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Post by Victim ~*of *~Circumstances on May 24, 2008 8:12:51 GMT -5
^Just so you know, there are Christian minorities in Japan. Also, I don't think religion has anything to do with it. Japan has that "for the greater good of the country/people" mentality which is why they strive to be the best.
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Post by beautyfr.pain on May 24, 2008 10:43:09 GMT -5
Oh, and beautyfrpain, do you question the teaching to question teachings? I question the teaching of NOT questioning teachings. >D I hope that makes sense. @bagpipeturtles: LOL!
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Post by username on May 24, 2008 13:30:42 GMT -5
But one major thing nobody mentioned is the fact that these countries show how faith and religion are not at all necessary for an ethical society. A lot of people claim that without religion we would have lax morals. This clearly shows that isn't true.
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Post by wiiboy on May 24, 2008 13:47:37 GMT -5
^Just so you know, there are Christian minorities in Japan. Also, I don't think religion has anything to do with it. Japan has that "for the greater good of the country/people" mentality which is why they strive to be the best. Religion brings a person down, if you do not believe that. Then go debate with some of the scholars over at AnonTalk. They have threads like this everyday and all of the debaters are quite reasonable and correct.
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Zenjamin
Ba Sing Se Zuko
Toko supporter
Posts: 2,617
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Post by Zenjamin on May 24, 2008 14:40:55 GMT -5
You know really annoys me? When people post things after what I posted, taht can be contradiced if they just read and thought about my post.
let me sum it up religion is a broad term and means nothing because of it. Faith and spirituality are the issues here. Faith in one ideology/culture/way of life blinds you to alternatives, and makes you a tool to be used. the consumerist culture can replace spirituality, and affiliate itself with faith. this lack of spiritual vacuum creates a longing for a sense of purpose in some(which has been shown to lead to violence) and a defensive need to hold onto their way of life for others(which has also been shown to create violence.)
the polls show that much of america believes in a higher power, which is irrelevant, as it is apart of the culture to say, and such responses can be conditioned by semantics.
What IS significant, is that we have no sense of tradition or community. and we do not strive to make things better for our fellow countrymen or our unborn children.
Is this the fault of religion? No, and if you think it is, they you have only thought about the issue enough to make it LOOK like you know what your talking about. The closest thing to "religion vs atheism" at work in america's moral decay is "faith vs spirituality". However, even that can not be separated from the new Neo-Conservative movement, or the unstable consumerist culture that no longer sells things, but rather a way of life to fill the spiritual vacuum and give a sense of purpose.
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Post by pennyxdreadful on May 24, 2008 19:21:01 GMT -5
^Just so you know, there are Christian minorities in Japan. Also, I don't think religion has anything to do with it. Japan has that "for the greater good of the country/people" mentality which is why they strive to be the best. Religion brings a person down, if you do not believe that. Then go debate with some of the scholars over at AnonTalk. They have threads like this everyday and all of the debaters are quite reasonable and correct. That isn't debate then, that's lecturing... and very inaccurate. It might be true if we were all the same person, with the same thoughts and needs and desires. Seeing as we're not, it's easy to conclude that religion does and means many different things to many different people.
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Post by username on May 24, 2008 20:23:15 GMT -5
You know really annoys me? When people post things after what I posted, taht can be contradiced if they just read and thought about my post. You know what really annoys me? When people overestimate the quality and insightfulness of their own post.
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Zenjamin
Ba Sing Se Zuko
Toko supporter
Posts: 2,617
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Post by Zenjamin on May 24, 2008 20:27:09 GMT -5
EXCELLENT!
there we go.
look at my post, please. Pick it apart. contradict what I said.
I may be wrong. I may be a thousand miles off. But if your gonna imply such a thing, take the time to look at it critically.
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Post by sgthydra on May 25, 2008 0:38:23 GMT -5
Religion has nothing to do with intellegence.
Plato believed there was more than one god and no one calls him an idiot.
And conversely you could name a large amount of scientists who are atheists.
