Religion, A Benefit To Mankind? Or Not?

[jomifl]

Would mankind now be better off had religion not been invented? supporting reasons for your opinion can be as controversial as you think the AB thought police will allow.

[jomifl]

xerus, /The drummer had no cymbals!/ and that proves the existence of god.....?

[modeller]

xerus
Anyone and any group who is ' willing ' can be hypnotised. !
And people who go along to these types of events are highly receptive .
I have used hypnotism for years and found that religious people were very receptive . I believe that religious belief is a form of hypnosis and therefore any challenging suggestion is resisted in the mind.
A bit like using hypnosis to give up smoking , it wont work without the
cooperation of the recipient but the reverse is very true and the bigger the group the more mass response you get. You see this again and again at pop concerts. Your ' open heaven' event is an example of mass expectation .

[TWR]

A lot get Relief in the belief of God Jomifl, religion by some is an excuse to commit evil.

[Khandro]

jomifl; Having studied the various contributions to your OP, are you going to give us your findings soon ? -- completely unbiased of course :-)

[jomifl]

Well Khandro, my first opinion is that you choice of the Taj Mahal as a icon of religious zeal is a bit off the mark since it was built as a memorial to a dead wife. The artisans who actually created it had their eyes gouged out so that they couldn't create it's like again..
The spate of mediaeval cathedral building was more vanity architecture than anything, oh and reserving a place in heaven naturally.
Anyway this thread isn't about my opinions but those of the contributors.

[Khandro]

jomifl; Ref. Taj Mahal please see; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal and look under 'Myths'. Having taken 20,000 workers from all parts of India and beyond, the sheer logistics of them having all their eyeballs gouged out would be something of a feat.
Going off the title of your topic, I naively thought you were seeking enlightenment on a subject of which you were uncertain. :-)

[joko]

people citing music, the arts and building etc as a reason, no i that would have happened anyway - people would have still expressed these things just with a different themes. thing would not have looked the same but how do we know they wouldnt have been even more wonderful?

problem with a lot of it also, it may be beautuful but people starved while monet was spent on cathedrals etc.

[jomifl]

Khandro, a couple of points, firstly I asked for opinions, since nobody could possibly know how mankind would have fared without religion and secondly I did not claim that all the construction workers on the Taj Mahal had their eyes gouged out.
As a side issue it is surprising that a country which is allegedly the seat of so much ancient philosophy and wisdom is also the seat of unimagineable wealth and poverty as well as gratuitous violence, rape and murder. Do you think it would be any worse without religion?

[Khandro]

joko; //people starved while money was spent on cathedrals etc.//
Yes, and people still starve while expensive football stadiums are being built - what has that got to do with religion? Is your argument like, If the football stadiums weren't built, the money would go to the poor? and anyway didn't someone once say "For you always have the poor with you?".

birdie; You claim to have read the Koran, didn't you find any good bits in it?
To fully understand the Koran it, (I am told by someone who has read it in four languages), should be best read in Arabic. I am also told that it does not "encourage" violence, but it "sanctions" violence to counter violence. Something the Soviets earlier, then G.W.Bush, the British and other governments just don't "get" about Afghanistan. The soldiers sent in there are seen as violent aggressors to their country, way of life, and religion. Would you too not retaliate in similar circumstances?

[naomi24]

Khandro, the people who construct football stadiums don’t claim to care about the well-being of their fellow man – or to have the answers to all his problems. A poor analogy.

//I am also told that it [The Koran] does not "encourage" violence, but it "sanctions" violence to counter violence.//

Rather than take someone else’s word for it, why don’t you read it for yourself?

[Khandro]

naomi; Religion isn't necessarily about caring for your fellow man - you don't have to follow a religion to do that. Neither do they claim to have the answers to ALL human problems.

[jomifl]

Khandro , It seems that caring for your fellow man is the least concern of most religions.

[Khandro]

It may not be the least concern of religion, but it isn't the main concern, - that is about personal 'salvation' (or other definitions on different paths).
e.g. A Buddhist Bodhisattva.

En passant; from your previous posting, it's clear that the Indian subcontinent has never been graced by your presence! :-)

[jomifl]

Khandro, India is fairly low on my visit wish list, please tell me why it should be at the top.

[naomi24]

Khandro, //Religion isn't necessarily about caring for your fellow man - you don't have to follow a religion to do that.//

I think you just shot yourself in the foot.

[Khandro]

Foot-shooting! why? Religion does not, and has never had, a monopoly on caring, where do you get that absurd idea from?
Your unfounded attacks against religions seem to get more and more obsessive.

[RATTER15]

Unfounded?!!! you are living in a dream world Khandro.

[naomi24]

Khandro, //Your unfounded attacks against religions seem to get more and more obsessive.//

Never unfounded ….. but careful with the 'obsessive' …. you’re teetering on the brink of resorting to rudeness - again.

//Religion does not, and has never had, a monopoly on caring, where do you get that absurd idea from?//

Well, I know that of course – but ….

// you can't find a single action or deed considered good for humanity that has no links back to religions.//

… and I think I’ve got the gist of what is being implied here …..

//I guess I'll just have to leave you to dwell with your gorilla and chimp social groupings, - there's plenty to choose from :-) ///

[RATTER15]

^^^^^ Brilliant :-)