Are there any differences between having a religion and going to church, to a cult?

the_syco

Deusexmachina wrote: »

Yes there must be a why. The alternative is absurd.

Science experiment. Similar to a petri dish. Time is irrelevant.

Deusexmachina

the_syco wrote: »

Science experiment. Similar to a petri dish. Time is irrelevant.

Who is running the experiment?

Charmeleon

‘Keep holy the Sabbath’ was probably the first pro-worker labour law.

HappyAsLarE

Charmeleon wrote: »

‘Keep holy the Sabbath’ was probably the first pro-worker labour law.

Indeed! But we don’t need religious teachings in these modern times, somehow children are just born with these values. As if.

Oldtree

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

Indeed! But we don’t need religious teachings in these modern times, somehow children are just born with these values. As if.

Well... yes children are born good. And their parents teach them how to behave properly. That religious teachings make a good person is a well proven fallacy, religious teachings make good pedophiles is well proven fact.

DickSwiveller

Yawn, another anti-Catholic thread, full of atheist bores regurgitating the same inane crap. Make a similar thread about Islam. Should be interesting.

falinn merking

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Yawn, another anti-Catholic thread, full of atheist bores regurgitating the same inane crap. Make a similar thread about Islam. Should be interesting.

Look at page 2 and 3 I trolled them.

And yes I totally agree.

Hector Bellend

I love Atheists and all of their smug self importance

DickSwiveller

Hector Bellend wrote: »

I love Atheists and all of their smug self importance

They really are an arrogant lot. Even Einstein recognised this:

"You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being".

Oldtree

DickSwiveller wrote: »

They really are an arrogant lot. Even Einstein recognised this:

"You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being".

Blah blah blah

Grayson

Verpiss dich wrote: »

I have a problem with anybody who has a problem with these.

Strangely Muslims follow the 10 commandments.

I'm an atheist who thinks they're bollox.

Now you'e left trying to figure out who you dislike more, atheists or muslims.

Grayson

DickSwiveller wrote: »

They really are an arrogant lot. Even Einstein recognised this:

"You may call me an agnostic, but I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist whose fervor is mostly due to a painful act of liberation from the fetters of religious indoctrination received in youth. I prefer an attitude of humility corresponding to the weakness of our intellectual understanding of nature and of our own being".

You dropped the first line of that quote. "I have repeatedly said that in my opinion the idea of a personal god is a childlike one. "

falinn merking

Grayson wrote: »

Strangely Muslims follow the 10 commandments.

I'm an atheist who thinks they're bollox.

Now you'e left trying to figure out who you dislike more, atheists or muslims.

Pretty sure killing people in terror attacks in the Name of Islam is Murder.

I have plenty of dislike for Islam and Atheists but strangely enough Muslims hate Atheists so I suppose I have some common ground with the Muslims.:D

Andy From Sligo

Ipso wrote: »

Why do you need religion to have morals?

you definately dont ... i'm living proof

Andy From Sligo

Verpiss dich wrote: »

The Bible does teach morals.

Look at what we have without it.
Somebody is injured or killed the first thing most people do is whip out their phone to stick it on social media.

not everyone does ... not even most

- and those that do could also be the ones to slow down as they go past a fatal road traffic accident just to be nosy and see the gore - or maybe some do it for the 'fame' aspect ...

BalcombeSt4

I was in several Cults back in the 60s & 70s both as a follower & as a leader. You have more fun as a follower but you make more money as a leader.

Koala Sunshine

DickSwiveller wrote: »

Yawn, another anti-Catholic thread, full of atheist bores regurgitating the same inane crap. Make a similar thread about Islam. Should be interesting.

Islam is just as nonsensical as Catholicism.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

HappyAsLarE wrote: »

Indeed! But we don’t need religious teachings in these modern times, somehow children are just born with these values. As if.

Are you implying that athiest parents are incapable of instilling morals and ethics on their children?

pauldla

Deusexmachina wrote: »

Wheety wrote: »

That's a ridiculous question. You're asking why the universe exists?

