Posted by Exodus 22:19 on November 24, 2001 at 09:20:41:
In Reply to: Pros and Cons Of Christianity posted by Whiskey on November 15, 2001 at 15:25:16:
: Pros
: It gives people a solid basis for faith. It is commonly said that faith can move mountains, and i believe that. I dont think theres any real need for that faith to be aimed at anything in particular (such as God), so long as you believe it will help you it probably will. I personally think that self-faith is the most realistic and effective type of faith, but thats just me.
Yep. People should believe in whatever they feel comfortable believing in. Personally I don't see how you can have faith in something that is not something that you personally identify with.
: Its ideals are on the whole good. There aren't too many people who think killing people is a good thing. Some of the issues about sex and marriage are a little suspect though as to their "necessity". (and dont say gods ways are mysterious - thats a cop out.)
Yes, Christianity is a good release for people in that it gives a sense of community and a place in the world. Most Christians/Catholics that I know of are not so strict as to take the Bible/Pope's word as the absolute literal truth - that is, some moral standards even within a religion will change as society changes. Anyone who takes the Old Testament literally or thinks gays are not God's work have not thought about things clearly enough, and if that offends someone, I hope to hear from them.
: It is a peaceful (in modern terms at least) form of community building, and socially anything that draws people together is beneficial in an era where individualism is hailed as the ideal.
Yes, it is good for community building, but I don't know where you get the idea of individualism being hailed as the ideal in society. Most areas of society require you to work with others in some way, so I suppose I don't understand what meaning you give to 'individualism'
: However there are Cons:
: Religion tries to deny free-will (this will annoy some people - but its how i see it). It puts a set of hard unrelenting rules upon its members, and threatens the ultimate nightmare if you dont follow. It may do it in a friendly manner - but still?
This is the same argument Ezek uses time and time again. Free will is choice. These days people have a choice of religion. you are not forced to take up a religion in modern countries and even if you were, no-one can force you to believe in something you don't. I don't see religion as a set of hard unrelenting rules. I see it as guidelines to live by. eg. In Christianity, if everyone was perfect, what would there be to forgive? It's people who take a religion as a hard set of ambiguous rules which they apply their own interpretations to who cause so many misunderstandings.
: It is highly persuasive. It all sounds so great, but then apparently so do these "death cults" and other such things.
The basis of religion is you find it within yourself to believe in it's tenets. If not, then what does it matter? IMHO Death cults are joined by people not looking for something to believe in, but rather a sense of community. If they were not so lonely/depressed, they would see what they are doing in context and would be able to logically reject it.
: It is kept alive by peer pressure and tradition. It often seems people believe because they think they should, not because they really do. Believing is not bad, but believing without reason is.
As before I would have to say that you don't actually believe without a reason. You're giving people too little credit. If your family are Christian, say, that might make you a Christian by default, and you might say you believe in the Christian God and call yourself a Christian. My contention is that you can't actually believe in something without reason.