Is Religion A Lie?

[Klonz]

Is religion a lie.........?
I want your opinions and why?

I'm not so sure but maybe after keeping those things written down for thousands of years can get misunderstood or tampered with... what do you think?

If religion is not a lie why are there 4000 religions... every one apart from 1 has to be a lie!!! We have been deceived so much that we can't track back down to prove if it is a lie but it must be.
All religion boils down to a socially-acceptable way for adults to believe in magic.

The truth is that there is no such thing as magic.

 

[juvenissun]

Is religion a lie.........?
I want your opinions and why?

I'm not so sure but maybe after keeping those things written down for thousands of years can get misunderstood or tampered with... what do you think?

If religion is not a lie why are there 4000 religions... every one apart from 1 has to be a lie!!! We have been deceived so much that we can't track back down to prove if it is a lie but it must be.
All religion boils down to a socially-acceptable way for adults to believe in magic.

The truth is that there is no such thing as magic.

It depends on what does the religion say. Any religion says a lot. Not all of them are lies.

 

[Received]

Saying "religion is a lie" is as broad a statement as saying "culture is a lie." Almost.

Religion might not be a lie or a truth. It might quite simply be evolutionarily adaptive. The question is whether human being as a whole is capable of moving beyond this previous adaptation. Let's not speak too quickly here.

 

[Received]

Saying "religion is a lie" is as broad a statement as saying "culture is a lie." Almost.

Religion might not be a lie or a truth. It might quite simply be evolutionarily adaptive. The question is whether human being as a whole is capable of moving beyond this previous adaptation. Let's not speak too quickly here.

 

[juvenissun]

Is religion a lie.........?
I want your opinions and why?

I'm not so sure but maybe after keeping those things written down for thousands of years can get misunderstood or tampered with... what do you think?

If religion is not a lie why are there 4000 religions... every one apart from 1 has to be a lie!!! We have been deceived so much that we can't track back down to prove if it is a lie but it must be.
All religion boils down to a socially-acceptable way for adults to believe in magic.

The truth is that there is no such thing as magic.

You really should improve the quality of your question. Bad question gets useless answers.

One way to improve is to narrow down the content of the question and ask a specific one. A question could never be too small or too simple.

 

[bhsmte]

Certainly, all religions can not be right, but all could very well be wrong.

IMO, religions are an attempt by man to explain the world, to define the God of their choosing and most importantly, to create comfort for their believers.

To me, there is a bit of desperation with all religions in attempting to accomplish the above. When you are desperate, you will do just about anything and certainly not be objective.

 

[Godisgood12]

Is religion a lie.........?
I want your opinions and why?

I'm not so sure but maybe after keeping those things written down for thousands of years can get misunderstood or tampered with... what do you think?

If religion is not a lie why are there 4000 religions... every one apart from 1 has to be a lie!!! We have been deceived so much that we can't track back down to prove if it is a lie but it must be.
All religion boils down to a socially-acceptable way for adults to believe in magic.

The truth is that there is no such thing as magic.

Visiting the fatherless and widows is good.

James 1:27
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

 

[Paradoxum]

Well I would say religion is a misunderstanding, rather than a lie.

Why? Because the reasons given to believe aren't sufficient to validate belief. The reasons are either faulty, lack evidence, or are explained by science. I can't go into all the reasons because there would be alot to say.

Saying "religion is a lie" is as broad a statement as saying "culture is a lie." Almost.

Religion might not be a lie or a truth. It might quite simply be evolutionarily adaptive. The question is whether human being as a whole is capable of moving beyond this previous adaptation. Let's not speak too quickly here.

Well if a religion says that there is a God, and there isn't a God, then it would make it false, even if it's an evolved tendency.

Mind me asking why you think Christianity is true and that there is a God?

 

[Received]

Well if a religion says that there is a God, and there isn't a God, then it would make it false, even if it's an evolved tendency.

No doubt, but what I'm saying is that religious claims regarding veracity are a subset of the fact that religion is adaptive. A much broader philosophical point would be that everything relating to truth is secondary to its being adaptive or not; that is, truth itself is adaptive, and it's the adaptiveness of stuff that determines its value fundamentally. Says evolution.

Mind me asking why you think Christianity is true and that there is a God?

You should come to church with me.

But, switching back to a veracity standard (which I, to make things tricky, think is the most important standard, not adaptiveness, which amounts to a critique of evolutionary naturalism): I don't think any of the major world religions are "wrong", in a dichotomous variable sort of way; I think different religions involve different conceptualizations which get more or less on the target of how God really is, and I think that there is probably more variability within major world religions (in terms of denominations or equivalent terms) in terms of these conceptualizations than there is variability between major world religions. I think Christianity (understood in a post-Kierkegaardian, mysticism-based sense) is most true. But then again, Buberian Hasidism comes in very, very close. You know.

