to remember all the blog posts that have already been posted, and I don't have the time to go back and look.
After thinking all day about what I should write about, I decided to crack open Linden’s The Accidental Mind and see what he had to say about religion. I thought it might be interesting to get some scientific thoughts into the class. I opened to the chapter titled “religious impulse” and began to read. I found that he noticed that all cultures in the world have different religions, but are all similar in the fact that they practice a religion. He then poses the question “Why does every human culture have religion?”
Somehow, he is able to explain this in a way that I understand (I'm pretty sure), and hopefully I can relay this to you in a way you can understand. He first discusses how your brain can make things appear to be “gap-free.” His first example is about saccades. Saccades are the jumps and jerks of your eyes as you scan a visual scene. You don’t actually see those jerks, but everything blends very smoothly because you brain is basically making up the visual feedback between each jerk. Hopefully you’re still with me. This shows that your brain can make things up for you, in order for things to make sense.
He then goes on to say the same concept happens with split-brain patients. He gives an example of a patient who is set up in front of a device where they can see two images next to each other, a chicken claw and snow. The subject is asked to select two cards out of several different ones that would best match the individual pictures on the devise. The subject decides to pick a shovel and chicken. As you can see, the subject chose to match the shovel with the snow, and the chicken claw with the chicken. However, when the subject is asked about why they decided on those, the subject states “The chicken claw goes with the chicken and you need a shovel to clean out the chicken shed.” Because there is no clear link between the two hemispheres in a split brain patient, a side of the brain that can clearly see the snow was able to tell the body to pick the shovel card, but was not able to relay this to the other side of the brain, which is supposed to allow the subject to explain themselves in the decision (but it couldn’t). The brain is able to re-organize what happened, and create something that made sense.
(You might be starting to recall all this from last year.)
If you can see where I’m getting at, or actually what he’s getting at, you’ll notice that the brain likes to try and make things make sense. He states “The binding together of disparate percepts and ideas to create coherent narrative that violates our everyday waking experience and cognitive categories is a left cortical function that underlies both dreaming and the creation and social propagation of religious thought.” I’m pretty sure that the statement means that for something that can’t be explained in a way for someone to understand, the brain will make something up, to allow for the person to understand that explanation. This results in unnatural answers to these questions, with “unnatural” referring to something that is “God-like”, which would explain why so many cultures will have some sort of religion.
So, what do you think? Could this be the reason why cultures have religion? Is this the reason behind any religious thoughts? And don’t think of this concept as a scientific fact, he states in the beginning of the chapter that it is all speculation. But who knows? This is probably the reason why I keep on thinking that God had a part in creating life, because scientifically the creation of life it is too difficult to wrap my head around.
Works Cited:
Linden, David J. The Accidental Mind. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2007.
Course texts
After thinking all day about what I should write about, I decided to crack open Linden’s The Accidental Mind and see what he had to say about religion. I thought it might be interesting to get some scientific thoughts into the class. I opened to the chapter titled “religious impulse” and began to read. I found that he noticed that all cultures in the world have different religions, but are all similar in the fact that they practice a religion. He then poses the question “Why does every human culture have religion?”
Somehow, he is able to explain this in a way that I understand (I'm pretty sure), and hopefully I can relay this to you in a way you can understand. He first discusses how your brain can make things appear to be “gap-free.” His first example is about saccades. Saccades are the jumps and jerks of your eyes as you scan a visual scene. You don’t actually see those jerks, but everything blends very smoothly because you brain is basically making up the visual feedback between each jerk. Hopefully you’re still with me. This shows that your brain can make things up for you, in order for things to make sense.
He then goes on to say the same concept happens with split-brain patients. He gives an example of a patient who is set up in front of a device where they can see two images next to each other, a chicken claw and snow. The subject is asked to select two cards out of several different ones that would best match the individual pictures on the devise. The subject decides to pick a shovel and chicken. As you can see, the subject chose to match the shovel with the snow, and the chicken claw with the chicken. However, when the subject is asked about why they decided on those, the subject states “The chicken claw goes with the chicken and you need a shovel to clean out the chicken shed.” Because there is no clear link between the two hemispheres in a split brain patient, a side of the brain that can clearly see the snow was able to tell the body to pick the shovel card, but was not able to relay this to the other side of the brain, which is supposed to allow the subject to explain themselves in the decision (but it couldn’t). The brain is able to re-organize what happened, and create something that made sense.
(You might be starting to recall all this from last year.)
If you can see where I’m getting at, or actually what he’s getting at, you’ll notice that the brain likes to try and make things make sense. He states “The binding together of disparate percepts and ideas to create coherent narrative that violates our everyday waking experience and cognitive categories is a left cortical function that underlies both dreaming and the creation and social propagation of religious thought.” I’m pretty sure that the statement means that for something that can’t be explained in a way for someone to understand, the brain will make something up, to allow for the person to understand that explanation. This results in unnatural answers to these questions, with “unnatural” referring to something that is “God-like”, which would explain why so many cultures will have some sort of religion.
