Religion: How Much Longer

[kmack]

I find it funny the role religion plays in the lives of Humans (I have been raised Catholic, and believe in both God and an Afterlife fyi). I look to the past as an answer, the earliest man worshipped God(s) based on nature, usually things they relied on , were scared of, or could not explain.

From Greeks to Aztecs to Egyptians people worshipped things they didnt understand, the sun, rain, wind, and the afterlife.

As science evolved, they discovered logical, and scientific explantions for just about everything. and as we look back we think of worshipping hte sun as silly, and praying for rain to be futile.

So, why now do we devote so much time to religion, i think its because we still have note explained everything. The main thing, what happens when we die. we keep the idea that something does around because A, we are scared that something doesnt, and B we dont know any better.

Eventually, science will find out what happens, and all religious convictions will be wiped out (met with years of contreversy and outcry from the weak who cannot accept it, just like with the earths orbit and evolution). It is at this time that society will truly have peaked.

I think that science will disprove the afterlife within 100 years. any other guesses?

 

[ríomhaire]

I don't think science can prove or disprove an afterlife, there is small evedence for an afterlife but there is no evedence against it.

 

[ModerateCentrist]

I find it funny the role religion plays in the lives of Humans

Why do you think Philosophy, Physics, and intellectual thought are "funny"?

(I have been raised Catholic, and believe in both God and an Afterlife fyi). I look to the past as an answer, the earliest man worshipped God(s) based on nature, usually things they relied on , were scared of, or could not explain.

From Greeks to Aztecs to Egyptians people worshipped things they didnt understand, the sun, rain, wind, and the afterlife.

As science evolved, they discovered logical, and scientific explantions for just about everything. and as we look back we think of worshipping hte sun as silly, and praying for rain to be futile.

So, why now do we devote so much time to religion, i think its because we still have note explained everything. The main thing, what happens when we die. we keep the idea that something does around because A, we are scared that something doesnt, and B we dont know any better.

Eventually, science will find out what happens, and all religious convictions will be wiped out (met with years of contreversy and outcry from the weak who cannot accept it, just like with the earths orbit and evolution). It is at this time that society will truly have peaked.

I think that science will disprove the afterlife within 100 years. any other guesses?

Your question is why do people devote time to Philosophical questions. Aristotle said in his Metaphysics that "All men, by nature, desire to know." What caused Being? What caused the universe? What caused the Big Bang?

 

[Angry Lawyer]

There is no evidence for either side of the argument - it's impossible to disprove.

I, for one, believe in something after death. Something we can't quite understand. My beliefs aren't hurting anyone, so why should I change them?

-Angry Lawyer

 

[kmack]

I don't think science can prove or disprove an afterlife, there is small evedence for an afterlife but there is no evedence against it.

im sure if you told someone you could prove that the earth went around the sun (before it was proved or a theory) you would be met with skepticism.

again, i believe in an afterlife, but its only because it is such a big unknown its almost impossible to comprehend what happens.

Your question is why do people devote time to Philosophical questions. Aristotle said in his Metaphysics that "All men, by nature, desire to know." What caused Being? What caused the universe? What caused the Big Bang?

dont tell me my question.

my question is do you think the afterlife will be disproven

Why do you think Philosophy, Physics, and intellectual thought are "funny"?

i think religion is funny, and people who have a hard-on for it are even more comical

 

[KoreBolteR]

if i had too choose anything to believe in, it would be the afterlife..

(but no heaven or hell crap)

AND: ufo's and ghosts

i wish religion would be gone..

 

[iyfyoufhl]

i do believe in God, i just can't go to sleep with the thought that there is not afterlife and that my whole life is pointless

they way that i look at it:
religion is different from spirituality
you don't have to be religious to be spiritual and believe in God or afterlife

it all comes down to a believe, if you believe there is God, well than there is, if you don't well, there isn't a God for you

 

[ModerateCentrist]

my question is do you think the afterlife will be disproven

Reality can never be disproven. Being is.

i think religion is funny, and people who have a hard-on for it are even more comical

In other words, ignorance is bliss. How original.

