Forums → WEPR → Future of Religion

Also I think it unusual how some people think that somehow education and religion = cannot be. I don't see why a priest cannot be a general relativity scholar or why an atheist cannot be a theological scholar.

In Burma post British colonization; students attended schools in Buddhist temples and were taught by monks, this tradition continues but it is not as strong because the British removed it as a law.

Many monks from Burma are now making their way to universities in the United States to earn degrees and and other sorts of education. Since colleges are the grounds of which many new thoughts appear this will probably have a large sway on how things go in the future.

HahiHa

Thanks for the replay and the.link

As for me, I'd be glad to see religion on the same stage as bookreading clubs or ropeplay clubs. Nothing special, just social activity.
There is nothing in this world that should be worth killing someone else.

Also I think it unusual how some people think that somehow education and religion = cannot be.

[...] not all because religion can always argue that science can't explain god which is logical

I saw an incredible man , actually a priest saying that religion shouldn't be taught or showned the way its nowdays , all the people have to go by themselves and not cause other people tell them to or because certain group of people think its the right thing , and also another woman said that since faith is believing without seeing , in which show she said that she wasnt a fool to belive such thing , i dont believe in god or any gods in religion matter , but saying what the woma nsaid was kinda rude , but since in the show they were pointing out facst about believing or not in religon its ok

The future of mainstream Religions hinge on a few matters... but here are two I can think of:

Can it change with the times?
Many religious groups, under the name of God (or equivalent) have stifled scientific development, or have attempted to intervene with decisions that would help advance society, treating religious texts and doctrines as the truth and refusing to see the facts before their eyes or will twist facts to match their ideals. Ken Ham, here's looking at you...

But then you have those who help, those of whom have adapted their faith to changing times, just a few centuries ago with the great Isaac Newton, whom had sought to prove God through mathematics and science. In doing so, revolutionized Science and Math as we see it today. In recent times, we've seen religious organizations beginning to pull back their views on evolution, or on Homosexuality.

Can they work together?

A singular religion may never come to pass, so they must look at each other and say "I may not have your views on the Heavens, but we seek the same goal, peace."

They may never come to truly understand one another, and so conflict will continue until this acknowledged. Should wars, terrorism, and hatred proceed as they have, many will lose faith in what Religion has to offer. A sanctuary or bastion of hope can only go so far as long as they continue to fight.

Understanding and Adaptation, these two subjects are important for the continuation of faith in any form. If it fails to move in the right direction Religion as we view it today will become a seldom sight within about three to four hundred years, if not sooner. Eventually people stopped believing in Greek, Norse, and Roman Gods, who is to say that the same won't happen again?

These are my opinions on the future of Religion, and do not represent pure and true facts. Many will hold their own opinions on this matter, and, as a wise man once said, "It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought, without accepting it".

Which part are you saying is logical?

Well, I can find some logic here. If there was an all mighty being (which is impossible and illogical) which created all and there by logic wouldn't it be able to bend logic as it wish? So it could bend the work of regular laws and logic not to be true in his realm. If such a being exists or ever did.

Another thing I don't understand is how some people think God and Science = cannot be.

Seriously it's like chasing someone on a marry go round. Why is a divine entity that created the world be limited to only magical things. Why couldn't a divine entity have created DNA (which "they" did in the logic that there is a divine creator).

For argument sake lets say there is a Divine Creator. We will call him "Alpha".
Lets say "Alpha" had the knowledge to create "artificial" worlds and some how had the ability to create them. What is to stop Alpha from doing so? There is nothing to stop him from creating worlds.

Okay that may not have made a lot of sense for some people but that's okay. Let's use Halo as an example next.

In Halo there are "Forerunners" a race of beings that took it upon themselves to guard all life. They have the ability to destroy and make entire worlds through extremely advanced technology. They looked over entire systems and look at their progress and record them, if necessary they will also intervene if there is a great calamity on a world. The Forerunners are also capable of creating sentient Artificial Intelligence. This is all within reason, it is not magic, it is all possible through vast knowledge.

Before the "Forerunners" there is another race called the "Precursors". They are as you would expect more advanced than the Forerunners. They are able to do everything the Forerunners have done and also have the ability to change lifeforms as they so please and accelerate their evolution.

What being would be higher than the "Precursors"? Exactly.

Religion if anything has progressed humanity, the first constructs ever created by our ancestors were temples and other sacred sites. The Popes of old funded projects to create universities all across Europe (Oxford, University of Paris, Etc). Gandhi, Martin Luther, Father Georges Lemaître (Big Bang theory), Father Gregor Mendel (Genes and Evolution), the list goes on.

Has religion caused deadly tension in the past? Of course.
Has science caused deadly tension in the past? Yes it has, don't deny it. Look at the periodic table. How many people, how many terrorists look at the periodic table to create bombs?

