Fear and greed - the only reasons for religion?

[QUOTE="foxhound_fox"]I find it interesting how you lump "religion" as a whole in with one specific group of Christians that probably doesn't even represent the majority. Buddhism is about the personal journey to find equanimity with the world, the promotion of peace and community harmony and the equal treatment of all people regardless of gender, sexuality, race, or religion. Yes, some Christians "only believe out of fear of hell" but I can almost guarantee most don't.LiftedHeadshot

I don't think you understand Buddhism. Their idea of heaven and yours are different. They don't believe in the kind of heaven like Christians, Muslims, and Jews.They believe in a peaceful state of existence, which can only be achieved through helping others, who in turn will help more people until we're all in heaven.

[QUOTE="gaming25"]

I dont think Homer claimed to be a prophet or anything like that, just an author.

Necrifer

Nobody even knows who "Homer" was. So, "he" probably didn't claim anything at all.

You dont know who Homer is?

It can be easily argued that Buddhists only adopt their lifestyle because they want to be reborn as a "better" being. Is that not greed?LiftedHeadshot

[QUOTE="collegeboy64"]

[QUOTE="This_Is_Not"]People seek solace, community, hope, justice, love, and purpose - all of which is rare in human existence. The majority of people turn to some sort of religion for this. I personally don't seek any of that, nor would I find any of it through religion, but I don't condemn those who do just to feel superior about myself.Nibroc420

This is an excellent post. I wholeheartedly agree.

The only thing I would add is; most everyone seeks to make peace with the great unknowables in human life. Religion is one way people do this.

But would it not be better to seek out answers to "the great unknowables"?
thousands of years ago, if someone asked where thunder came from, they'd say "Thor" or "Zeus"
Today we know thats not true ;)

Human knowledge has certainly advanced greatly in the last thousand years. And I am all for continued scientific exploration of how and why. But science is a long long way from explaining things like why the big bang happened, where all the matter and energy unleashed in the big bang came from, if we have any existence beyond our mortal flesh and blood, if there has been any "outside" interference in mankind's development, etc etc.

Point being, there are still lots of unknowns, and for any reasonable time frame such as a couple of human lifetimes, lots of unknowables.

Lots of people believe because of fear and greed, but more than that I think most people believe because it's easy. It's an easy way to use the easiest possible explanation for all of the big questions. Why is the world? God. For them, that's all they want to know, even if the answer is ultimately incorrect.

[QUOTE="Nibroc420"]

[QUOTE="collegeboy64"]

This is an excellent post. I wholeheartedly agree.

The only thing I would add is; most everyone seeks to make peace with the great unknowables in human life. Religion is one way people do this.

collegeboy64

But would it not be better to seek out answers to "the great unknowables"?
thousands of years ago, if someone asked where thunder came from, they'd say "Thor" or "Zeus"
Today we know thats not true ;)

Human knowledge has certainly advanced greatly in the last thousand years. And I am all for continued scientific exploration of how and why. But science is a long long way from explaining things like why the big bang happened, where all the matter and energy unleashed in the big bang came from, if we have any existence beyond our mortal flesh and blood, if there has been any "outside" interference in mankind's development, etc etc.

Point being, there are still lots of unknowns, and for any reasonable time frame such as a couple of human lifetimes, lots of unknowables.

I'm not saying that humans know everything, we clearly dont. However simply going "oh, well god does that" and not actually questioning the real reason isn't really helping society evolve. Imagine if instead of trying to curei cancer, doctors simply went "God wants you to die, so now you have a tumor" and no research was done, because it was simply "God's will"Nibroc420

Do people only believe in God because of their fear (of hell) or desire (for heaven)? I am convinced that this is the only incentive for people to believe, and that religion just uses primal human traits, like fear and greed, to gain followers.

LiftedHeadshot

No, we also believe that there is a higher power out there that makes things work.

[QUOTE="Nibroc420"] I'm not saying that humans know everything, we clearly dont. However simply going "oh, well god does that" and not actually questioning the real reason isn't really helping society evolve. Imagine if instead of trying to curei cancer, doctors simply went "God wants you to die, so now you have a tumor" and no research was done, because it was simply "God's will"foxhound_fox

[QUOTE="foxhound_fox"][QUOTE="Nibroc420"] I'm not saying that humans know everything, we clearly dont. However simply going "oh, well god does that" and not actually questioning the real reason isn't really helping society evolve. Imagine if instead of trying to curei cancer, doctors simply went "God wants you to die, so now you have a tumor" and no research was done, because it was simply "God's will"Nibroc420

[QUOTE="Nibroc420"][QUOTE="foxhound_fox"] There is also the other side of the coin: "We believe God gave us the talent to produce science and use it to understand his creation."gaming25

I don't believe in hell, and while heaven's nice, by my beliefs I'd be going there anyway. So no.

In addition, not all religions have a Heaven or a Hell. Before Christianity came along, Judaism only had Hades, no Heaven.

My understanding was that religious folks dismissed the idea of a spherical earth.Nibroc420

[QUOTE="Nibroc420"]My understanding was that religious folks dismissed the idea of a spherical earth.gaming25

Do people only believe in God because of their fear (of hell) or desire (for heaven)? I am convinced that this is the only incentive for people to believe, and that religion just uses primal human traits, like fear and greed, to gain followers.

LiftedHeadshot

I'm sure there are those that do. I'm not one of them, however. I believe because I sincerely believe it to be true and due to the many experiences I have had in my life. If I didn't really believe it to be true, I would not believe in God. Desire to be in Heaven or fear of Hell have nothing to do with why I chose to be become a Christian and/or why I still am.