 

[Paradoxum]

No doubt, but what I'm saying is that religious claims regarding veracity are a subset of the fact that religion is adaptive. A much broader philosophical point would be that everything relating to truth is secondary to its being adaptive or not; that is, truth itself is adaptive, and it's the adaptiveness of stuff that determines its value fundamentally. Says evolution.

I don't really understand what you are saying here. "A Subset of the fact that religion is adaptive", what does that mean? How can truth be adaptive?

You should come to church with me.

Why should I? I have a boyfriend you know.

But, switching back to a veracity standard (which I, to make things tricky, think is the most important standard, not adaptiveness, which amounts to a critique of evolutionary naturalism): I don't think any of the major world religions are "wrong", in a dichotomous variable sort of way; I think different religions involve different conceptualizations which get more or less on the target of how God really is, and I think that there is probably more variability within major world religions (in terms of denominations or equivalent terms) in terms of these conceptualizations than there is variability between major world religions. I think Christianity (understood in a post-Kierkegaardian, mysticism-based sense) is most true. But then again, Buberian Hasidism comes in very, very close. You know.

Well I prefer this more inclusive sort of Christianity. I suppose I was moving in that direction as I lost faith, though I did think Jesus was a form of God, and that would seem to be disputed by other religions.

This still doesn't answer my question though. Why do you think any major religion is true in an important way? Do you believe anything a humanist atheist probably wouldn't? Why do you think there is a God?

They are big questions, so it's ok if you don't want to go into them. I just thought I'd ask because it seems on topic, and I haven't talked about reasons for God's existence in a while.

 

[Ana the Ist]

No doubt, but what I'm saying is that religious claims regarding veracity are a subset of the fact that religion is adaptive. A much broader philosophical point would be that everything relating to truth is secondary to its being adaptive or not; that is, truth itself is adaptive, and it's the adaptiveness of stuff that determines its value fundamentally. Says evolution.



You should come to church with me.

But, switching back to a veracity standard (which I, to make things tricky, think is the most important standard, not adaptiveness, which amounts to a critique of evolutionary naturalism): I don't think any of the major world religions are "wrong", in a dichotomous variable sort of way; I think different religions involve different conceptualizations which get more or less on the target of how God really is, and I think that there is probably more variability within major world religions (in terms of denominations or equivalent terms) in terms of these conceptualizations than there is variability between major world religions. I think Christianity (understood in a post-Kierkegaardian, mysticism-based sense) is most true. But then again, Buberian Hasidism comes in very, very close. You know.

I'm gonna have to echo Para here and ask how truth is adaptive. That doesn't make any sense to me.

 

[Godisgood12]

Truth is all.

The judge is truth. Arent you all excited now?

 

[Received]

I don't really understand what you are saying here. "A Subset of the fact that religion is adaptive", what does that mean? How can truth be adaptive?

Our truth faculties (more fundamentally than truth) evolved. Ergo, truth has adaptive value. Which means that veracity (truth and the methods associated with truth, e.g., reason) is secondary to what works.

This still doesn't answer my question though. Why do you think any major religion is true in an important way?

Because (to put it easily) the concepts which constitute specific religions have varying levels of lining up with how God really is.

Do you believe anything a humanist atheist probably wouldn't?

Probably not, except for the fact that "humanist" is good enough.

Why do you think there is a God?

http://cdn.smosh.com/sites/default/files/ftpuploads/bloguploads/directors-starwars-davidlynch.jpg

 

[LBP]

Is religion a lie.........?
I want your opinions and why?

I'm not so sure but maybe after keeping those things written down for thousands of years can get misunderstood or tampered with... what do you think?

If religion is not a lie why are there 4000 religions... every one apart from 1 has to be a lie!!! We have been deceived so much that we can't track back down to prove if it is a lie but it must be.
All religion boils down to a socially-acceptable way for adults to believe in magic.

The truth is that there is no such thing as magic.

No, religion is not a lie. The term "lie" suggests that one knows the truth but chooses to say something different. No religion knows The Truth. Religion attempts to deal with ultimate questions, such as "Why is there anything at all, rather than nothing?", for which the correct answers -- The Truth -- are beyond our ability to determine. The 4000 religions to which you refer are 4000 "best guesses," not 3999 "lies" and one "truth." Where a religion becomes a lie is when its followers attempt to claim that it is The Truth and all other religions are lies, instead of admitting that their religion is simply a best guess that they find more appealing or convincing than the other best guesses. Christians tend to fall into this trap somewhat more easily than other believers because Christianity purports to be a direct revelation by God ("God reaching down to man"), but even as a longtime Christian I have to admit that the Christian doctrines might prove to bear little resemblance to The Truth. I am a Christian because its historical basis and doctrines seem most convincing to me and to best conform to my experiences and observations, but I'm not so deluded as to think that I have The Truth and every other religion is dealing only in lies.