Religion works best against the weak-minded

[beelzebul]

From what I understand, superstition were made to fill the gaps. And superstition were turned into religion by men who wanted power. They use religion to control other people through fear. And religion works best against the weak-minded who don't have the guts to accept reality for what it is.

What do you think?

[My220x]

I to think religion if for those who have no self power or motivation so have to believe in something as crazy as religion to keep themselves going and having something to tell them what to do instead of them having to think for themselves. Mention any Science to a religion person and they will totally dismiss it because it conflicts against God or something, mention that helping others will make you feel better they won't care they only do it because God wants them to, heck if God wanted them to jump of a bridge they would do it.

[DaughterUK]

I must completely disagree with both of you. I am a Christian, and I love Science. The Bible is NOT meant to be treated as a science text book, it is a spiritual book. Those Christians who are rejecting science are actually comitting a sin, they are rejecting truth. Also they are making themselves and their religion look plenty stupid.

God does NOT want people rejecting the truth about his creation, the universe. God is love, and it is against his nature to want people to blindly believe SOMEBODYS LITERALISTIC INTERPRETATION of the Bible as opposed to using logic and realizing that the Bible does not conflict with science.

Think of it this way. There are some people who believe that the universe and our planet was created in seven literal days. What they don't understand is that these 'days' refered to in Genesis are actually ERAS. The ORDER of creation is correct. Lets review a few verses from Genesis (Amplified Bible found at Biblegateway.com)

1 IN THE beginning God (prepared, formed, fashioned, and) created the heavens and the earth.(A)
2 The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.

Doesn't this sound like the creation of stars and planets? The Earth being without form would mean that it had yet to take physical shape. The Spirit of God had written the laws of physics, his law of gravity made stars, and later planets possible. The original 'water' I interpret as being a massive cloud of hydrogen gas (said to be the only element created during the big bang).

6And God said, Let there be a firmament [the expanse of the sky] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters [below] from the waters [above].

7And God made the firmament [the expanse] and separated the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so.

8And God called the firmament Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

So Gods law of gravity gave the planet an atmosphere, and the laws of chemistry and physics separated the liquid ocean from the gaseous sky.

11And God said, Let the earth put forth [tender] vegetation: plants yielding seed and fruit trees yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, each according to its kind, upon the earth. And it was so.

12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed according to their own kinds and trees bearing fruit in which was their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.

13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

Plants came before animals, something else consistent with evolution.

14And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs and tokens [of God's provident care], and [to mark] seasons, days, and years,(C)

15And let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light upon the earth. And it was so.

16And God made the two great lights--the greater light (the sun) to rule the day and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night. He also made the stars.

17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,

18To rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) and He approved it.

19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

The plants had cleaned up the atmosphere, the sun, stars and moon were now clearly visible from the surface of our young planet.

20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly and swarm with living creatures, and let birds fly over the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.

21God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, which the waters brought forth abundantly, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (suitable, admirable) and He approved it.

22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth.

23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

Animals came after the atmosphere was cleaned by the plants.

24And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creeping things, and [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds. And it was so.

25And God made the [wild] beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and domestic animals according to their kinds, and everything that creeps upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good (fitting, pleasant) and He approved it.

Smaller animals evolved into larger ones, carnivorous species would have begun to appear. The number of insects would have exploded in order to pollinate the ever growing number of species of plants.

27So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.(E)

28And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth.

Mankind had arrived, complete with the intelligence necessary to think, to learn, and to create things.

I realize that you probably were not expecting an analysis of Genesis 1, but I am proving to you that the Bible DOES NOT CONTRADICT SCIENCE, if viewed in a certain light.

The purpose of religion is to enlighten us, if we refuse to accept science then we are refusing to use the brain that God gave us and thus denying ourselves a part of the enlightenment which God intends us to have.

[Dixyboy]

I would say the purpose of religion is to make mankind beliave in something. When your down and your have lost everything you still have hope in religion and in a greater good. I know a lot of people who were in trouble and had lost all hope, they turned to religion and got their life back on track. People just need some hope.

[shymaaz]

I don't agree that religion is meant only to use as a shelter by the coward or weak. Religion is something which is based on faith and faith is the base of life. I think everybody lives and thinks revolves around an ideaology and there is something you believe in. I call that belief..religion.