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RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby supporttheunderdog » Fri Nov 28, 2014 2:56 pm

Paphitis wrote:
supporttheunderdog wrote:
miltiades wrote:
GreekIslandGirl wrote:It's very short-sighted to "curse" religion because the belief system you revere today is the product of religion.

Like I said earlier, the ancient gods and their habits have been influencing philosophy/ethics/morals and science, from early on to this day (with doses of evil injected by the Roman Catholic "Church" and Islam some centuries after inception).

Greek/Hellenic Orthodoxy carries with it all the goodness the ancient philosophers initiated (on which our Western laws are based) - to which has been added over time by wondrous individuals like Epictetus. You need only abandon the brainwashing the Catholics spread which has done so much harm in turning people against their spiritual enrichment, as found in Orthodoxy.

That might be the case but it does not alter the irrefutable fact that ancient man created god.



Indeed. I would definitely say that the ancient gods are the creation of man, reflecting human foibles, and since they do not exist they cannot have influenced man's thinking, Rather men have changed how they think about gods. That even exists in Orthodoxy where tenets of the church were set over a series of seven Councils from about 325 to 787, and where the primacy of Constantinople was largely a political construct to reflect Byzantine Imperial structures, rather than any reason connected with Christianity itself.

There is otherwise a Dichotomy in the argument in that according to Judea-Christian teaching the Greek gods are false, so if one is Christian one is likely committing heresy by claiming these gods exist..


Yes but at least the Greek Mythology among others such as the Vikings etc were very interesting.

The Ancient Greeks never rammed it down anyone's throat or start religiously driven wars. They also had the right balance between their belief and Maths and Science and have contributed an enormous amount to the advancement of man. Who can deny this?


The Ancient Athenians did in fact force Socrates to pour poison down his throat for the religious crime of impiety as he seemingly did not believe in the Hellenic gods. As a great and free thinker he probably concluded they did not exist .
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby Paphitis » Fri Nov 28, 2014 3:02 pm

supporttheunderdog wrote:
Paphitis wrote:
supporttheunderdog wrote:
miltiades wrote:
GreekIslandGirl wrote:It's very short-sighted to "curse" religion because the belief system you revere today is the product of religion.

Like I said earlier, the ancient gods and their habits have been influencing philosophy/ethics/morals and science, from early on to this day (with doses of evil injected by the Roman Catholic "Church" and Islam some centuries after inception).

Greek/Hellenic Orthodoxy carries with it all the goodness the ancient philosophers initiated (on which our Western laws are based) - to which has been added over time by wondrous individuals like Epictetus. You need only abandon the brainwashing the Catholics spread which has done so much harm in turning people against their spiritual enrichment, as found in Orthodoxy.

That might be the case but it does not alter the irrefutable fact that ancient man created god.



Indeed. I would definitely say that the ancient gods are the creation of man, reflecting human foibles, and since they do not exist they cannot have influenced man's thinking, Rather men have changed how they think about gods. That even exists in Orthodoxy where tenets of the church were set over a series of seven Councils from about 325 to 787, and where the primacy of Constantinople was largely a political construct to reflect Byzantine Imperial structures, rather than any reason connected with Christianity itself.

There is otherwise a Dichotomy in the argument in that according to Judea-Christian teaching the Greek gods are false, so if one is Christian one is likely committing heresy by claiming these gods exist..


Yes but at least the Greek Mythology among others such as the Vikings etc were very interesting.

The Ancient Greeks never rammed it down anyone's throat or start religiously driven wars. They also had the right balance between their belief and Maths and Science and have contributed an enormous amount to the advancement of man. Who can deny this?


The Ancient Athenians did in fact force Socrates to pour poison down his throat for the religious crime of impiety as he seemingly did not believe in the Hellenic gods. As a great and free thinker he probably concluded they did not exist .


OK, these things could have occured in Ancient Greece as well, but this was a society 2500 odd years ago. Need to keep things in context.

Nothing comes close to what we are seeing today in the Middle east let alone 2500 years ago.
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby Tim Drayton » Fri Dec 19, 2014 6:52 pm

Will religion ever disappear?

Atheism is on the rise around the world, so does that mean spirituality will soon be a thing of the past? ...


http://www.bbc.com/future/story/2014121 ... -disappear
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby miltiades » Sun Dec 21, 2014 3:22 pm

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!
Although a confirmed " enlightened " I still celebrate cultural festivities, be it a christening, a wedding, Easter or Christmas. Such festivities bring families together, friends and foes, although in my case there are some that I would definitely avoid , Plonkers I call them !!

Alas, I shall spend Christmas in London, family commitments restrict me from coming to Cyprus or elsewhere.

Booked for a 10 day trip to Cyprus on January 1st, a good start for the new year.

Have a great time all !!
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby GreekIslandGirl » Sun Dec 21, 2014 4:02 pm

supporttheunderdog wrote:The Ancient Athenians did in fact force Socrates to pour poison down his throat ....


No, they didn't. He was given a choice, twice over, and made it obvious he chose an upright ending.
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby GreekIslandGirl » Sun Dec 21, 2014 4:04 pm

And .... a Happy Winter Solstice to all of us who are the right way up. :D
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby supporttheunderdog » Mon Dec 22, 2014 10:32 am

GreekIslandGirl wrote:And .... a Happy Winter Solstice to all of us who are the right way up. :D


And a happy Summer Solstice to those down under....
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby supporttheunderdog » Sat Jan 03, 2015 1:00 am

"Religion is like a penis. Ok if you have one but not nice to have waved in one's face by a stranger".
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby supporttheunderdog » Fri Jan 30, 2015 11:48 am

"Letter: Three Hierarchs but only half the truth…"
http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/01/30/letter-three-hierarchs-but-only-half-the-truth/

A nice expose of one of the curses of religion - the requirement to suppress free thought and the knowledge that can potentially be gained from it in favour of an irrational belief system... organised religion is about thought control - something most governments wish to do. Even the the Hellenes - held up as paragons - did the same: look at how Socrates was killed for impiety.
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Re: RELIGIONS: THE CURSE OF HUMANITY

Postby Atheist » Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:23 pm

supporttheunderdog wrote:"Letter: Three Hierarchs but only half the truth…"
http://cyprus-mail.com/2015/01/30/letter-three-hierarchs-but-only-half-the-truth/

A nice expose of one of the curses of religion - the requirement to suppress free thought and the knowledge that can potentially be gained from it in favour of an irrational belief system... organised religion is about thought control - something most governments wish to do. Even the the Hellenes - held up as paragons - did the same: look at how Socrates was killed for impiety.


The ancient Greeks were at the cutting edge of free thought. You have to remember that we are talking about an era more than 2000 years ago.

It took nearly 2000 years for the west to catch up with ancient Greece, and many parts of the world are still far behind.

Imagine where the world would have been today if we had a linear progress from the times of ancient Greece until today.
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