What makes us religious?

by bigboi 17 Replies latest jw friends

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  bigboi

  Has anyone out there ever pondered that question? I remember when I was a little boy I always seemed to feel so close to God. My family was not and still isn't very religious, so why did I turn out to be that way at such a young age? I remember going to a Catholic church with my grandmother when I was about 4 or 5 yrs old. I never really knew what was going on but I felt so close to God and a strong impulse to do what was right. The thing I remember most is going with my grandmother while she knelt and prayed before a statue of Jesus. After she finished I too would kneel and say a little prayer. I really didn't see anything wrong with our religion until my mom started to study and the sister she studied with pointed out that we shouldn't worship idols.

  Believe it or not from that tender young age the basic teachings of jw's stayed with me until I started to study on my own at the at the age of 14. I know it's hard to believe but all I had was a Live Forever book and a my book of bible stories. I basically learned how to read with those books.

  All this to say why did that of all things make such an impression on my young mind. Why does the concept of God cause ppl to make such sweeping chages in their lives, blindly believe in absurd doctrines and be willing to give even life itself for someone most of us have never seen, never heard from and probably never will as long as we're alive and breathing?

  I mean if anybody out there has any info whatsoever, scientific or just your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

  Peace:
  Bigboi

  "..... anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up to an ideal will soon discover he had been taught how to destroy himself, not how to preserve himself." The Prince. Niccolo Machiavelli.
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  JW72

  Bigboi, I reckon that religion is there just to give us a purpose to live, either 'for the greater cause' or 'the prospect of everlasting life, paradise, heaven etc.'.

  I don't know how much of what any religion teaches is true, but I know that cults are bad and all religions have good basic moral advice.

  It is sometimes daunting for me when I think that this life is all there is, and I must live it to the best I can.

  I used to believe in Paradise and didn't really care about this world, so it is difficult to perceive that THIS world is the world we are meant to live in, coz, it is so fragile.

  The prospect of dying(soon, by accident) and nothing coming after is SICKENING and so religion is there to make it all seem worthwhile and give us hope, perhaps it's the easy way out!!!

  Anyone else agree???

  It really IS scary!!!

  Love

  Chris

  P.S Anyone like my new photo????
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  Big Jim

  (HERE ARE SOME QUOTES FROM FAMOUS PEOPLE ON THE MATTER)

  However sugarcoated and ambiguous, every form of authoritarianism must start with a belief in some group's greater right to power, whether that right is justified by sex, race, class, religion or all four. However far it may expand, the progression inevitably rests on unequal power and airtight roles within the family.

  I don't think it is given to any of us to be impertinent to great religions with impunity.

  Common-sense is part of the home-made ideology of those who have been deprived of fundamental learning, of those who have been kept ignorant. This ideology is compounded from different sources: items that have survived from religion, items of empirical knowledge, items of protective skepticism, items culled for comfort from the superficial learning that is supplied. But the point is that common-sense can never teach itself, can never advance beyond its own limits, for as soon as the lack of fundamental learning has been made good, all items become questionable and the whole function of common-sense is destroyed. Common-sense can only exist as a category insofar as it can be distinguished from the spirit of inquiry, from philosophy.

  The guarantee that our self enjoys an intended relation to the outer world is most, if not all, we ask from religion. God is the self projected onto reality by our natural and necessary optimism. He is the not-me personified.

  The secret of a person's nature lies in their religion and what they really believes about the world and their place in it.

  Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of Thorns.

  One must marry one's feelings to one's beliefs and ideas. That is probably the only way to achieve a measure of harmony in one's life.

  I can't believe in the God of my Fathers. If there is one Mind which understands all things, it will comprehend me in my unbelief. I don't know whose hand hung Hesperus in the sky, and fixed the Dog Star, and scattered the shining dust of Heaven, and fired the sun, and froze the darkness between the lonely worlds that spin in space.

  First, whenever a man talks loudly against religion, always suspect that it is not his reason, but his passions, which have got the better of his creed. A bad life and a good belief are disagreeable and troublesome neighbors, and where they separate, depend upon it, 'Tis for no other cause but quietness sake.

  Confronted with the impossibility of remaining faithful to one's beliefs, and the equal impossibility of becoming free of them, one can be driven to the most inhuman excesses.

  Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, in denying them.

  With most people disbelief in a thing is founded on a blind belief in some other thing.

  If you don't have solid beliefs you cannot build a stable life. Beliefs are like the foundation of a building, and they are the foundation to build your life upon.
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  patio34

  Bigboi,

  Just a couple of personal opinions in the process of being formed since I 'left' 2 months ago:

  All children are born 'atheists' meaning without a belief in God. They then learn about their parents' and relatives' religious beliefs. It is comforting for children (and adults) to believe in a higher power and Father-figure that will make things right.

