Opinions and conclusions about Religion and God.

I also agree with this. I was at the Baccalaureate, a ceremony before my graduation from UF last month, and one of the valedictorians gave a speech. He was very religious, quoting the Bible several times, and he concluded by saying that there is no such thing as altruism because everything we do benefits us in some way. He actually said that no one in the auditorium could name anything that they had done that wasn't an attempt to help themselves out in some way. But just the previous week, I had volunteered at a retirement home for horses, grooming old horses. I didn't really expect to get anything out of that, I did it because it was a nice thing to do.Maybe people like that valedictorian believe that there is no such thing as altruism because the promise of an afterlife has been so deeply ingrained into their heads that whenever they actually do something altruistic, they chalk it down as another act that will help them get into Heaven. I think that is a terrible mindset, to demand a reward for every little thing one does. It seems to me like it would make people uncaring to others, as they act altruistic when deep down they are just being nice to get into Heaven. This mindset encourages people to help out only when they will get a reward afterwards. It leads to a decayed morality that I have witnessed in many religious people.People should try to enjoy their lives and appreciate life for what it is, while trying to make things better for others. It is unnecessary to conjure up gods and an afterlife when people can work together, as the social animals they are, for the benefit of everyone without the negative influences of religion.