why is your religion the 'right' one?

To clarify...if your position is vacous, there's still no guide for our own moral behavior.

In my own mind there is, philosophicly speaking it is still vacous. My concept of morality (as applied to my daily life) boils down to past experiences and intuition. Whether or not my actions are really moral is up for debate, but they are intended to be.------------------
"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind." - Albert Einstein

To debate advantages you have to have a competing case. Thus so far you have refused to give one, so what advantage are you trying to disprove?------------------
"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind." - Albert Einstein

If neither of us can do something then it is no good you claiming that it is harder for me than for you. And let me make it clear that this is a VERY HARD philosophical problem that - so far as I know - has no entirely satisfactorary solution. So there is a very good reason why discussing MY views is premature - if you can't solve the problems then I don't need to to be as well off as you.Now my point is that belief in God - which is the defining difference between theism and atheisim - does not provide any significant help in justifying a moral system. And unless you can show that such a belief IS helpful then your claim remains an unsupported assertion.But since your own posts very much suggest that your moral views guide your ideas about God rather than vice versa then it is somethign of a moot point. It appears that if a belief in God is helpful it is a help which you do without.

quote:

---

My concept of morality (as applied to my daily life) boils down to past experiences and intuition.

---

BINGO!!!Your concept of morality comes from your own experiences and gut feelings, just like everybody else.

I'll start by replying to Message 67:
Messenjah wrote:
I" only have bashed on the catholic church because it's the only one I've been going to and I know first hand about what they believe. I barely know anything on Protestants, know alot about jehovahs, I argued with them alot, they used to come to my house to try to convert me (to no avail I might add ), other churches I don't know much about. I know baptists often consider themselves better then others, from what I've heard from baptist church goers, basically all I'm saying is that no church is perfect and I do not belong to any of them. "What I have to say to this, I've experienced the same thing. I can't really say I fall into any particular group of Christians. I'm just a Christian. Although I'm forced to attend a Roman Catholic Church and be forced into their sacrments suchs as First Communion and Confirmation, doesn't mean I have to believe it. As long as I'm a minor, I guess I'm "Catholic" although not at heart. I bet the best way to describe me is non-dominational, which is probably what I'll be when I turn 18. My town has a great non-dominational church in town, and I bet as soon as I can drive, I shall go check it out. Until then, I'll continued to be brainwashed as a Catholic. Like others have said, some become what they were raised into. That's what would have happened to me if I never actually picked up a Bible myself or meet other Christians (who belong to an Evangical-Free church). The Catholic Church did nothing for me.
I believe that I believe, and although that doesn't say a whole lot, I can say I believe what the bible says, although not literally. (Old Testament stuff is a little.. *cough*).
Oh, and the part about Baptists thinking they are better, my mother, Catholic her whole life told me when she was a little girl, she was told by the priest that "Anyone who wasn't Catholic is going to hell." How's that for thinking they are somehow superior?
I've researched a bit about different Christian branches, and so far none really have appealed to me. I know for sure that I'll never be Mormon, Jevohah, or Catholic (after I'm 18). Maybe I should just create my own. Nah.

Hey BG - if the poster known as truthlover ever shows up around here again, he's probably the guy you want to talk to. A very interesting, and refreshing faith group. And a very rational way of looking at the world IMO (except for the superstitious bits ).

Be careful of those non-denominational Protestant churches.Being non-denominational, the pastors who run them are sometimes not accountable to any other body for the doctrine that they promote. Therefore, andy individual with any wacked-out idea can call themselves a preacher and say whatever they want to and present it as the "Gospel truth".You may have a lot of good reasons for disliking the Catholic church, but at least they are a fairly intelligent body.

Yes, I do agree that the Catholic church does have priests who know what they are talking about.
Basically I have no idea what kind of church I'll go to after I turn 18. I guess I'll just have to attend several masses until I find one I really like. Easier said than done though.

Have you thought about giving atheism a try?

crashfrog, I've noticed you try to convert many people to your beliefs, amazing due to their futility.------------------
-chris

Well, I used to be an evangelical Christian, so I guess the old habits die hard. Anyway if Joralex can do it, so can I.Anyway I'm not trying to convert Barlowgirl, it's just that she seems like a reasonable, thoughtful person, and I was just wondering if she had considered atheism, and if so, why she rejected it in favor of faith in a god.Anyway, what about my beliefs do you find "futile"? It's not like belief is really that good for anything, anyway.

futile ( P ) Pronunciation Key (fytl, fytl)
adj.
Having no useful result.The definition of the word speaks for itself. You have no hope, I seriously don't see the point of living as an atheist. What IS useful about atheism? What is the result of a life as an atheist? You live, you die, it's over. But there is more then that...------------------
-chris

How do you know I have no hope? Did you ask me if I had hope? Maybe you should talk to atheists instead of talking about atheists. Then you wouldn't be so obviously ignorant about what it means to be atheist.As it turns out I have plenty of hope. So maybe you need to open your mind and listen to people instead of relying on what you hear from people who are too ignorant to know what they're talking about. Probably because you aren't one. Personally I don't see the point in devoting your life to believing made-up fairy tales about your zombie god. But then I'm not the one who started the "who's belief is stupidest" pissing contest, now was I? In this world, the same as a life as a Christian. A lifetime of experience and whatever effect on the world you were able to make in your time here.As for any other world, well, I'll have to see some evidence of it before I start re-ordering priorities to earn enough brownie points to chill at that big watering hole in the sky. But then, that's the same as anything else. You're right. As a living human being you have a chance to leave the world a better place than when you came in. But unlike you I'm not so selfish that I need the ulterior motive of an eternal spiritual orgy to motivate me to do the right thing for others.

quote:

---

How do you know I have no hope?

---

Ok, I don't. Let me rephrase that. What are your hopes?

quote:

---

In this world, the same as a life as a Christian.

---

Well, I try to save souls.

quote:

---

You're right. As a living human being you have a chance to leave the world a better place than when you came in. But unlike you I'm not so selfish that I need the ulterior motive of an eternal spiritual orgy to motivate me to do the right thing for others.

---

Yeah, I like to "conserve" the earth too, but I'm not being selfish, I'm just respecting and adhearing to my creator, there's a parable in the Bible about an angel eliminating heaven and hell, then the question is asked, would you still follow what your creator tells you to do? It's not scare tactics for me. I am not in it for a reward.Thanks though.------------------
-chris