I myself am agnostic, I do not doubt the existance of god, only which one is the real one.
Religion is a spiritual belief system about the afterlife. It premotes optimism, community (sometimes...), and compassion (again, sometimes).
It also is very supersicious, usually doesn't like free speech (but then some secular governments didn't like free speech either), and is often bogged down in dogma.
But hey, the Pope recently okayed belief in UFOs.
Religion is a belief in spirituality, compassion, humanity, our origins, and our ultimate end.
Science is the study of the observable universe and is based on experiments, data, and research.
The two aren't even remotely symilar. How could they be connected at all?
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Post by pennyxdreadful on May 25, 2008 0:45:17 GMT -5
Religion has nothing to do with intellegence. Science is the study of the observable universe and is based on experiments, data, and research. The two aren't even remotely symilar. How could they be connected at all? Actually, there are some quantum physics theories that explain a lot of my ideas concerning time and the spiritual plane. Likewise, I have a strong interest in the occult and metaphysics (I use both in relation to my beliefs.). To better understand both areas, I read a lot of materials based on scientific studies. Science can pertain to anything really. Admittedly, I don't think it will ever prove or disprove any religious beliefs, but it does play a big part in a lot of people's spirituality.
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Post by Victim ~*of *~Circumstances on May 25, 2008 1:37:56 GMT -5
Religion brings a person down, if you do not believe that. Then go debate with some of the scholars over at AnonTalk. They have threads like this everyday and all of the debaters are quite reasonable and correct. That isn't debate then, that's lecturing... and very inaccurate. It might be true if we were all the same person, with the same thoughts and needs and desires. Seeing as we're not, it's easy to conclude that religion does and means many different things to many different people. Woah, wait a minute. I'm confused. I was stating that there are Christian minorities in Japan because there are. The person before my post seemed to be implying that there weren't. I was also stating that in my opinion religion has nothing to do with intelligence. Instead, it is the attitude of the people. So what exactly are you picking at in my post?
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Post by pennyxdreadful on May 25, 2008 1:59:52 GMT -5
That isn't debate then, that's lecturing... and very inaccurate. It might be true if we were all the same person, with the same thoughts and needs and desires. Seeing as we're not, it's easy to conclude that religion does and means many different things to many different people. Woah, wait a minute. I'm confused. I was stating that there are Christian minorities in Japan because there are. The person before my post seemed to be implying that there weren't. I was also stating that in my opinion religion has nothing to do with intelligence. Instead, it is the attitude of the people. So what exactly are you picking at in my post? You quoted my post, but can I safely assume you aren't talking to me here? I wasn't replying to your post at all. I was replying to /i/ general who, in response, sent me a very odd, vague little PM.
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Post by Victim ~*of *~Circumstances on May 25, 2008 2:08:52 GMT -5
^Yeah. Ha, my bad. Vague little PM? No offense to him but it sounds like he's a troll. In an effort to stay on topic. Zenj what is this new neo-conservative movement you speak of? I recall something about that in the 60's but at present I don't understand. Has it something to do with the Iraqi war continuing? I've heard John McCain agrees with it.
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historyman12
Fugitive Iroh
IS IT JULY 14TH YET?
Posts: 4,822
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Post by historyman12 on May 25, 2008 10:46:00 GMT -5
@victim of Circumstances: Neo-conservatism. Enemy of 9/11 conspiracy theorists and neo-hippies, and other idiots friend of oil magnates, hicks and other idiots. Well, Japan may have practices that go against various churches' teachings, but they do have an ethical society. And while religion may not be necessary for an ethical society, I still believe that it may aid society's morals, as we don't know the condition of the United States without religion, or Japan with religion. And, as has already proved, Japan's condition may stem from things other than atheism, and *perhaps* they counteract their atheism.
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Post by Victim ~*of *~Circumstances on May 25, 2008 11:31:01 GMT -5
^Wow, thank you. I had no idea there was a name for the reasons why I don't agree with Bush.
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