In Canada :canada: 30 years ago thier was 20, 000 priest. Now aday with a large number of people their is a estimated 10,000. Many of the priest have to work at two churchs. Many of the priest are over the age of 65 and will be dieing soon and a large rate. Do you think this is a sign or the death of religion or just that less people are willing to make their entire lives their religion?

Seeing as how you went from “religion” as a general term onto “priests,” I will address Christianity/Catholicism.. also called “Christendom.”

I do believe that as time progresses the masses will slowly start to reject the divinity of Christ. The bible does predict that this will happen, so this shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who actually studies and takes into account the scriptures. Christianity has always been under attack even though it is a faith of peace; because of this relentless attack, there will come a time when the US will be like any other country in the world- where people are persecuted simply because they say that they are Christian.

Let’s take Laos as an example. The government which is a strict communist regime, who only embraces Buddhism, opposes Christianity with violence. Freshly dug graves are assured every day just as the sun is assured to set in the evening simply because citizens will not sign a paper that says, “I am not, nor do I support any religion that is outside Buddhism.” Methods of persecution by the Laos government include systematic extermination with such an arsenal of chemical warfare, rape, beatings, and mutilation. Not to mention that the government is too poor to arm its government with guns so they give the machetes to better “exterminate” the Christians with. This is happening today. Our media doesn’t show it, so of course this is going to come as a shock to you. This is a realistic scenario: Soldiers come upon a village to do it’s monthly “signing of papers,” one woman in a family rejects to sign it; so her baby is burned alive by chemical in front of her, she is raped in front of her husband then forced to watch as he is dismembered in front of her, then she is beaten to death. This is less than one percent of the world’s persecution towards Christians and religion in general. Take pride in your US government people, take pride in the fact that we don’t do anything to stop this daily occurrence.

We don’t believe it because out government propaganda does not cover it on the news; yes, the media isn’t always the truth. What can be done to stop it? Take action. I recently bought a passport so I can go to either Siberia or the Congo next spring as a missionary with a group of die-hards. We’re going to do our part and help those in need despite whatever might happen to us. This may sound weird or stupid to people who are so comfortable in their surroundings that they put on “blinders” and choose not to see these horrendous things in this world; thus because they do not see it, they do not feel guilty that they are doing nothing to help these poor people. Truly, ignorance is bliss; but seeing the face of a mother grateful that someone is actually doing something to help her family, is truly priceless. People these days don’t think like that. If I sound disgusted and mad, it’s because I am- it only drives me to do my part more when I know how great the need is, and how such a small number of people actually want to help. Sure people will talk and talk and talk, but who will actually get their hands dirty in the mud of this world and do their part to clean it up?

I accept the fact that religion is one day going to meet its violent end, but I refuse to accept the fact that I can’t do anything about it. I know I can do something about it; I see what’s really going on the world, therefore I have the drive to do my part in this life. It’s just too bad that people especially in America are so pampered and self-driven that they fail to see the big picture. A life spent truly living and playing your part in this world is much more valuable than a self-absorbed life that a majority of people love to live in pride and greed. Humble yourselves, and you’ll see that true love and purpose is driven from humility and responsibility.

At this rate, religion will die out eventually. But if everyone had the mind frame as I mentioned above, we would be able to keep spirituality and religious teachings thriving through every history book from here on out. Unfortunately a majority of the people would rather sit and talk rather than stand and give their hand to those who need it the most.

nor religion is not dieing. Its just changing form. That is how it works.

Changing in what way. I think the western world is starting to realize that religion isn't needed.

religion is losing popularity. in a comfort-driven society, it's more comfortable to credit yourself for all of the good things in your life and blame something "infallable" and "nonexistent" for all the bad stuff.

i find it funny how critics love to use human logic and reasoning to prove that God doesn't exist, yet don't hesitate to acknowledge his existence when they question why he allows good things to happen to bad people.

Can someone please change it to dying?

Can someone please change it to dying?

Done deal.

A world without religion would mean that people would be more educated and socially evolved than at anytime in history. We're thousands of years away from such an ideal.


BTW, here's a good quote from argueably the smartest man who ever lived.

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature." [Albert Einstein, The World as I See It American Institute of Physics ]

I remember back in the day - alot of people became priests just to be secure and make sure theyt have a place to live and food to eat.

