If you can notice, I didn't capitalise god. I'm talking about religion in general.
This is not a religious debate. This is not a debate about proving whether God exists or not. If you think so, then get out.

This question has been in my head for a long while now. Does the man really need god? Or are the Atheists living proof that we don't need faith?

Now don't say it's because science explains everything. I don't really think religion is here to explain something. Isn't god just an idea of good, perfect and just in a disguise?

Also, this isn't about winning or losing a debate. It's comparing opinions to get to a conclusion.

Lemme see your ideas. Or contradict me, whatever.

Considering the amount of Athiests living everywhere, they seem to get along fine. So maybe man doesn't need god.

But there are some extremists who are like "OMG GOD IS SUPA KUL BELEEV IN HIM AND HE WILL GIF U HAPPINESS AND SECRET MYSPACE PAGEZ!!!!!!!!!" who seem to not get along so well as the Athiests, but still get along well.


So maybe man doesn't need god.

You could form an argument that when early civilizations were forming and when man was young, people needed god to set them on a moral track and to answer questions that they could not answer for themselves. Today, our morals are locked and can never be changed and we can answer almost every question that needs answering. Is god still necessary to humans now? No, I would say that in the 21st century that many people have been able to take off the ancient training wheels that is religion. However, I also don't find it necessary to rid the mind of god, humans are perfectly capable without him. The differences in the lives of a believer in god and a non-believer are subtle, to say the least.

@Raffi: You can't determine/define/explain something, if you're taking extremists. Those are the extreme cases, deviations, you know what I mean? You have to take the norms.

@Dragon: Agreed. But isn't the religion the one who shaped our morals and culture?

Also, I've talked to lots of religious people, asking them the reason they believe. They say the prayers make them feel relief, better and safer. Because life isn't always easy. =/

Quote from Mantha

@Raffi: You can't determine/define/explain something, if you're taking extremists. Those are the extreme cases, deviations, you know what I mean? You have to take the norms.

Meh, I'm not much of a debater, at least to those who can.

A quote by Douglas Adams says it all:
"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?"



Many people say that science sucks all the beauty and magesty out of life, that constantly trying to figure everything out makes things less grand. But isn't a sunset just as beautiful if you know what makes it so beautiful? In fact, many scientists find beauty in the apparent complexity of the universe.

Yet another quote may help here, this one by Carl Sagan:

"In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, 'This is better than we thought! The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said, grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed'? Instead they say, 'No, no, no! My god is a little god, and I want him to stay that way.' "

No religion has ever furthered our understanding of quantum mechanics, light refraction, time dilation, or relativity. How many religions can vouch for the accuracy and reliability of science? The mere fact that you must throw out or refine (change) a theory in science while religion states that you must not change it is a sure indicator of the worth of each.




Now, another common argument is that religion gives people hope.

Many times I have seen people who call themselves atheists and their explantion is that they are angry at God for a tragedy in their life. Even worse, some people commit suicide to "get back" at God. Some people say that the reason they commit some crimes is that they "Are already going to hell".

We are nothing special. Really. There are probably other forms of life, some like us, some very different, out in the universe. Our star is very average, our planet small. See this pale blue dot? That's us. That's the Earth.



Look at a star tonight. Imagine that there are little men with infrared skin and ultraviolet eye cells looking through a oddly-shaped telescope at that little star in their night sky, our sun. Do they think that they are as unique, as special as we think we are? Do they have a God that seems to have made only them and no other life forms? Did they have a little infrared-colored man who died on a 6-shaped peice of wood to save them from eternal damnation?

How special are we? Not at all, or at least not according to science.

Does this impersonal view mean that science is wrong? Is it wrong simply because it's unpleasant? Is it unpleasant?

I say to HELL with religion. I've been happier as an atheist than I ever was as a Christian. I've felt more free than ever. We have billions, no, TRILLIONS of stars to explore during the span of our existance. Are we going to let something as trivial as a book keep us grounded, waiting for an apocalypse that may never happen? Or are we going to reach out, both physically and intellectually, touch the stars that the Chinese tried to get a closer look at by building towers?

Okay, I think you've missed the point a bit. This isn't a comparison between science and religion, which is better and which should be abandoned. There are extremes everywhere.

Well of course scientific researches help the man, we have progress, we have a better life, etc. Have you read my first post? It's from the moral point of view. Also, you're taking the Bible literally. Which isn't supposed to be done. Even I know that, despite the fact I'm not religious.

If you're an Atheist, that's great. But do you believe in beauty, perfection, good in the world? Of course you do, you just don't call it "god".

That's what the point of the thread is. I suggest re-reading.

Now, I understand perfectly. I'm saying that we don't need God because it doesn't do anything for us. Here, I'll adjust it to the subject of morality.


Imagine for a moment that religion is completely the invention of man. All the morals that were put in a religious text are the product of the writers. They wanted people acting in the way that seemed just. They wouldn't have needed divine influence to come up with these morals.

You see, there's a trait that humans have, one that people have a tendancy to forget about in debates about whether we need religion or a god to give us our morals. It is defined as "Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives." This doesn't require supernatural influence: we have it because it helped us to learn from others mistakes as well as our own.

It is empathy, and it is the emotion, the psycological characteristic that drives civilization.

Quote from E=mc_cubed

We do need God...

Sick of atheists.. Sick of these self-aggrandizing pricks flaunting their bogus theory.

you started the thread.

Hey. You. E=mc_cubed. Instead of just asserting that atheists are wrong, how about you actually put forth an argument on the subject? If you aren't going to actually debate, LEAVE THE DEBATE SECTION. After all, that's why we're here. TO DEBATE. Not to say "NEENER NEENER NEENER, atheists are WRONG!!!!"

Imbecile.

Quote from E=mc_cubed

We do need God...

Sick of atheists.. Sick of these self-aggrandizing pricks flaunting their bogus theory.

We don't need god...

Sick of Christians.. Sick of all these self-aggrandizing pricks flaunting their bogus "lord".

Humans are naturally spiritual. Does that require organized religion? Not really.

Almost since the beginning of time, humans have had their idea of a higher presence.

Quote from E=mc_cubed

We do need God...

Sick of atheists.. Sick of these self-aggrandizing pricks flaunting their bogus theory.

Atheists don't have a theory, therefore atheists can not flaunt it, nor is it bogus.

Quote from Dudeman.

Humans are naturally spiritual. Does that require organized religion? Not really.

Almost since the beginning of time, humans have had their idea of a higher presence.

This is an interesting point. Mind elaborating? (I've always wanted to say that olollo)

Also, e=mc_cubed, read the stickies for debating or something. Or simply leave.

Well, all you have to do is look at history. Since the human mind has developed, humans have naturally been drawn to the idea of god/gods/spirits. Even if they are primitive