Is RELIGION actually a mental illness???

[HOLINESSCHILD]

Edthirty wrote:

<quoted text>
I suppose God told you this? The Bible is hearsay.

No the bible is read and know

[YYZ]

Religion is for the clergy, so they can steal and rape little boys. Oh, and pay no tax while they do that. Sickos.

[YYZ]

HOLINESSCHILD wrote:

You have a choice to serve God or not. He isnt gonna make anyone do something they dont want. He is a amazing God!

You really are mental, aren't you?

[lovelystuff]

I would like to think that most people could agree that almost all religious beliefs are delusional. Most atheists would say that all superstitions are delusional, and some theists would say that all religious beliefs that contradict their own faith are delusional. Common ground, perhaps. That's where the common ground ends, though.
My problem with the theists' angle on this is that they have been proven wrong on almost every part of their various belief systems that could be proven or disproven, but the goalposts have been moved so many times that we have reached a strange stalemate, in that the existence of an entity that has no discernable effect on reality cannot be proven nor disproven. Let's take Christianity as an easy example: the Bible is the main evidence for God's existence, the Bible has been proven to have been wrong about many things (and even if this were not the case, the many internal contradictions would still exist), and so the Christians say "ah, you might be able to prove the Bible wrong, but you cannot prove that God doesn't exist", and whilst this may be true, it is also true that one of the main reasons to even think of believing in the Christian conception of God has been thoroughly discredited, and it is basically the same story with the other major religions.
Now, just as it is true that atheists cannot disprove the infinite-but-is-silent-and-doe s-nothing God hypothesis, it is also true that the hypothesis cannot be proven. So, given that the atheists must accept that neither side can be proven right or wrong, going by this logic, it would seem fair to expect the same of theists. I would much prefer "there might a god" to "there is a god". You see, to assert that something is true when you know that it may very well not be true is to tell a lie.
Thus, we can see that all superstitions that are claimed to be absolute fact (i.e. all of organised religion) are either a) delusions or b) lies. It really is that simple. There are no other options.

[lovelystuff]

Sadly, these beliefs tend to be passed onto children at an early age, before they are even allowed to go out on their own. Lying to your children, or deliberately letting them come into contact with such liars or delusionals, can, at best, be described as bad parenting, but we must balance this with the fact that it's pretty difficult to break free of the conditioning and admit to yourself that you have been lied to by your elders and loved ones for your entire life, and it's also difficult for some to accept that death really is the end for us all (though I think most theists know this deep down, and I guess that would explain why there are no bouncy castles at Catholic funerals). So I have some sympathy for people who would do this to their children, much as I have some small amount of sympathy for any abused child who grows up to be an abuser of children, but, of course, I am still disgusted by such behaviours, nor can I excuse them.
Religion is really a vicious and ridiculous cycle of abuse and self-worship that will not end until laws are brought in to stop our young minds being poisoned with fanciful tails of gods, prophets, dragons, giants, demons, etc. Clearly, we will not see such laws in our lifetimes, it will probably never happen, which is a great shame. Children shouldn't be taught these things, it is immoral to teach them these things, pretending they are facts when they are so stupid that they are technically 'not even wrong'. It really makes me angry. You can go to any decent-sized town centre in the UK and find some crackpot babbling on about hellfire and all the rest of it, and you can go back ten years later and he'll probably still be there, clutching his Bible and ranting about the Devil, but if you try shouting "there is no God" at people in the middle of town you don't last very long. Funny that. Why can't atheists go door to door like the Jehovah's Witnesses? It would be only fair. It seems obvious to me that theists will never break the habit of referring to their 'truths' as absolute truths, especially when passing these so-called truths onto their children, or, as is often the case, other people's children. So why should the atheist not do the same? Why shouldn't I try to help them along the right path? My path! It would be so easy. Of course, it would also be immoral, but when in Rome...
Anyway, here is my version of absolute truth, for anyone who couldn't figure it out for themselves:
There is no God. There are no gods or angels. All worship is self-worship. Nobody has evoked any demons. People have never had totally awesome superpowers. Seriously. The faery world is not real. There's no such thing as Chi. There are no chakras. There was no Golden Age. Every prophet died a failed prophet. All martyrs died pointless deaths. There never were any miracles. These things have never happened. There are no virgins waiting for you in the afterlife. There is no afterlife. Sorry. No Heaven. No Hell. No nothing. Everyone you ever knew who died... actually died. There's no such thing as ghosts either, by the way. If you cut off an enemy's head you do not get to keep their soul. Sorry. Souls do not exist. Elvis died on the toilet and Paul McCartney is still alive. John Edward cannot communicate with the dead. Gene Ray has got as close to the truth as any religion ever has. Praying is pointless and always will be. The Nazca lines were made with sticks and rope. Aliens are not mutilating cattle or abducting trippers out in the desert. I mean, I could go on, but you get the idea.

[lovelystuff]

Ha ha. OK, again, but less insane.

I would like to think that most people could agree that almost all religious beliefs are delusional. Most atheists would say that all superstitions are delusional, and some theists would say that all religious beliefs that contradict their own faith are delusional. Common ground, perhaps. That's where the common ground ends, though.