 

[kmack]

Reality can never be disproven. Being is.

In other words, ignorance is bliss. How original.

well done.
(those were his exact words, in chronological order altered in no way)

oh, and feel free to prove the afterlife exists.

 

[KoreBolteR]

There is no evidence for either side of the argument - it's impossible to disprove.

I, for one, believe in something after death. Something we can't quite understand. My beliefs aren't hurting anyone, so why should I change them?

-Angry Lawyer

i believe in that too.

im not sure if there is a 'god' tho...

maybe if god was a cloud of dust or a giant alien looking thing, yes, id believe it,

but if god was said to be a man, no i wudnt believe it.

 

[iyfyoufhl]

but if god was said to be a man, no i wudnt believe it.

nobody ever said that God is a man

 

[ríomhaire]

I, for one, believe in something after death. Something we can't quite understand.

To quote Bill Bryson

It would be like trying to explain a circle to someone who lived on a planet where everything was square

 

[PickledGecko]

I don't believe in an afterlife. But I did hear about an experiment, some scientist worked at a ward full of patients that were going to die soon. When a patient was minutes away, he put them on scales and at the moment of death their weight mysteriously dropped. The same experiment was tried with dogs, but no weight loss was found.

Maybe we're on the verge of proving an afterlife. But I'll believe it when I see it for myself.

 

[ríomhaire]

I don't believe in an afterlife. But I did hear about an experiment, some scientist worked at a ward full of patients that were going to die soon. When a patient was minutes away, he put them on scales and at the moment of death their weight mysteriously dropped. The same experiment was tried with dogs, but no weight loss was found.

Maybe we're on the verge of proving an afterlife. But I'll believe it when I see it for myself.

Weird!

 

[KoreBolteR]

nobody ever said that God is a man

what about christians saying that god made us in his image?

which id like to add i think that is complete and utter bs.

 

[iyfyoufhl]

what about christians saying that god made us in his image?

which id like to add i think that is complete and utter bs.

Yes, it's writen in the Bible that God made us in his image, but that doesn't mean that God is a man, not at all, see peope make a mistake of taking the Bible literaly

 

[iyfyoufhl]

I don't believe in an afterlife. But I did hear about an experiment, some scientist worked at a ward full of patients that were going to die soon. When a patient was minutes away, he put them on scales and at the moment of death their weight mysteriously dropped. The same experiment was tried with dogs, but no weight loss was found.

Maybe we're on the verge of proving an afterlife. But I'll believe it when I see it for myself.

i've heard of this too, but i think it isn't the soul, because the whole idea behind the soul is that it's not physical


ps
sorry for double posting

 

[Direwolf]

I think that saying we're going to be able to disprove any of this stuff is silly and shows a real lack of respect for the complexities of our existence. When you start talking about God and an afterlife from the perspective of science you're treading into territory involving alternate dimensions and the basic building blocks of the universe. You then quickly realize just how little we know about this stuff.

As an example, how well do we understand whats beyond the limits of our universe? We don't have the slightest clue. Who says thats not heaven, and how do your prove it?

 

[iyfyoufhl]

I think that saying we're going to be able to disprove any of this stuff is silly and shows a real lack of respect for the complexities of our existence. When you start talking about God and an afterlife from the perspective of science you're treading into territory involving alternate dimensions and the basic building blocks of the universe. You then quickly realize just how little we know about this stuff.

As an example, how well do we understand whats beyond the limits of our universe? We don't have the slightest clue. Who says thats not heaven, and how do your prove it?

you are right my man, even in the Bible (and you don't have to believe this) it's writen that a man doesn't have capabilities to understand God (as far as i remeber)

 

[PvtRyan]

It's not the point of science to disprove an afterlife, that's in the realm of the supernatural and thus science is not interested in it at all. It's the believers who should prove it does exist, the burden of proof is with them, not science. The other way around would just be as stupid as saying "I've got a billion dollars, stored in the centre of a star somewhere in the universe, now, prove me wrong!"
No, YOU prove that you do have a billion dollars.

i do believe in God, i just can't go to sleep with the thought that there is not afterlife and that my whole life is pointless

I can't help but feel sorry for you that you base the value of your life on religion.