So, what do you think? Could this be the reason why cultures have religion? Is this the reason behind any religious thoughts? And don’t think of this concept as a scientific fact, he states in the beginning of the chapter that it is all speculation. But who knows? This is probably the reason why I keep on thinking that God had a part in creating life, because scientifically the creation of life it is too difficult to wrap my head around.
Works Cited:
Linden, David J. The Accidental Mind. Cambridge, MA: Belknap, 2007.
Course texts
Religion and Interpretation
The more I think about religion, and the more I learn about religion, I realize that there is no way of ever being sure of anything, except for what you believe in. Religion does not, in my opinion, shape your beliefs, but rather the other way around. There are thousands of different religions in this world, and no matter what you believe in, you can find a religion that you can associate yourself with, or find the followers to create your own. With that said, I do believe that Christianity is the most successful religion, but not because I personally follow it, or I feel it is right or wrong, but rather because it is the most vague. Christianity has left itself the most gray area, and therefore is much easier for people to associate with, because they can bend the rules and interpret the Bible to mean pretty much anything they want.
An example of just creating a religion to bend to your own beliefs is seen in this video on Eddie Izzard’s take on religion:
An example of just creating a religion to bend to your own beliefs is seen in this video on Eddie Izzard’s take on religion:
Can Prayer Heal?
Last class reminded me of a very important part of religion. Can the power of prayer heal, or does it at all relate to a person's health? A lot of people think prayer can heal us from any illness, especially the people that have witnessed or experienced a miracle first hand. Just because we can't explain medically, what happens all the time, does that mean if you are magically healed it was because the power of prayer healed you?
There have been many studies on this question. Duke University associate professor of medicine Dr. Harold Koenig has been studying if prayer and/or religion plays a key role in a person's health, or if it somehow relates miracle healing.
How can these studies be explained? Is it just the fact that people who are religious live healthier lives than people who don't practice any religion? Or does the power of prayer have some affect on these people? Some people who become magically healed believe prayer and/or god had some role to play in it.
Robert, for example, believes people's prayers healed his condition. Nothing medically can explain how this happened, but does that mean prayer had anything to do with it? Personally I don't believe prayer can help heal somebody. Just because we don't understand how someone magically heals doesn't mean prayer had anything to do with it.
Studies have shown that people with religion live longer though, how do we explain this. Well according to these studies religious people stress out a lot less often than people who don't practice religion. Stress definitely has a big impact on our health. So maybe religion plays a role in our overall health, but I don't think that means religion can give us miracles. We just can't explain the real reasons for these miraculous healings.
After all if we could explain everything in our world, would religion even exist?
Works Cited
Davis, Jeanie L. "Can Prayer Heal?" 26 Mar. 2004. WebMD. 20 Apr. 2009.
There have been many studies on this question. Duke University associate professor of medicine Dr. Harold Koenig has been studying if prayer and/or religion plays a key role in a person's health, or if it somehow relates miracle healing.
"They're less likely to smoke, to drink, to drink and drive," he says. In fact, people who pray tend to get sick less often, as separate studies conducted at Duke, Dartmouth, and Yale universities show. Some statistics from these studies:
-
Hospitalized people who never attended church have an average stay of three times longer than people who attended regularly.
-
Heart patients were 14 times more likely to die following surgery if they did not participate in a religion.
-
Elderly people who never or rarely attended church had a stroke rate double that of people who attended regularly.
-
In Israel, religious people had a 40% lower death rate from cardiovascular disease and cancer."
How can these studies be explained? Is it just the fact that people who are religious live healthier lives than people who don't practice any religion? Or does the power of prayer have some affect on these people? Some people who become magically healed believe prayer and/or god had some role to play in it.
Robert, for example, believes people's prayers healed his condition. Nothing medically can explain how this happened, but does that mean prayer had anything to do with it? Personally I don't believe prayer can help heal somebody. Just because we don't understand how someone magically heals doesn't mean prayer had anything to do with it.
Studies have shown that people with religion live longer though, how do we explain this. Well according to these studies religious people stress out a lot less often than people who don't practice religion. Stress definitely has a big impact on our health. So maybe religion plays a role in our overall health, but I don't think that means religion can give us miracles. We just can't explain the real reasons for these miraculous healings.
After all if we could explain everything in our world, would religion even exist?
Works Cited
Davis, Jeanie L. "Can Prayer Heal?" 26 Mar. 2004. WebMD. 20 Apr. 2009
Is Religion Really A Bad Thing? A Response to "The Real Scandel of Religion"
Rather than simply commenting on Jasmine's blog post, I felt that what I had to say would be large enough to create a separate post entirely.
