must religion come to an end?

Some people think that all religions are pleasing to God. The following Bible verses show that this is not true:




● "The sons of Israel again proceeded to do what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah, and they began to serve the Baals and the Ashtoreth images and the gods of Syria and the gods of Sidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the sons of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines. So they left Jehovah and did not serve him. At this Jehovah’s anger blazed against Israel." (Judges 10:6, 7) If we worship idols or any god other than the true God, we will not have Jehovah’s approval.



● "This people honor me [God] with their lips, but their hearts are far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach as doctrines commands of men." (Mark 7:6, 7) If people claiming to worship God teach their own ideas instead of what the Bible teaches, their worship is in vain. It is not acceptable to God.




● "God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth." (John 4:24) Our worship must be in harmony with the truth of God’s Word.

 
indeed.

an italian friend of mine has an egyptian girlfriend who is catholic [luckily] with islamic parents. if she were a muslim one of the two would have to change their religion, then what would their children be?

this is just one of many problems religion brings up, why can’t people just believe in different things [perhaps we all do anyway] rather than have to be of one religion or another. this is especially easy when both parties are abrahamics surely.
 
adults can believe in whatever they choose, having already had exposure to ideas and practices which guide a person to higher/highest "whatever you call it". When you raise children, children need to be given such education/exposure....doing it alone as a parent(s) leaves much to be desired (although parent(s) as living example/model of goodness is extremely valuable). Established religion(s) have much to assist parents in such education.
Children can be learners of the faiths of both parents...when they reach an older age they can decide which path.
 
religion come to an end?...in the far distant future, i think.
but until people achieve the purpose of religion, which is to connect to God/Allah/the source/whatever name you use, religion is an aid, a tool, to get us there. There are other tools as well: prayer is a valuable one...singing to God, meditating in nature, searching by studying, searching by discussion (such as this web forum), doing service work, our choice of employment or choice of our line of work in life...all these are things that can lead us to the connection with the ultimate
 
i hate singing, and school plays in church ~ is societal indoctrination and conditioning imho.

still, each to their own, except it isn’t like that is it! + the problems set out above. it is not the content so much, the problem is that there are ‘religions’, simply division by labels.
 
Mans definition of religion must come to an end.

Like most things it will evolve in fits and starts, lurching forward like a three legged camel with tender hooves.

That may be the most poetic thing I've ever written.

Do camels have hooves?
 
:p sure thang.

eventually and hopefully sooner rather than later, we must let go of the labels.
i think the world would be a fascinating place if everyone you spoke to had differing ideas, not to mention it creates a greater dynamic, pushing humanity yet further.
 
:p sure thang.

eventually and hopefully sooner rather than later, we must let go of the labels.
i think the world would be a fascinating place if everyone you spoke to had differing ideas, not to mention it creates a greater dynamic, pushing humanity yet further.




i think the bible teaches us that in the future we will all be taught by JEHOVAH and we will all speak the pure language of truth.


and even NOW the people are being gathered togeather to be taught


The pure language is the truth about Jehovah God and his purposes as found in his Word, the Bible.


That “language” includes a correct understanding of the truth about God’s Kingdom and how it will sanctify Jehovah’s name, vindicate his sovereignty, and bring eternal blessings to faithful mankind.


What results from this change of language? We are told that people will “call upon the name of Jehovah” and will “serve him shoulder to shoulder.”
:)




 
Sadly not, but it is decreasing... Thank god lol... Lovley pun eh?





It will end, and it will be such a freaking awesome time when it does.... Sadly I will not be alive to see that day....

Agreed. It will be awesome. Unfortunatley we wont get to see it in our old age.


i agree bandit, religion will end but it will never end. there is too much freedom in thought and literature for dogma to continue and this process has probably been going on since the guttengerg press was invented.

i also agree, that anti religion is itself a religion [as is science]. i think we can say that its the approach and the attachement that makes people not want to go outside the box, which is the actual religion. funny how i doubt if that is what any religious founder has taught! ;):)

I made it end for myself a long time ago. It does amaze me that people in religion try to convince me to go back inside their little boxes as if they are the only ones who 'get it' and exalt themselves to some special light or revelation that can only be understood by them alone. It is pathetic when the very concepts can be read and simply understood in many books and internet or by millions of people before them and there is nothing new or special in what they claim.

We could only get so lucky if everyone would make it end.
 
"to me, religion is coming to an end, or rather, the religion of infalliable Gods and unchangeable tomes written in stone is ending, and instead, ppl are becoming more spiritual- they do not follow religion because they are supposed to, they follow religion because they want to... sure, they may not be ultraorthodox, they might not even agree with all the articles of faith of their own specific religious systems, but they are usually ethical, and personable, and decent, and inquisitive, and are looking for something good, as they feel there is something good there in religion worth looking for... they are more open to discussion, they are more tolerant of other, different opinions, and there is less insistence about what is right and what is not..."

I strongly agree with the gist of the above response to this thread.

It is not that religion is "coming to an end" instead religion is beginning to be looked at in a more mature way by larger groups of people.

The wisdom that comes from being able to admire without worshiping and criticize without condemning can change the world for the better. People are beginning to value negotiative relationships more and authoritative relationships less. I feel fortunate to be able to take part in the war between the influential and the powerful.

I want to ask a question and see if anyone agrees with me: Wouldn't it be more appropriate to say "religious institutions" instead of "religions"?