It's not like that anymore

I remember back in the day - alot of people became priests just to be secure and make sure theyt have a place to live and food to eat.

It's not like that anymore

Its sad but true. You join an order devoted to saving the soul of humanity so you can get a bed and 3 square meals a day........pathetic.......

A world without religion would mean that people would be more educated and socially evolved than at anytime in history. We're thousands of years away from such an ideal.


BTW, here's a good quote from argueably the smartest man who ever lived.

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature." [Albert Einstein, The World as I See It American Institute of Physics ]
Personal opinion and you're entitled to it. If thats how you live your life and you really are satisified.... then more power to ya. Me personally, I'm not satisfied with the 'mystery of the eternity of life'. I like to know where I am going where I am headed. Its a comfort zone. To say that you're happy with the mystery leaves no comfort in knowing where you're going unless thats honestly the way you like to live. I can't crack on you for that, everyone is different. But its like saying...... "when we're driving, I really don't care where we're going". **** that. I'd rather know and be able to make the choice in where I am going. I guess that all falls back on what you believe in. If you are not a 'believer' then I can see how you would rather live your life with no care for direction. Direction provides reason. Without reason..... you're about as meaningful as a pile of ****, IMO.

It's not that I'm without direction, it's that my direction actually EXISTS. If you find comfort in living a lie that you've been told by others, I can't fault you for that, I guess it's easier than looking at the proveable facts, thinking for yourself and acceping the world for what it is. I'm fine knowing that we live, we die and this moment is all that matters. If you want to say that you think I'm a meaningless pile of ****, that's your prerogative, but don't say I'm the one without reason, I look at the empirical evidence available, you base your life on faith and unproveable, highly unlikely myths. It's the religious that replace reason with faith, which IMO is a copout, cowardly and absolves them of any responsibility to think for themselves because logical thought will indubitably contradict that antiquated work of fiction called the Bible.

... I'm more of a scientific person, so I've always looked at it like this:

I cannot fool myself.

I can't sit and read about all of these different religions and take them seriously. I can't actually convince myself that some guy spread apart an ocean so thousands of people could walk through, or that Noah stuck a male and female of each species on a boat during a gigantic flood and they all lived through it. Either way, if I could believe in a religion, you bet your ass I would. I'd love to think that I'm gonna go somewhere after I die, but all I can do is look at it like it is fiction.

I don't refrain from committing murder, cheating on my significant other, or harming others because I am afraid that I will go to hell. That would be selfish. I refrain from it because I care about things other than myself.

Religion is selfish, IMO.


But that's just my opinion.

A well founded and thought out opinion Kitty. I couldn't agree with you more. I would also love to believe that there was some super being looking out for me and that heaven awaits me and my loved ones, but logic and integrity to myself prevent me from believing those metaphysical idealogies. I also like the way you pointed out that you refrain from behaving in an immoral fashion not because you're afraid of divine punishment like burning in hell, but because you care about others. I live my life in a way that doesn't hurt others because ultimately it it doesn't just hurt others, it hurts yourself and makes the world just a little bit worse than it was. I hate when religious types imply that they're the only ones who live morally and have a direction in life just becasue their belief system is based on the fear of punsihment, rather than those of us who live our lives in a good way simply because it's the right thing to do, and ultimately the more rewarding way to live.

... I'm more of a scientific person, so I've always looked at it like this:

I cannot fool myself.

I can't sit and read about all of these different religions and take them seriously. I can't actually convince myself that some guy spread apart an ocean so thousands of people could walk through, or that Noah stuck a male and female of each species on a boat during a gigantic flood and they all lived through it. Either way, if I could believe in a religion, you bet your ass I would. I'd love to think that I'm gonna go somewhere after I die, but all I can do is look at it like it is fiction.

I don't refrain from committing murder, cheating on my significant other, or harming others because I am afraid that I will go to hell. That would be selfish. I refrain from it because I care about things other than myself.

Religion is selfish, IMO.


But that's just my opinion.

yeah but you can't forget that the parting of the red sea may have been a metaphor. The bible is filled with tons of them.

