I think not, which is not to say that they do not exist. Religion is mere superstition, instead of reason, and suspicion, instead of love, to me.
Is religion just good politics?
If your sole object in life is power, it is.
"Redeeming" qualities assume that religion as a broad concept is in some kind of need of redemption. I would argue that it is not to any degree beyond any other common superstition. From there... If you refuse to walk under ladders, chances are you won't ever have one fall on you. Nor are you likely to stumble on an black cat if you look out for such like in your path. Are those qualities of superstition "redeeming?" Perhaps, though redeeming from what?
Does Christianity have redeeming features? Does Islam? Shinto? Buddhism? Those are some lesser umbrellas which may be answerable. The greater one of "just religion" - less so.
There is no such thing as a just religion.
quakerism doesnt do half bad.
pretty messed up in some ways, but about the best that there is that i can think of.
course, as an agnostic quaker i dont represent the main theme.
QuoteDoes religion have any redeeming qualities?
Of course.
X is bad, he uses it to justify his evil deeds
Y is good, it helps her going through the vicissitudes.
Quote from: billy rubin on May 31, 2023, 01:32:58 AMquakerism doesnt do half bad.
pretty messed up in some ways, but about the best that there is that i can think of.
course, as an agnostic quaker i dont represent the main theme.
If the Quaker believes in pacifism, there's the problem right there.
what problem, marcus?
The pacifist allows evil to prevail.
the militarist embraces evil and becomes part of it.
"War is evil, but it is often the lesser evil." - George Orwell
Tell me about the rabbits, George.
(The last line is from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.)
i used to pollinate carrots in salinas.
Quote from: billy rubin on June 01, 2023, 05:31:44 AMi used to pollinate carrots in salinas.
Shit, where have you not been, billy?
ive never been to oz.
would love to see it
Quote from: billy rubin on June 01, 2023, 11:38:41 AMive never been to oz.
would love to see it
Unfortunately that isn't possible, we are just a hoax perpetrated by the spherical Earth cabal.
No New Zealand either, there is an Africa and a South America but they are much smaller than shown on maps.
i actually agree.
i have no personal knowledhe of the existence of australia, any more than i have any personal knowledge that the earth is not flat.
The greatest redeeming quality of religions and other forms of tribes, religious or political, is to be the entity we evolve into.
Remove the tribe and what I call our evolving perfection ends.
I have a TLDR on this.
-----------
The Gnostic Christian reality.
Gnostic Christian Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all.
[And after they have reigned they will rest.]"
"If those who attract you say, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you.
If they say to you, 'It is under the earth,' then the fish of the sea will precede you.
Rather, the Kingdom of God is inside of you, and it is outside of you.
[Those who] become acquainted with [themselves] will find it; [and when you] become acquainted with yourselves, [you will understand that] it is you who are the sons of the living Father.
But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."
As you can see from that quote, if we see God's kingdom all around us and inside of us, we cannot think that the world is anything but evolving perfection. Most just don't see it and live in poverty. Let me try to make you see the world the way I do.
Here is a mind exercise. Tell me what you see when you look around. The best that can possibly be, given our past history, or an ugly and imperfect world?
Candide.
"It is demonstrable that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end."
That means that we live in the best of all possible worlds, because it is the only possible world, given all the conditions at hand and the history that got us here. That is an irrefutable statement given entropy and the anthropic principle.
Regards
DL
Quote from: Gnostic Christian Bishop on June 28, 2023, 07:49:31 PMThe greatest redeeming quality of religions and other forms of tribes, religious or political, is to be the entity we evolve into.
Remove the tribe and what I call our evolving perfection ends.
I have a TLDR on this.
-----------
The Gnostic Christian reality.
Gnostic Christian Jesus said, "Those who seek should not stop seeking until they find. When they find, they will be disturbed. When they are disturbed, they will marvel, and will reign over all.
[And after they have reigned they will rest.]"
"If those who attract you say, 'See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you.
If they say to you, 'It is under the earth,' then the fish of the sea will precede you.
Rather, the Kingdom of God is inside of you, and it is outside of you.
[Those who] become acquainted with [themselves] will find it; [and when you] become acquainted with yourselves, [you will understand that] it is you who are the sons of the living Father.
But if you will not know yourselves, you dwell in poverty and it is you who are that poverty."
As you can see from that quote, if we see God's kingdom all around us and inside of us, we cannot think that the world is anything but evolving perfection. Most just don't see it and live in poverty. Let me try to make you see the world the way I do.
Here is a mind exercise. Tell me what you see when you look around. The best that can possibly be, given our past history, or an ugly and imperfect world?
Candide.