Just like some people who say atheists don't have moral or ethics, what? You base all that purely on a book? How sad.

 

[Direwolf]

Not having proof of something and still believing it is called faith. And its what all religions are built on.
While its exceedingly hard to prove a negative (as in the Cash-Star), its also very, very, hard to prove such an extraordinary positive.

 

[iyfyoufhl]

It's not the point of science to disprove an afterlife, that's in the realm of the supernatural and thus science is not interested in it at all. It's the believers who should prove it does exist, the burden of proof is with them, not science. The other way around would just be as stupid as saying "I've got a billion dollars, stored in the centre of a star somewhere in the universe, now, prove me wrong!"
No, YOU prove that you do have a billion dollars.



I can't help but feel sorry for you that you base the value of your life on religion.

Just like some people who say atheists don't have moral or ethics, what? You base all that purely on a book? How sad.

like wise, i feel sorry for you too, poor, lost soul

 

[Direwolf]

He said that its the belief in God that gives him comfort. Noone BELIEVES in religion, because religion is rather obviously real. Its what religion teaches that you believe in.
They're seperate entities, and one does not tie you to the other.

 

[Absinthe]

I do not think the existence of an afterlife will be disproven, per se, seeing as how attempting to "prove" a negative is nonsense. The most you can do is refute supposed evidence for an afterlife.

Just because it can't be disproven doesn't mean it exists. Furthermore, it doesn't mean you should believe in it.

 

[iyfyoufhl]

He said that its the belief in God that gives him comfort. Noone BELIEVES in religion, because religion is rather obviously real. Its what religion teaches that you believe in.
They're seperate entities, and one does not tie you to the other.

thanks for rephrasing, i'm starting to like you more and more

 

[BenjaminH0gie]

It is impossible to disprove another universe or state of being. Heaven, or the afterlife, is simply not a physical place. As for the post above, where the hell else do you think God got this idea? Can you imagine a more natural looking and powerful creature than a Hyman's face? Either Way, that section of the bible is mostly literature, not absolute facts, It meant that God implemented his morals and values into us, not that we all look exactly like him.

 

[Eg.]

religion is going to remain with us for a very long, long time. its best said with this quote from battlestar galacttica "men are not afraid of death, they are afraid of not meeting god". religion fills the hole that would be death. people are afraod of there just being one life, and a religion usually comforts them with an afterlife, even one with a hell. the thought of not extisting seems to be more frightening than eternal hellfire.

religion also provides a moral basis for a society, and a common morality connects people. even though im an atheist, i believe that religion is needed to help provide the first detterent of crime. sin, the crimes against said god, are a bad thing, as the would pull u into hell.

in the future, even if we start going into other sytems, their will always be a religion, as it is a "comfort".

 

[iyfyoufhl]

non-extisting seems to be more frightening than eternal hellfire.

".

very interesting, and true

 

[A True Canadian]

Ok, I have a question. What do the religious folk here think of the Dinosaurs? That's one of the reasons why I avoided getting into religion in the first place. If there were animals on this planet millions of years before man existed, then isn't what they talk about in the Bible (the Earth being created in 7 days and man coming into being on the 7th day, or something like that) kinda contradict it?

I'm rather ignorant about many religious teachings, so please forgive me if I am wrong.

Science is allowing us, as humans, to take destiny into our own hands (we are our own leaders); whereas with religion, we are restrained and follow a set path (we are followers).

Anyway, that's my brief reasoning as to why I find little use for religion in my life.