Most Christians I know take the bible literally. They blindly believe it word for word no matter how silly. I don't have a problem acknowledging that Noah & the Ark, Moses and the Red Sea, and The storyof creation from Genesis MAY be metaphors or parabals, but most Christians get all bent out of shape at that idea and say that something like "it's the Bible which is God's living word so it's true". In any case, I doubt that the red sea thing was meant to be a metaphor at all, I think they actually expected us to believe that one.

A world without religion would mean that people would be more educated and socially evolved than at anytime in history. We're thousands of years away from such an ideal.


BTW, here's a good quote from argueably the smartest man who ever lived.

"I cannot conceive of a God who rewards and punishes his creatures, or has a will of the kind that we experience in ourselves. Neither can I nor would I want to conceive of an individual that survives his physical death; let feeble souls, from fear or absurd egoism, cherish such thoughts. I am satisfied with the mystery of the eternity of life and with the awareness and a glimpse of the marvelous structure of the existing world, together with the devoted striving to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the Reason that manifests itself in nature." [Albert Einstein, The World as I See It American Institute of Physics ]


great quote - too bad its to big to be my sig

Most Christians I know take the bible literally. They blindly believe it word for word no matter how silly. I don't have a problem acknowledging that Noah & the Ark, Moses and the Red Sea, and The storyof creation from Genesis MAY be metaphors or parabals, but most Christians get all bent out of shape at that idea and say that something like "it's the Bible which is God's living word so it's true". In any case, I doubt that the red sea thing was meant to be a metaphor at all, I think they actually expected us to believe that one.


Not to mention, back when the bible was written, people were a HELL of a lot more gullible than they are now.

"What? Moses parted on ocean?? Awesome!! Wish I could do that!"

LOL Kitty! True, we have just a tad more resources and information than they did. IMO, someday humanity will evolve to the point where we'll look at religious zealots the way we now look at those who thought that the Earth was flat. Not their fault, we just know more now.

The sad thing is, though... I really don't think that most of the world's population is intelligent enough to handle that.

I think if religion was eradicated, many people would have no reason to have any sort of morals whatsoever. The world would be in complete chaos.

I wish that I could think the same, but I don't think it's ever gonna happen. Unless we do a REAL good cleansing of the gene pool.

The sad thing is, though... I really don't think that most of the world's population is intelligent enough to handle that.

I think if religion was eradicated, many people would have no reason to have any sort of morals whatsoever. The world would be in complete chaos.

.


Theoreticly Law is what will keep people in line.

Theoreticly Law is what will keep people in line.


Key word: Theoretically.

Someday the information available will be so overwhelming that no one will be able to stand in the light of discovery and not see reality for what it is. I think that we'll also have enough information that people will see that there are other good reasons for behaving "morally" or non-destructively besides fear of hell(for the short sighted, fear of jail or other more tangible repercussions should suffice) . People will see that living good, honorable lives is just more profitable and satisfying than being a ****head........

Someday the information available will be so overwhelming that no one will be able to stand in the light of discovery and not see reality for what it is

This guy will:

http://www.tv.cbc.ca/witness/faitha/hinnstage.jpg

But he can make paralyzed people walk by smacking them on the forehead and saying "YOU ARE HEALED BY THE POWER OF GOD"... didn't you know?

It's not that I'm without direction, it's that my direction actually EXISTS. If you find comfort in living a lie that you've been told by others, I can't fault you for that, I guess it's easier than looking at the proveable facts, thinking for yourself and acceping the world for what it is. I'm fine knowing that we live, we die and this moment is all that matters. If you want to say that you think I'm a meaningless pile of ****, that's your prerogative, but don't say I'm the one without reason, I look at the empirical evidence available, you base your life on faith and unproveable, highly unlikely myths. It's the religious that replace reason with faith, which IMO is a copout, cowardly and absolves them of any responsibility to think for themselves because logical thought will indubitably contradict that antiquated work of fiction called the Bible.
I'm not saying you personally are a worthless pile of ****, I'm saying that with no direction.... one is. I don't view my reasons and life on faith, I deal with facts. I view my beliefs on how I live and evolution on faith, not day to day. I'm not a religious freak that covets everything the bible says.... I'm human. If I did, I'd be what some would call "perfect", and nobody is. I don't live in a lie that was told to me by others. See, thats where you judging me makes you look like an ass. If you've ever read my posts on religion, and you have, then you should know that I was raised through a a different tale of 'faith' that I currently don't live. I live by what I believe, not what others told me. You got religion all wrong, maybe its due to how 99% of religious people come off..... I don't know. I look at provable facts and constantly strive for more answers.... and if its a belief based on faith, I'm fine with that. Faith is not fictional. Maybe you should look up "faith" in the dictionary before acting as tho its related to words like "fake", "fiction", myth", "lie", etc. You honestly think that religion means that one can't think for themselves and can't accept the world for what it is? Thats bull****. I'll be the first to tell ya. I think for myself on a daily and know what the world is, what its about and how **** goes. Religion does'nt mean that you're blind, and it seems as though thats your rebutle for why its so stupid time and time again. Which is stupid in itself.

