[–] GOMAD_OR_GFYAD 0 points 6 points 6 points (+6|-0) ago
If they are then it wouldnt make a difference whether we believed it or not
[–] middle_path 0 points 3 points 3 points (+3|-0) ago
I went though a phase like that. It's a little dishonest. Saying that nothing matters is never true. There are things we do in live that are under our control and things that aren't. We can take control of things like our career, family life, hobbies, circle of friends, community, etc.
A billion yeast working doing their own thing make bread rise.
[–] CapinBoredface 0 points 4 points 4 points (+4|-0) ago
ehhhh not really.
Everyone needs the moral guidance and community that religions can bring. It's very difficult to find the sense of belonging and camaraderie in our current society, but to say that a person needs your religion specifically is a bit misguided.
People turn to religion when their community fails them. That's not a bad thing at all, but it doesn't mean that everyone needs it.
Examples are obviously anecdotal because I can't be bothered to look up this data.
My sister could not get her life together until she joined a church. That church and those people became her family and her support system and I am so thankful that she found them. She needed it. She of course says it was God who saved her and that might be true. I thank the people.
My mother switched religions several times trying to find her spirituality, after a few year being B'hai (spelling?) she stopped going to organized worship all together. She no longer calls herself religious but she is still one of the most spiritually grounded people I've ever known. She doesn't need a book or a deity or a prophet to tell her how to live and how to deal with life. You could say that she found god after years of searching and that's why she is now content.
I was raised in a religious home. Pictures of angels on the walls, church on Sunday, praying before bed... but I never felt close to god. I felt close to the people we worshiped with and I saw the morals of the church as a projection of our society, not the other way around.
I don't believe in god, but I do believe in structure and community and if that means that people need to join a church and be told how to be better to each other then Im okay with it. Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on and if you can't find it on your own in your fellow human then by all means, lean on Jesus.
Sorry, im rambling now. I dont really want to argue or anything but if youd like to discuss this ive done quite a bit of soul searching on the subject and i like to talk about it.
[–] salttypa 1 point 1 point 2 points (+2|-1) ago
In all actuality; it's hard to imagine a community or society that does not depend upon religion or God in some form. Historically, societies have been shown to fail and collapse not long after the decline of religion in the given society, this phenomenon goes back to ancient rome and beyond.
You need to get rid of the common notion of religion as a book of rules you have to live to. It is a complete and consistent world view, the rules are just byproducts of this viewpoint.
[–] ScreaminMime 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Doesn't really matter one way or the other in the long run...