Posted by bleauberry on May 3, 2010, at 18:10:13
In reply to Religion is a Device, posted by Katzenjam52 on May 2, 2010, at 21:44:32
These are just my convictions, so please see they are completely mine and not intended to sway, convince, or insult anyone else.
I believe religion itself is a deceptive word. Some religions worship physical things, idols, or made-up gods, or wise men. Some say you can come back after death as another animal. All kinds of bizarre stuff.
The bible is indeed filled with wars throughout time. This is not the way Chrisianity. This is the way of man, who is flawed. Even the most devoted Christians are...flesh, die to dust, and while living are flawed, make mistakes, make bad judgements, and sin. They do their best not to, but in vain, since they are imperfect creatures.
I can't speak of other religions because in my opinion they are not valid. Christianity is. Christ did actually live, die, and lives again. He did so in his own words that we "may have life and have it abundantly". Christ does is not a device to distract, but rather a real being who gives purpose and direction to all our questions in life intended to improve our experience of this world.
There is a book written by an athesiest. He set out to prove scientifically that Christianity is not real. In the end, he became a Christian himself. Why? Because all of the physical evidence he discovered in his journeys and research supported every single fact in the bible. Nothing could be unproved. Instead, everything was proved. The exact opposite of what he set out to do. It was also discovered that hardly anything in other religions can be physically proven. They were made up, they didn't really happen.
God gives man free will. You wouldn't want to force someone to like you or be on your team would you? No, you want people to willingly at their choice like you and desire to be with you. It's not right when you force them. It makes them not want to be with you. God is the same way. He wants you more than anything because He gave you your life, but only you can decide whether to accept the relationship or not.
An entire chapter of the bible deals with your very topic in this thread. The basic summary of it is this. All we do in our physical life is in vanity. All we do will be forgotten by those that come after us. Nothing we do will change anything. The rivers still flow and the oceans never fill up. Thousands of years go by, and you and me had zero impact on it. God does give us life to enjoy. He wants us to enjoy the earth and the gifts each person has. But we are not to become engrossed in them. The eye is always on the time when we stand in front of God for judgement. Whether we had a good life, a bad life, a smooth life, a troubled life, poor, rich, whatever...what is important is what we do with the circumstance we have been appointed. Those who reject God choose to reject their own future. And I believe it breaks God's heart when they do make that choice.
So I disagree with the whole premise of the word "religion". Yeah, I guess in its broad term you are correct it is a device that distracts. It distracts from God and it distracts from our purpose in life.
poster:bleauberry
thread:946057
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20090821/msgs/946143.html