You say you're fine with knowing that we live, we die and this moment is all that matters. You like to claim copouts... what do you call that? Thats a blaitant copout for the truth on how life was evolved. If you don't care.... then cool, say you don't care..... but to say thats how it goes and we just all showed up one day and then die, as you put it.... "its easier" to live life like that. You "look at empirical evidence available".... another 'easy' copout. Whatever is available MUST be the way it is. I look at evidence, rather..... I seek evidence. You seem to go by whatever resources you feel you can rely on that are available at that moment. If I am wrong, I'm just going off of your posts, so correct me as I am you.

Theres alot more to evolution invloved with man than "we're here, we live, we die." I don't live a life based on faith and highly-unlikely unprovable myths..... you think that because I believe there is a GOD and everything else.... that I have to believe in everything that I'm told whether fact or fiction? Give me more credit than that man... I'm normal just like anyone else and like I said.... am CONSTANTLY seeking evidence for my beliefs. Alot of religious people do replace reason with faith, I agree, and you're right... it is a copout, it is cowardly and I'm sure those are the people you are refering to, but don't refer to all religions and people who believe as being so ignorant and blind. Thats like generalizing all Americans for **** our governement does (kinda like how Creed does), which is preaty lame.

I don't believe in GOD because of fear of going to hell, so you can cancel me out of your reference to "religious types". Take note, I never implied that I live morally right and have a direction in life based on fear of anything (including Hell). All I can do is try. I am no better than you. Shiiit, I said it before and I'll say it again.... I am happy for you if you're satisified with your life and your beliefs. I believe in GOD, as higher power because thats MY only reason for evolution, which I can only TRY to point out, but thats about where it stops. I'm not here to 'change you' or to preach to you. All I can do is pray for you, regardless of your beliefs, and when in debate about it (as we are now) try to point out reasoning for my beliefs, again, regardless of what you believe in. Whether its GOD or whatever you believe in... we all got here some how. You can keep rewinding in time back to where what and who came from, but it all results in going back and back and back until it HAS to end at someone, and you above everyone preach "REALITY", that is reality. There is a higher power. There has to be. Man is still trying to prove how and why and shows many ways possible of evolution, but it all falls back to a higher power. Whether its a machine, a GOD, a place.....whatever, it made life. Deal with that as a reality. If you don't care and are happy living life without knowing and would rather go about life living in this moment, rather YOUR moment.... again..... thats fine, good for you, but don't ignore that there is a possiblity... it serves well for a closed minded person and don't agree with religion on an overall being selfish (as Kitty said). If you knew religion, you'd know that the last thing it is is selfish. How selfish is being told to embrace your enemy? How selfish is it to claim that "pride is for fools". Pride is selfish.

Besides, why argue about something that brings so many people peace? Why argue the validy of people's happiness and beliefs. We all have beliefs. You have yours, and you don't see me condeming you or saying that you're a pieace of **** for it, or rather (like some religions) not want to associate with you because of it. 'No direction' will turn someone into a worthless pile of ****, not a belief. There seems to be a fine line when discussing the two.

In case you got the wrong idea and just to keep everything clear....... I do respect your beliefs and opinions. I don't agree with them, but I can respect them.

****ing christ, man, write a book why dont you

That was as long as a high school essay.

I think if you added up all my post on global they would be about half as long as adams post right there.

I put it down for the brown, holmes.