My problem with the theists' angle on this is that they have been proven wrong on almost every part of their various belief systems that could be proven or disproven, but the goalposts have been moved so many times that we have reached a strange stalemate, in that the existence of an entity that has no discernable effect on reality cannot be proven nor disproven. Let's take Christianity as an easy example: the Bible is the main evidence for God's existence, the Bible has been proven to have been wrong about many things (and even if this were not the case, the many internal contradictions would still exist), and so the Christians say "ah, you might be able to prove the Bible wrong, but you cannot prove that God doesn't exist", and whilst this may be true, it is also true that one of the main reasons to even think of believing in the Christian conception of God has been thoroughly discredited, and it is basically the same story with the other major religions.

Now, just as it is true that atheists cannot disprove the infinite-but-is-silent-and-doe s-nothing God hypothesis, it is also true that the hypothesis cannot be proven. So, given that the atheists must accept that neither side can be proven right or wrong, going by this logic, it would seem fair to expect the same of theists. I would much prefer "there might a god" to "there is a god". You see, to assert that something is true when you know that it may very well not be true is to tell a lie.

Thus, we can see that all superstitions that are claimed to be absolute fact (i.e. all of organised religion) are either a) delusions or b) lies. It really is that simple. There are no other options.

[54fytng]

Blackbwoy wrote:

...And to believe God does not exist makes one a fool.
BIG BANG THEORY...then there was. everything came out of nothing.
the top scientists in the world now scoffs and laughs at evolution.
Believe in God a mental illness.
To Believe no God-a blithering idiot.
tough choice.

Idiot! Top scientists? Are you sure you werent talking about top Scientologists?

[dr Shrink]

mental and without of spiritual life are atheists,and old kind of jerks.worship own imaginaries gods=science,evolution and all kind of dead dung manure shit jer 7;33
atheism is manace to this world Society

[lovelystuff]

dr Shrink wrote:

mental and without of spiritual life are atheists,and old kind of jerks.worship own imaginaries gods=science,evolution and all kind of dead dung manure shit jer 7;33
atheism is manace to this world Society

I do not worship. All worship is worship of the self.

[dr Shrink]

lovelystuff wrote:

<quoted text>
I do not worship. All worship is worship of the self.

and?what benefits from this adoltourous worship?
you masturbate?love money?proud of yourselvesgreedy,evil,etc....
you need to live on Sahara dessert without of anybody.

[lovelystuff]

dr Shrink wrote:

<quoted text>
and?what benefits from this adoltourous worship?
you masturbate?love money?proud of yourselvesgreedy,evil,etc....
you need to live on Sahara dessert without of anybody.

Sorry. I am not sure what you are trying to say here, I cannot make head nor tail of it. Could you please rephrase it? You have to write better than that if you want people to understand what you have written.

[Invisible Pink Unicorn]

Has any progress been made on this mental illness?

[ex christian]

I belieave religion causes and contributes to mental illness by causing uneccessay anxiety.

The bible and religous leaders all play there part in this brain washing.

The only cure for fear and madness is wisdom and patience, god wont save you from the world.

Religous brain washing and false teachings can literally alter a persons reality and turn them into a zealot or make them self destructive.

All religion is harmeful and should not be taught to children as it hinders there normal development.

[ex christian]

God is finally dead.

[phoenixcat]

ex christian wrote:

God is finally dead.

Only until the Winter Solstice when he will be reborn. Then the cycle begins anew.

[Dasi]

ex christian wrote:

God is finally dead.

God is Dead to you.

[Freeda]

Scrotal wrote:

If it isn't it will do until one comes along! Nothing about it can be proven.If we made the same claims in support of any other concept and presented proof of the same caliber we would be laughed right out of town..Why do people want to believe so badly that they are willing to suspend their common sense and believe things with no real proof?

Evolution is religion believed by faith. No one saw life evolve by itself. Atheists must thertefore be mentally ill.

[John]

ex christian wrote:

I belieave religion causes and contributes to mental illness by causing uneccessay anxiety.
The bible and religous leaders all play there part in this brain washing.
The only cure for fear and madness is wisdom and patience, god wont save you from the world.
Religous brain washing and false teachings can literally alter a persons reality and turn them into a zealot or make them self destructive.
All religion is harmeful and should not be taught to children as it hinders there normal development.

They are already being force fed evolution which is believed by faith by men who were not there. You missed the subtlty didnt you? It is called secular humanism.

[John]

YYZ wrote:

Religion is for the clergy, so they can steal and rape little boys. Oh, and pay no tax while they do that. Sickos.

An atheist was in court today for raping a little boy. What have you to say about that?

[Hot Jenny]

ex christian wrote:

I belieave religion causes and contributes to mental illness by causing uneccessay anxiety.
The bible and religous leaders all play there part in this brain washing.
The only cure for fear and madness is wisdom and patience, god wont save you from the world.
Religous brain washing and false teachings can literally alter a persons reality and turn them into a zealot or make them self destructive.
All religion is harmeful and should not be taught to children as it hinders there normal development.

Funny, that is what communists taught in the re-education camps.