We are not playing ring around the rosy. We are not here to go back and forth at each other saying religion did this or atheists did that.

I will restate the previous comment, saying stuff like this is just fuel for which radical zealots feed off of. All you're doing is calling one side stupid or blind or whatever.

Another thing I don't understand is how some people think God and Science = cannot be.

Before the "Forerunners" there is another race called the "Precursors".

What being would be higher than the "Precursors"? Exactly.

Has religion caused deadly tension in the past? Of course.
Has science caused deadly tension in the past? Yes it has, don't deny it. Look at the periodic table. How many people, how many terrorists look at the periodic table to create bombs?

To sum it up, people don't look at the periodic table, locate nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and decide to make a bomb to blow things up.

How many people, how many terrorists look at the periodic table to create bombs?

Does bullet kill, or do people kill?

Has science caused deadly tension in the past? Yes it has, don't deny it. Look at the periodic table. How many people, how many terrorists look at the periodic table to create bombs?

Okay, some of you don't see the picture I'm trying to paint. Let me put it in another way.

Nazi scientist did experiments on live humans in terrible ways for science (more specifically the advancement of science). That doesn't make science in itself a bad thing though.

To make things even more clear, the Nazi scientist 'had' to do what they did for science to distinguish themselves, they put in long hours of dedication to their craft and they got titles for this and that, they had to read from textbooks (let me remind you that some things they tried to pull were illogical to start with), write notes, memorize, rewrite, share with others, and etc. Sounds familiar doesn't it? A divine entity does not need a group of followers (for arguments sake go with it), a divine entity does not need someone to do this or that. If you wanted to you can just have their symbol (many people wear crosses and are not religious) just because, you can learn about them just for fun.

It's not fair for religious people to always be pushed around. I always see an idiot zealot on youtube comments or whatever preaching this and that and then being bashed on by a thousand people and then looking at an authentic and well thought out response with the best interest in mind and still have it be bashed on because zealots don't know any better.

It hurts, it really does hurt to see a member of your group be bashed on when they're just being sincere, it hurts to see a member of your group be so wrong and alone and not have any means of helping them. Doesn't matter what group, what faction, it hurts and it's not fair.

I'm not saying that anyone in this thread is doing this, I'm just saying don't make that mistake.

Well, if Nazi medical experiments are really the only example to be thought of as science causing terror-like harm, then the case against it isn't strong. These scientists did it no more for science than anyone else. They did it because of their racial theories, or their sadistic whims, or their power-hungry tendencies.

It isn't unfair in any way that scientists who carry out such monstrous things are fettered whilst religious people who do the same are vilified, because the former were recognised only by their equally brutal sponsors. You hardly hear a sane voice in their favour these days.
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I don't see it that way. The future of religion will be, and already is a bumpy and rough one simply because increasing number of people have opened their eyes to the rubbish that organised religion has shoveled down their throats for years, coupled with real discrimination. There is going to be anger and vitriol.

Is it fair for individual members of religion to be targeted and bullied? No to bullying, but criticism? Yes. Is it fair to make religion the target of mockery, satire and disdain? Yes.

If there was an all mighty being (which is impossible and illogical) which created all and there by logic wouldn't it be able to bend logic as it wish? So it could bend the work of regular laws and logic not to be true in his realm.

Why is a divine entity that created the world be limited to only magical things.

For argument sake lets say there is a Divine Creator. We will call him "Alpha".
Lets say "Alpha" had the knowledge to create "artificial" worlds and some how had the ability to create them. What is to stop Alpha from doing so? There is nothing to stop him from creating worlds.

In Halo there are "Forerunners" a race of beings that took it upon themselves to guard all life. They have the ability to destroy and make entire worlds through extremely advanced technology. They looked over entire systems and look at their progress and record them, if necessary they will also intervene if there is a great calamity on a world. The Forerunners are also capable of creating sentient Artificial Intelligence. This is all within reason, it is not magic, it is all possible through vast knowledge.

Before the "Forerunners" there is another race called the "Precursors". They are as you would expect more advanced than the Forerunners. They are able to do everything the Forerunners have done and also have the ability to change lifeforms as they so please and accelerate their evolution.

What being would be higher than the "Precursors"?

[...] the first constructs ever created by our ancestors were temples and other sacred sites.

The Popes of old funded projects to create universities all across Europe (Oxford, University of Paris, Etc).

Has science caused deadly tension in the past? Yes it has, don't deny it. Look at the periodic table. How many people, how many terrorists look at the periodic table to create bombs?

A divine entity does not need a group of followers (for arguments sake go with it), a divine entity does not need someone to do this or that. If you wanted to you can just have their symbol (many people wear crosses and are not religious) just because, you can learn about them just for fun.