  However, these beliefs can become detrimental to a person, imo, because they don't learn to rely on themselves. Additionally, some lose their families (as a lot on this DB can attest to) and even their lives.

  It is important to be fully convinced about beliefs before risking so much for them.

  Theists would insist that this religious tendency even in young people is evidence of the existence of God. However, humans learn most of their behavior. It would be difficult to try and test babies raised with no influence and see if they are religious or atheist!

  Patio
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  Tina

  Hi Patio!!
  I agree with your thoughts....I think religiouslity is basically 'social heredity". We're born into a certain culture and group,and it's a learned behavior......(love your posts btw) regards,Tina

  Carl Sagan on balancing openness to new ideas with skeptical scrutiny...."if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense,you cannot distinguish useful ideas from worthless ones."
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  professor

  The sad truth is that in this time and space that we share, in this reality, we have no way of knowing the origin of our lives or our purpose, if any, for existing. It is easy to look at a species and come up with a logical explanation based on scientific data and say "that makes sense" or "I find that logical". But looking from the inside out, from the standpoint of our own personal existence as an intelligent entity, it is obvious to us that there is more meaning that eludes us, and as far as we know, may do so infinitely. The entire universe makes sense except for one thing, we ourselves. What am I and how did I end up in this physical body or on this plane of existence? From the outside looking in, life makes perfect sense. But from the inside looking out we realize that we know nothing.
  From our environment and based upon our perceptions, our mind tries to fill in the gaps just as it fills in the space between the frames of a moving picture. But as the rules of the mind change, and as our increasing awareness destroys our perceived reality, we realize that we cannot process the idea of our existence in the same way we are used to, and we become confused.
  Groups of humans build their own reality models. For it to really work for them, the established ideals and systems of belief need to be strictly adhered to, so as not to destroy the illusion. Therefore, no new or different ideas, no matter how logical, can be accepted. Those who reject the model must be expelled from it. This is a way they shield themselves from the fearful unknown and the pain of truth. But it is still only an illusion, and the model they have created prevents each and every participant from learning and growing as a person. Some would die if their bubble were to pop.
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  Introspection

  Hi Bigboi,

  Strictly speaking I don't think this is an important question, because a religious person isn't necessarily a spiritual person. (it is certainly possible an athiest can be a kind, generally decent person that doesn't push his beliefs on others) To me the question isn't just about a God in the image of humans and a closed belief system, but many seem to feel drawn to that which is transcendent. (by the way, appreciate those quotes Big Jim) But to answer the question about kids, you're basically wired to learn at that age, and if religion is a part of it you just learn that very well.

  Generally speaking, people believe what they want to believe. From a psychological perspective, I don't think the truth of the belief is really the issue. You tend to feel good if you "know" something and can talk about it and sound intelligent. My own thought (though certainly shared by others more articulate than myself) is that if your sense of self is identified with certain beliefs, and those beliefs are subject to question (of course, I assume we've all figured out that having an open system is the way to go) then your sense of self is subject to question. This is why I like to get back to basics: We're all human beings, the stuff in our head is conditional. I think this is the essential problem, we confuse our selves with the thoughts in our heads. There is a quote of some East Indian writing that says "I use memories, but I do not allow memories to use me." The thought is confused with the thinker, and sometimes the thinker seems to be asleep, for an extended period of time.

  We all know the obvious reasons for the common idea of God, the whole comfort thing, father figure yada yada. But religion includes a lot, and I don't think it's realistic to say you can speak for everyone or speak on every concept. However, if you have some insight into how your own mind works, you'll be in a better position to answer that question for yourself. If you go deep enough, you might actually be in a position to understand how the human mind works. Now I'm all for objective means to study the mind, but seeing as how we all have one it seems like a mistake to ignore our own equipment.
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  Introspection

  So Professor, are you saying you still haven't found a way to get off the island? Appreciate your thoughts.
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  larc

  Well folks,

  I don't know and I don't care. I am a true agnostic. If there is a God, I don't know what my batting average in life has to be to get to a better place, so I don't worry about it. I just try to the best I know how, not for "pie in the sky some day", but because the people I love, here and now, will think better of me and treat me well, if I try to do right by them. It is all so very simple to me: goodness is its own reward, and if there something after this .... well, that will be nice too.
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  Flip

  What makes us religious?

  Some feel Jumping off of a very high bridge with one end of a "rubber band" wrapped around your ankles.

  What actually makes us religious is we'll do anything so we don't have to face jumping off that bridge.

  Flip