The way I see it is that religion is an ideological and traditional heritage that we all share. Sure there are diverse expressions of it, but aren't we all working with the same material?

atypican
 
"to me, religion is coming to an end, or rather, the religion of infalliable Gods and unchangeable tomes written in stone is ending, and instead, ppl are becoming more spiritual- they do not follow religion because they are supposed to, they follow religion because they want to... sure, they may not be ultraorthodox, they might not even agree with all the articles of faith of their own specific religious systems, but they are usually ethical, and personable, and decent, and inquisitive, and are looking for something good, as they feel there is something good there in religion worth looking for... they are more open to discussion, they are more tolerant of other, different opinions, and there is less insistence about what is right and what is not..."
A nice vision and I would like to see there is some truth in it. Sweden is now 85% atheist. I prefer that even more.
 
Sweden is now 85% atheist.

How was the survey question stated? Maybe something like: "Do you believe in an anthropocentric G-d who can be manipulated and acts favorably toward folks who make animal sacrifices?"
 
Religions may come and go, transform and transmutate. But, religions seem in large part about the human impulse to seek for meaning and knowledge, connection and purpose, in that which lays beyond the tips of our noses. Science and material culture will never fully meet those objectives as so much lays beyond the tips of our noses and eyesight. The world will always contain a mix of the outright religious, the relatively unstructured spiritual seekers and those who refuse to entertain that anything exists beyond the tips of our noses or are otherwise perfectly content with lookng only that far. earl
 
Sweden is now 85% atheist.

With no axe to grind either way (and knowing nothing of Sweden other than the colours of their flag), I did a quick look around and I’m not sure that it’s definite that 85% of Swedes are atheist. Where did you get this one from? Was it here? -
Adherents.com: Atheist Statistics | Agnostic


This site says 46 – 85%, a pretty meaningless range I think you’d agree. What if it’s 46%? That means the majority are not “atheist, agnostic or non-believer in God.”
From the same site at number 2 is Vietnam, apparently 81% are “atheist, agnostic or non-believer in God”. Clearly this is a nonsense, in spite of attempts at suppression by political organisations. I imagine the Buddhists in Vietnam answered that they are a “non-believer in God” (can't speak for the Christians, Muslims, [FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Caodaists...) [/FONT]:rolleyes:

s.
 
How was the survey question stated? Maybe something like: "Do you believe in an anthropocentric G-d who can be manipulated and acts favorably toward folks who make animal sacrifices?"

With no axe to grind either way (and knowing nothing of Sweden other than the colours of their flag), I did a quick look around and I’m not sure that it’s definite that 85% of Swedes are atheist. Where did you get this one from? Was it here? -
Adherents.com: Atheist Statistics | Agnostic


This site says 46 – 85%, a pretty meaningless range I think you’d agree. What if it’s 46%? That means the majority are not “atheist, agnostic or non-believer in God.”
From the same site at number 2 is Vietnam, apparently 81% are “atheist, agnostic or non-believer in God”. Clearly this is a nonsense, in spite of attempts at suppression by political organisations. I imagine the Buddhists in Vietnam answered that they are a “non-believer in God” (can't speak for the Christians, Muslims, [FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Caodaists...) [/FONT]:rolleyes:

s.

As I never did the surveys I am in no position to state what the questions were. Regardless of that if the same question had been posed 100 years ago I am sure the results would be very different. Sweden has the best social and education policies in the world and it is this, I believe, that has led to an inexorable shift toward agnosticism and atheism. When people are educated in a secular setting and the state assures their well being and social improvement without mention of god then god becomes obsolete. I believe this is what makes Sweden the vanguard for inteligent secularism.
 
Religions may come and go, transform and transmutate. But, religions seem in large part about the human impulse to seek for meaning and knowledge, connection and purpose, in that which lays beyond the tips of our noses. Science and material culture will never fully meet those objectives as so much lays beyond the tips of our noses and eyesight. The world will always contain a mix of the outright religious, the relatively unstructured spiritual seekers and those who refuse to entertain that anything exists beyond the tips of our noses or are otherwise perfectly content with lookng only that far. earl

Religion never gives education. It is a dis-education. It is the encouragement of belief in things that have no foundation in fact. At best it is the fostering of fanciful speculation, at worst a dark and malignant extraction of all individuality. And you missed out those who do not believe and never stop looking. My atheism is the child of an insatiable drive to know, it is not the child of ignorance. For all the billions of believers that have ever been not one can substantiate any claim that there is any god, deity, force or spagetti monster that plays any part in our physical universe. Until one does substantiate a claim my scepticism is the only rational choice. Its that simple.
 
Religion is needed as a path to return to God because our first ancestors separated from God. Initially there was no need for religion.
Once our liberation is achieved, religion will not be necessary. It will be the era after the coming of heaven.
 
I think that the continued existence of religion comes down to whether or not, with all our modern scientific knowledge that tends to contradict religion, a society that believes in religion functions better or even out competes a society that doesn't believe in religion.

China is generally atheistic and they are competing economically very well. Also Europe is becoming more and atheistic and they also compete economically speaking very well. That being said these nations are competing industrially competing in agricultural production is another matter. Countries with agriculturally based economies tend to be more religious. Perhaps this is because an agricultural economy doesn't require the free exchange of ideas as much as an industrial economy does. Thus the benefits of religion out weigh the baggage of its contradictory canon and mythology.
 
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