"It is demonstrable that things cannot be otherwise than as they are; for as all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end."
That means that we live in the best of all possible worlds, because it is the only possible world, given all the conditions at hand and the history that got us here. That is an irrefutable statement given entropy and the anthropic principle.
Regards
DL
You don't need a religion or tribe to be soulful.
...Nor do you need a soul, really, if you think about it.
Quote from: MarcusA on June 29, 2023, 07:28:17 AMYou don't need a religion or tribe to be soulful.
Statements without arguments are showing your lack of I Q.
You are proving to be a useless interlocutor.
Best to ignore me, stupid.
Regards
DL
Quote from: Gnostic Christian Bishop on June 29, 2023, 04:13:07 PMQuote from: MarcusA on June 29, 2023, 07:28:17 AMYou don't need a religion or tribe to be soulful.
Statements without arguments are showing your lack of I Q.
You are proving to be a useless interlocutor.
Best to ignore me, stupid.
Regards
DL
Very soulful. lol
Quote from: Gnostic Christian Bishop on June 29, 2023, 04:13:07 PMQuote from: MarcusA on June 29, 2023, 07:28:17 AMYou don't need a religion or tribe to be soulful.
Statements without arguments are showing your lack of I Q.
You are proving to be a useless interlocutor.
Best to ignore me, stupid.
Regards
DL
You've had a time out already. It appears that you didn't learn from that. 60 days off.
DL, what sources do you use beside the gospel of thomas?
Quote from: MarcusA on May 27, 2023, 04:54:42 AMI think not, which is not to say that they do not exist. Religion is mere superstition, instead of reason, and suspicion, instead of love, to me.
Sure God Loves the humans and wants to redeem all of them
Quote from: MarcusA on May 29, 2023, 12:53:57 AMIs religion just good politics?
If your sole object in life is power, it is.
The Life of The Father with His Family.
Quote from: MarcusA on May 31, 2023, 01:11:27 AMThere is no such thing as a just religion.
Just a "just" God.
Quote from: The Magic Pudding. on May 31, 2023, 12:27:08 PMQuoteDoes religion have any redeeming qualities?
Of course.
X is bad, he uses it to justify his evil deeds
Y is good, it helps her going through the vicissitudes.
At least you started positive.
Quote from: Asmodean on May 30, 2023, 02:03:00 PMthough redeeming from what?
From humanity of course.
Quote from: Gnostic Christian Bishop on June 29, 2023, 04:13:07 PMQuote from: MarcusA on June 29, 2023, 07:28:17 AMYou don't need a religion or tribe to be soulful.
Statements without arguments are showing your lack of I Q.
You are proving to be a useless interlocutor.
Best to ignore me, stupid.
Regards
DL
When we perceive someone as stupid it is not his mistake. But our perception.
Quote from: MarcusA on May 31, 2023, 01:11:27 AMThere is no such thing as a just religion.
Quote from: MarcusA on June 01, 2023, 12:03:22 AMThe pacifist allows evil to prevail.
The just speaks to the evil.
^ another crackpot fanatic with a narrow;y focused vocabulary.
:violin:
Quote from: Icarus on September 05, 2023, 12:46:06 AM^ another crackpot fanatic with a narrow;y focused vocabulary.
:violin:
It is terrifying the damage religions do to humanity :(
i dont think the religion did the damage. i think it is likelier thatwhat have is a nutcase who is using religion to act out the nuttiness.
doesnt change the end product tho.
Quote from: Johan Abrahams on September 04, 2023, 11:03:21 AMQuote from: Asmodean on May 30, 2023, 02:03:00 PMthough redeeming from what?
From humanity of course.
How does you never getting hit by a falling ladder because of your superstitious concern about being beneath one redeem said superstition from humanity?
^ Does that superstition also exist in Norway? I imagined that it was only an American thing. We also have bad luck when breaking a mirror, spilling salt, Friday the 13th, black cats to avoid, and more.
Farting in church is also to be avoided but that is not an outright superstition. At the very least,farts need to be silent ones.
Quote from: Icarus on September 06, 2023, 11:52:05 PM^ Does that superstition also exist in Norway? I imagined that it was only an American thing. We also have bad luck when breaking a mirror, spilling salt, Friday the 13th, black cats to avoid, and more.
Yes and no. All those superstitions "exist" here, but you will be hard-pressed to find a person willing to admit that they hold them. I think the mirror one is probably the more common - I don't take any of them seriously though, so limited knowledge.
QuoteFarting in church is also to be avoided but that is not an outright superstition. At the very least,farts need to be silent ones.
:lol: Now this one, I was not previously aware of.
Hmm... Does God
poop?