Creating Your Own Religion

That's sort of what I meant, just not phrased as nicely :P I believe in many things that other people don't believe in, but I don't call it a religion. There's no need.

And Sing:

The thing is the actual belief probably wasn't created, the rules and structure yes, but the one's who believed didn't create the belief.

But before the set rules and structure etc was created did everyone have some feeling about the entire religion?
You can have a feeling something's out there, sure, but it's the way you're brought up and the people you're around that really gives that feeling a name, truthful or not.

Say there were no established religions around now... Everyone would have a feeling but no one knows for sure. Religion just took that feeling and shaped their own agenda around it.

I mean if Scientology was created back in BC then we'd have a lot more people believing in aliens.

Billie Joe Armstrong:

But before the set rules and structure etc was created did everyone have some feeling about the entire religion?
You can have a feeling something's out there, sure, but it's the way you're brought up and the people you're around that really gives that feeling a name, truthful or not.

Say there were no established religions around now... Everyone would have a feeling but no one knows for sure. Religion just took that feeling and shaped their own agenda around it.

I mean if Scientology was created back in BC then we'd have a lot more people believing in aliens.

I guess it depends. Some religions are created. But some aren't.

Billie Joe Armstrong:

I mean if Scientology was created back in BC then we'd have a lot more people believing in aliens.

There've always been wacky religions and I don't know anybody who's a Christian just because it's an old religion. Moreover, many branches of Christianity are fairly recent. Protestantism itself (I believe they're the second largest Christian group after the Catholic Church in terms of members) dates back to the 16th century, but Pentecostalist churches are much more recent, having been founded only in the 20th century, and already has over 100 million followers.

And Sing:

I guess it depends. Some religions are created. But some aren't.

Can you name a religion that wasn't created? I mean someone had to give it a name... give it it's holy manuscripts. It's not like God spat it out of the sky...

Billie Joe Armstrong:

Can you name a religion that wasn't created? I mean someone had to give it a name... give it it's holy manuscripts. It's not like God spat it out of the sky...

I don't believe that religions are generally created. People have a certain belief and build a structure around it.

Some reliegions believe that their holy scriptures were, to use your phrase, 'spat out of the sky'.

Christianity, the scriptures were inspired by God, they weren't just created out of thin air.

And Sing:

Christianity, the scriptures were inspired by God, they weren't just created out of thin air.

But they're still created (: It wasn't like "Poof, here's Christianity". Someone's idea is a creation. Someone's work is a creation.

Josipa:

But they're still created (: It wasn't like "Poof, here's Christianity". Someone's idea is a creation. Someone's work is a creation.

No, but that's not exactly what I mean. Christianity wasn't created. It came out of a belief system. It wasn't created in the sense that it was made up completely by somebody. Someone didn't just decide to make Christianity up, that is what I'm trying to say.

What religion isn't created out of a belief system? You believe first, no?

Josipa:

But they're still created (: It wasn't like "Poof, here's Christianity". Someone's idea is a creation. Someone's work is a creation.

Then atheist is a human creation too because it's an idea.

kafka.:

Then atheist is a human creation too because it's an idea.

Whose else creation could it be? I don't think anyone would argue against that.

Xsoteria:

kafka.:

Then atheist is a human creation too because it's an idea.

Whose else creation could it be? I don't think anyone would argue against that.

Then if atheism is a valid belief system although it is entirely a human creation, theism which, according to some, is only partially man-made, and in any case can't be more man-made than atheism, is just as valid (from this point of view) if not more valid.

^ The key words there are "according to some". At the risk of offending people, I believe that most religions are entirely man-made. Atheism at least doesn't claim some kind of higher knowledge.

It's In The Blood.:

^ The key words there are "according to some". At the risk of offending people, I believe that most religions are entirely man-made. Atheism at least doesn't claim some kind of higher knowledge.

That's your opinion/belief, and I respect that. But, I'll just have to agree to disagree.

kafka.:

Then if atheism is a valid belief system although it is entirely a human creation, theism which, according to some, is only partially man-made, and in any case can't be more man-made than atheism, is just as valid (from this point of view) if not more valid.

Sure, it's a valid idea. Both of those are valid ideas? That doesn't mean they are necessarily both equally correct. As for partially man-made part, well that's something we probably disagree in.

The feeling that someone gets from religion I don't think is man-made. And it's that feeling that leads people to belief it's some omniscient being that's causing it and that they're in the "right" religion.

Religion itself is man-made. Man wrote the scriptures... Man runs the churches...
It's man-made...

Billie Joe Armstrong:

The feeling that someone gets from religion I don't think is man-made. And it's that feeling that leads people to belief it's some omniscient being that's causing it and that they're in the "right" religion.

Religion itself is man-made. Man wrote the scriptures... Man runs the churches...
It's man-made...

If you put it like that, perhaps. However, I still believe the scriptures [The Bible specifically] were inspired by God. God-breathed, but written down by man. So not 'man-made'. Also, man may run the church's, but I believe he does through Christ. Therefore...not 'man-made'. But, that's your opinion. And I'll respect that.

With religion, it's like determinism. We believe in causality, but is there a cause to this causality? Everything in our universe has a cause and an effect (or so we believe), but we don't have an actual explanation for this phenomenon. It just happens, it's just what we like to believe in. Likewise, gravity, for example, is almost undoubtedly not caused by humans, however the laws that explain and dictate the way gravity works have obviously been written by humans. God is gravity and Holy Scriptures are the laws, they're not always accurate, but we don't doubt the existence of gravity because Newton's laws were inaccurate or simply because they were written by human beings not gravity itself.

^Did you just equate the achievements of modern science with the religious mythology?

Creating your own religion is not disrespectful at all. In fact, most of the religious sects have been created on the basis of difference of opinion. Hinduism, Catholicism; all of it was created to account for difference of opinion. Historically, many religions were chosen by states to allow political freedom. For example, the Turks adopted Islam because the term Jihad, referring to war in the name of God, justified conquering other states.