[Nedusa]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

My emoticons represented a thousand words! The shocked emoticon was to represent my fear for your safety after stating such things. The latter emoticon, because I dream of the world that you imagine in that post. My problem isn't with religion, or the religious, you see... it's more what the entire concept represents. People who are fearful and want to be "told" and "comforted" rather than to think and wonder and just be amazed by the Universe and all of its mystery. And a world where people need a reason, or bribery (heaven) or blackmail (hell) or an instruction manual to be good and moral people instead of just being good and moral people because they want to be and because it is right and fair.

I dream of a world where people don't need a book or preachers or anything other than their own philosophies and imaginations to be good, and to be inspired.


Sadly, I don't think there will ever be a day where that happens entirely. I think mass religion will be around for a long time to come - although I guess maybe not in terms of the entirity of human history. Maybe 500 years? However, I think for as long as there are humans, there will be pockets of religion. Most likely viewed by most as strange cultists. Some people seem to need (completely) that direction and instruction, those predefined safety nets to fall back on. People offering "answers", eternal life and salvation will always be able to find someone to follow them. Because the Universe is too impossibly complex and multi-layered for us humans to ever know or understand... and some people are just not ok with that uncertainty. They want to know, they want an answer, they want "it's God".

Good Reply T.S........you speak a lot of sense, I too think people should take responsibility for their own existance and not look to delegate that responsibilty to people that peddle easy answers or solutions or promises of heavenly comforts.

We are all intelligent enough, evolved enough to understand that,as you say the Universe is multi layered and eternal and as such to assign such a marvellous thing to the work of a "God" is slightly defeatist and insulting to the Universe.

If religion is to survive it has to be transformed into a more of a belief in the cosmos and our place in it , what our place is and how we connect with the Universe and with each other. Not imagining we will all go to a place in the clouds and have all our desires granted where we will live on into eternity with our Creator....???? I mean with repect that is a lot of nonsense isn't it ?

I'm not anti religion per se but have issues with organised beliefs that connect us and control us more through a sense of fear and dread of the unknown.