The Pledge of Allegiance

[Weltall]

Originally posted by Darunia
"In a world of over six billion people, a huge majority of them practice one religion or another."

[B]I know this--thats why I am ashamed that humanity is so advanced yet still clings to the security blanket of religion. Just like medieval sailors were afraid to sail across the sea for fear of mythological sea monsters, so are people today. As we plot the stars, we'll realize that there are no monsters, and there is no god.

Faith in it's many forms has been around since the dawn of civilization. Are you suggesting that because it's old makes it true...? Religion has been around since the dawn of time, but not Christianity. That being said, according to your faith on time, shouldn't believers of Zeus and Apollo be more credible, since age is so important to credibility? [B] It will never die. It will never even come close. And though neither of us will be around in a few hundred years, that's a promise I can make and die knowing it will be kept. [B] I feel the exact same way about religion dying...[B]

You seem to misunderstand. I did not state any of those facts to try and make my views more credible. I stated them because they are the reason that you're wrong about religion dying. If nothing humanity has experienced so far has destroyed religion, there's nothing left that can. Remember that the things that destroy faith in some only serve to reaffirm it in others. The notion that religion will someday die is laughable. It'll happen the same day humanity gives up sex.

Maybe one day you atheists will give up the immature teenage rebellion and find a faith. [B] There are so many faiths; obviously they can't all be true. The way you talk of "finding a faith" makes it sound as common place as "finding a car" or "getting a new job". You're no smarter than us for lacking faith, you just think differently. You're also no better than brimstone preachers, trying to convert people and telling everyone their beliefs are wrong, with no proof backing it up. Atheism is just as much a religion as any, all it lacks is a deity. But not all religions have deities. I can't think of anything to counter that with. [B/]

Actually, if you do your homework you'll note that many major religions share a lot. Christianity and Islam, the two largest religions, are based on a third: Judaism. And the three contradict each other less than you'd think. It's the viewpoints that differ. The prophet Abraham is considered a founding father by all three religions. The others differ fundamentally, but even then some stories told in Hindo, Shinto and Buddhist lore are similar to those in the Bible and Koran.

Besides, the Christian, Muslim and Buddhist faiths will never die because they are rooted in scientifically proven, established historical fact. Jesus, Mohammad and the Buddah were real people.[B] If I found a faith based on the fact that I'm alive, does that mean it'll never die? Jesus may've lived, but thats all you have. King Arthur may've lived too...doesn't mean he did all the wonderful things you read about

:p

Well, so far as I know King Arthur was a purely fictional character... anyway, the aforementioned faiths aren't based on the fact that these people lived, but rather on the teachings and guidance these people offered. Maybe if you do something profound someone will start a religion in your honor. Talk about poetic justice, eh?