" 'It is very difficult to understand how those who worship a man on a cross could help to drive the bloody nails themselves.' - Copyright 2009, Washington Post Writers Group
The article basically talks about how many religious people are able to commit terrible murders, and yet they are people of god. And it doesn’t just talk about terrible crimes like what Hitler did; it also talks about how religious people do things like save themselves instead of helping others."
There is one major flaw that I see in the argument that it is difficult to understand why religious people commit such violent acts and are still people of God. If you remember Dan Merrill's post about the myth of pure evil, you should see that it's obvious that these religious fanatics are not seeing their acts as unjustified. They see their acts as the right thing to do. They are deluded into thinking they are acting for the greater good.
"Moral Idealism
- Good vs. Evil (your violence is a means to a moral end)
- The ends justify the means"
Now you may be thinking, "so religion is the cause of these people thinking this way and acting violently" to which I say that there are always people who take something good and twist it around. Medicine is a good example. Take the technology that is being used to treat patients. Drugs. These drugs that are good in the right cases can be misused. Governments can use the chemicals during wars as attacks on enemy soldiers or civilians.
"I realize that most people that do commit crimes or murder people are religious to begin with. It also makes me wonder, is religion really necessary on this planet? I’m sure we could live without it."
Religion has caused some people to commit acts of violence, this is true. Hindsight is twenty-twenty as the saying goes. But don't let the violence get in the way of looking at the good things religion has done. It has given countless people new directions in their lives when their current paths may have led to destruction or violence. So before you go and say your sure that we could live without religion, think about the good things religion has done. Not only that, think about human nature and the way the brain usually works.
The brain makes up stories. Many believe this is the reason why man has created a God or gods and other spiritual stories. Would it really make sense to try and fight the natural tendency of the brain to come up with explanations? There are many stories of religion giving people hope to live or peace with the idea of passing on. Would you think to take away a pleasant thought from a dying man or woman? I believe that religion is not only necessary in this world, but I think that it is only human nature to want to believe in something bigger than we are. Think about it. If you were bedridden in a hospital bed and the doctor came in and gave you 2 months to live due to an incurable disease, what would be more comforting. The idea that you are about to die...and that's it? Or the idea that you are about to die, but you at least have something to look forward to? Not all is lost.
I guess the question that I have this week is: Would rather know that you'll be dead in the ground, or believe that there may be some kind of existence after death?
" 'It is very difficult to understand how those who worship a man on a cross could help to drive the bloody nails themselves.' - Copyright 2009, Washington Post Writers Group
The article basically talks about how many religious people are able to commit terrible murders, and yet they are people of god. And it doesn’t just talk about terrible crimes like what Hitler did; it also talks about how religious people do things like save themselves instead of helping others."
There is one major flaw that I see in the argument that it is difficult to understand why religious people commit such violent acts and are still people of God. If you remember Dan Merrill's post about the myth of pure evil, you should see that it's obvious that these religious fanatics are not seeing their acts as unjustified. They see their acts as the right thing to do. They are deluded into thinking they are acting for the greater good.
"Moral Idealism
- Good vs. Evil (your violence is a means to a moral end)
- The ends justify the means"
Now you may be thinking, "so religion is the cause of these people thinking this way and acting violently" to which I say that there are always people who take something good and twist it around. Medicine is a good example. Take the technology that is being used to treat patients. Drugs. These drugs that are good in the right cases can be misused. Governments can use the chemicals during wars as attacks on enemy soldiers or civilians.
"I realize that most people that do commit crimes or murder people are religious to begin with. It also makes me wonder, is religion really necessary on this planet? I’m sure we could live without it."
Religion has caused some people to commit acts of violence, this is true. Hindsight is twenty-twenty as the saying goes. But don't let the violence get in the way of looking at the good things religion has done. It has given countless people new directions in their lives when their current paths may have led to destruction or violence. So before you go and say your sure that we could live without religion, think about the good things religion has done. Not only that, think about human nature and the way the brain usually works.
The brain makes up stories. Many believe this is the reason why man has created a God or gods and other spiritual stories. Would it really make sense to try and fight the natural tendency of the brain to come up with explanations? There are many stories of religion giving people hope to live or peace with the idea of passing on. Would you think to take away a pleasant thought from a dying man or woman? I believe that religion is not only necessary in this world, but I think that it is only human nature to want to believe in something bigger than we are. Think about it. If you were bedridden in a hospital bed and the doctor came in and gave you 2 months to live due to an incurable disease, what would be more comforting. The idea that you are about to die...and that's it? Or the idea that you are about to die, but you at least have something to look forward to? Not all is lost.
I guess the question that I have this week is: Would rather know that you'll be dead in the ground, or believe that there may be some kind of existence after death?
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