Do you think there has to be a why?

Yes there must be a why. The alternative is absurd.

It’d be interesting to see why ‘no why’ is more absurd than the narrative provided by Christianity.

Deusexmachina

pauldla wrote: »

It’d be interesting to see why ‘no why’ is more absurd than the narrative provided by Christianity.

That’s not the comparison I made. If you had bothered to read my post, you would have see that I wrote that there must be a reason for existence, for the Universe.
I also said that neither science or religion have any credible answers to this.

IIGeminiII

Organised religion is a cult. But so are most other socially acceptable common interests [including atheism].

Most common interests (particularly those that are commercially derived) are cult like, be they television viewing habits, inflections of speech, family traditions, a person's unquestioning commitment to law and order etc.

I have never been religious, but the current orthodoxy of 'progressive', secular materialism is as much a cult as anything else.

Deusexmachina

IIGeminiII wrote: »

Organised religion is a cult. But so are most other socially acceptable common interests [including atheism].

Most common interests (particularly those that are commercially derived) are cult like, be they television viewing habits, inflections of speech, family traditions, a person's unquestioning commitment to law and order etc.

I have never been religious, but the current orthodoxy of 'progressive', secular materialism is as much a cult as anything else.

I am not sure 'television viewing habits' etc are cult like - that diminishes the term so much that it loses any real meaning.

However, I totally agree about the cult like behaviour regarding progressine secular materialism. Examples include celebrity driven movements like 'me too', the elevation of gender identity politics to the extreme (eg the new pronouns), diversity and inclusion overriding common sense and fairness and decency, Trump proving truth is optional and that fame is more important than morality in the new world order.
There are many cults emerging - and more dangerous and divisive than Christianity. We should be careful what we wish for.

HappyAsLarE

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Are you implying that athiest parents are incapable of instilling morals and ethics on their children?

No. I am saying that we shouldn’t dismiss the genesis of said morals and ethics.

pauldla

Deusexmachina wrote: »

pauldla wrote: »

It’d be interesting to see why ‘no why’ is more absurd than the narrative provided by Christianity.

That’s not the comparison I made. If you had bothered to read my post, you would have see that I wrote that there must be a reason for existence, for the Universe.
I also said that neither science or religion have any credible answers to this.

Yes, I did ‘bother’ to read the two short sentences you posted. I quoted them in my response. Let me reproduce them here again:

“Yes there must be a why. The alternative is absurd.”

So, I consider that my question still stands unanswered. Presuming you subscribe to a broadly Christian theology (a reasonable enough presumption on this forum, though please correct me if I am wrong), can you explain why it is less absurd than ‘no why’?

Guy:Incognito

Berserker wrote: »

Or it may be the case that a cure for cancer may be found whilst helping Steve deal with his tumour?


.

We wouldn't need a cure for cancer if God didn't give it to people in the first place...............

banie01

I once heard somewhere that the difference between a cult and religion is fairly straightforward.

In a cult, there is always someone at the top who knows that the whole spiel is a pile of BS.
The gain followers by promising a better life in their hereafter(be it reached thru death or a spaceship) and the head of the cult profits in the here and now.

Whereas in a religion that someone is already dead.

DickSwiveller

I don't know what the obsession with religion is anyway. There are far more extreme 'cults' whatever that mean. What about English football? The adherents to that religion are far more fanatical than any religious person I know.

Hotblack Desiato

We don't have a constitution that obliges us to worship football though, and football clubs don't run schools. Parents don't sign up babies as football supporters in the hope it'll make it easier for them to get into the local school. Etc etc

DickSwiveller

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

We don't have a constitution that obliges us to worship football though, and football clubs don't run schools. Parents don't sign up babies as football supporters in the hope it'll make it easier for them to get into the local school. Etc etc

I don't see how that's relevant to the original question or my point.

Hotblack Desiato

You say that football is more extreme than a cult, while completely ignoring the huge influence religion still has on this country.