 

[Absinthe]

Most "religious folk" have accepted the existence of dinosaurs and evolutions. It's really only the out-there fundies that make such a fuss over these things.

 

[Brassm0nkey]

Religion isn't based on the fear of death, it is based on the innate knowledge that there is more to reality than this life. There is a lot of complete rubbish in this thread, a lot of young people, appearently poorly researched young people, claiming this and that to be true regarding subjects that even the greatest minds ever to be incarnated on this world wrestled with(and usually got their wise old asses kciked). Religion was born from Shamanism, which had to do with the exploration of the spiritual world. Not the fear that death was the end, but the knowledge that there was more beyond this life and death.

Gods were not created to explain things that the idiot ancients couldn't comprehend, like rain or something equally mundane. It was simply the attitude of the ancients to ascribe to Gods natural things with which the personalities of the dieties seemed to mesh with. How do you describe a powerfull and fearfull god in natural terms, other than to ascribe something natural to him that represents these qualities, such as lighting. Odin wasn't invented to explain lightning, lightning was attributed to him because it represented his attributes well. The Bible does the same thing when it describes certain angels to have the appearence of bronze and so on. They are just using terms they are familiar with to describe something beyond their reckoning. Do not make the mistake of thinking the ancients to be fools, we are perplexed by their show of intelligence in many ways.



Someone said it was impossible to prove the spiritual because it is seperate from the physical plane. This is true(to an extent) and whoever that was, I am not disagreeing with you here. But, it is possible to experience it. through experience we may gain personal knowledge. It isn't proof in the sense that we can show other people it is true, but it is proof in the sense that we can come to know(not believe) that it is real. If we are spiritual beings, if we have a soul, then we not only exist on this realm but also on that realm simultaneously. The soul isn't a physical thing, it doesn't exist here. It exists there. Since we have a soul(this can be tested), we are able to experience that realm through it. In this way personal knowledge can be gained. I wonder how many of you, religionist, agnostic, and athiest alike, would be willing to give the effort in exploring yourself in this way.

 

[Eg.]

i dint say people were afaid to die, its just after that, is what freaks people out. maybe we should all whatch BG more for the purposes of philosophy

 

[Tr0n]

Hell I'm a very spiritual person...I was once a christian also and I ain't afraid to die.

Thats just life guys...everything that has a beginning has an end (I <3 matrix).As the quote goes from the famous movie "Dune"...Fear is the mind killer.

 

[Foxtrot]

Hell I'm a very spiritual person...I was once a christian also and I ain't afraid to die.

Thats just life guys...everything that has a begining has an end (I <3 matrix).As the quote goes from the famous movie "Dune"...Fear is the mind killer.

Yay Dune!
I am not afraid to die because I know that when I am dead I will not know that I am dead.

 

[kmack]

I am not afraid to die because I know that when I am dead I will not know that I am dead.

thats a cool quote

 

[KoreBolteR]

Yay Dune!
I am not afraid to die because I know that when I am dead I will not know that I am dead.

so you think it just goes black?

theres gotta be another life..

just my opinion.

im not religious nor athiest.

skeptical and i believe in science mostly.

 

[Foxtrot]

so you think it just goes black?

theres gotta be another life..

just my opinion.

im not religious nor athiest.

skeptical and i believe in science mostly.

Another life just doesn't make sense to me, scientifically or religously.

 

[KoreBolteR]

Another life just doesn't make sense to me, scientifically or religously.

well, i believe theres another place anyway, where you meet up with family and friends.

 

[staticprimer]

Yay Dune!
I am not afraid to die because I know that when I am dead I will not know that I am dead.

That's why I don't get why people freak out at the idea of no afterlife. If there is no afterlife, you simply cease to be. You feel nothing, you think nothing, you know nothing. Why then, should you fear nothing? I don't fear death in any way, its the last moments of life that I fear.

 

[A True Canadian]

What can one do in the afterlife that they cannot do in their current life?

In this reality that I'm in now, I think I'm going to have more fun here than in any afterlife.