Well... no country really does, though.Rob Houghton wrote:Even though most Western countries don't follow them!
Fair enough.Daisy wrote:It is who the baby grew up to be that matters to millions of people, Sunskriti.
Well... no country really does, though.Rob Houghton wrote:Even though most Western countries don't follow them!
Fair enough.Daisy wrote:It is who the baby grew up to be that matters to millions of people, Sunskriti.
I agree - no one does - which makes Religion (with a capital 'R') pointless and meaningless. The countries who supposedly are big on religion are usually also big on power and big on wars.Darrell71 wrote:Well... no country really does, though.Rob Houghton wrote:Even though most Western countries don't follow them!
It's a bit hard arguing with people who claim that their God has told them to do this or that...Rob Houghton wrote:
I agree - no one does - which makes Religion (with a capital 'R') pointless and meaningless. The countries who supposedly are big on religion are usually also big on power and big on wars.
Exactly Daisy..Daisy wrote:It is who the baby grew up to be that matters to millions of people, Sunskriti.
This is the most unfortunate thing I should say. If we all followed what our religion really told us, I believe the world would be quite different. But sadly many times we forget what God teaches us. (This includes all other religions too)Rob Houghton wrote:Even though most Western countries don't follow them!
Exactly! I wish people could stop using the name of their religion to do the things that are not moral. But if we analyse individually and the religion itself, religion is not meaningless but something very powerful. (Although for example, I think that if Jesus came to live again, he would be very much disappointed, and I guess so would be the founders of other religions)Rob Houghton wrote:I agree - no one does - which makes Religion (with a capital 'R') pointless and meaningless. The countries who supposedly are big on religion are usually also big on power and big on wars.Darrell71 wrote:Well... no country really does, though.Rob Houghton wrote:Even though most Western countries don't follow them!
I'm all for people having beliefs and observing them quietly, but as soon as a country declares itself 'Christian' etc and then threatens to bomb another country, Religion is deemed a farce.
Yes totally agree.Darrell71 wrote:It definitely should be a no no. I think there are quite a few religious folks here, and I, for one, tend to speak my mind. And that in turn tends to offend religious people usually.
But I think I was the one who started that conversation anyway, so sorry about that guys. Peace out.
Its complicated. I guess the short answer is 'yes' - but lets not forget that pagans were celebrating Saturnalia - based around the god of fertility and harvest - long before Christians took over the date. Saturnalia lasted from 17 Dec till 23 Dec - but Christmas was planted at the end of that period in order to encourage pagans to switch over to being Christian. Most Christmas traditions grew out of the pagan festivities.Machupicchu14 wrote:(But then, isn't Christmas a religious festival? )
Absolutely. I've never had a religion, except for a very short period in my life when I had no idea what to think and just went with the flow. But Christmas, and a few other festivals, have been very important to me because they (at least for the most part), spread a lot of goodwill around, and anything that does that deserves to be celebrated, in my opinion.Rob Houghton wrote: [...] but mostly a time to remember loved ones, give gifts, and show appreciation of others. These are the most important aspects of Christmas to me, whether religiously observed or not.
Hinduism doesn't really have a founder of sorts, but I'd say this is true for Hindus as well. Just a few days ago there was communal violence and caste based rioting in my city. That too on the death anniversary of an important, highly respectable person. Absolute disgrace to the city and the people.Machupicchu14 wrote: (Although for example, I think that if Jesus came to live again, he would be very much disappointed, and I guess so would be the founders of other religions)
When I read things like this I realize just how unsuited I am to belong to any one religion, and thank my stars repeatedly that I was born into an environment where I could choose to be an atheist. While what you say is absolutely true, the mere thought of following something written in a book makes me shudder. Whatever I do I prefer to do on my own terms. Like I understand that you would follow your religion because it preaches of good things, but parts like "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, because it is an abomination." really tick me off because I can't imagine listening to something written thousands of years ago and basing my opinions off of that. But I suppose it's just me.Machupicchu14 wrote: If we all followed what our religion really told us, I believe the world would be quite different.
Well I guess we might not take things literally from the sacred scriptures, but rather give it our own understanding based on the time we love in, ourselves and our beliefs. Because mainly, what they try to teach us is nothing more than peace, justice, love and morality.Darrell71 wrote:
When I read things like this I realize just how unsuited I am to belong to any one religion, and thank my stars repeatedly that I was born into an environment where I could choose to be an atheist. While what you say is absolutely true, the mere thought of following something written in a book makes me shudder. Whatever I do I prefer to do on my own terms. Like I understand that you would follow your religion because it preaches of good things, but parts like "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind, because it is an abomination." really tick me off because I can't imagine listening to something written thousands of years ago and basing my opinions off of that. But I suppose it's just me.Machupicchu14 wrote: If we all followed what our religion really told us, I believe the world would be quite different.
Yes definitely.. I totally agreeDarrell71 wrote:Absolutely. I've never had a religion, except for a very short period in my life when I had no idea what to think and just went with the flow. But Christmas, and a few other festivals, have been very important to me because they (at least for the most part), spread a lot of goodwill around, and anything that does that deserves to be celebrated, in my opinion.Rob Houghton wrote: [...] but mostly a time to remember loved ones, give gifts, and show appreciation of others. These are the most important aspects of Christmas to me, whether religiously observed or not.