Quote:
And as you have spent time actually researching, then you would also know about the abundance of lies among the established religions.
Abundance of lies? Established religions?
You can't bundle all religions into one great pile and just average them out like you did. Each religion is a unique and utterly personal way of viewing and worshiping a creator (or enlightenment in the case of Buddhism). You can't judge another person's belief system so callously, and then claim that it is bad simply because it happens to be an established religion. Everyone is going to have their own way of thinking, so just accept that most of the time it isn't going to match yours.
Quote:
And Ideals meaning "be a generally good person" and the like. no religion strays from that, yet many that ARE the actual 'slaves' to religion actually lose sight of what that actually means.
The Ideals of most religions isn't to "be a generally good person", the ideals of most religions is to please whatever God you worship. And pleasing your God is going to mean something very different depending on what religion you are following. To a christian committing acts of terrorism is not being a "generally good person", but to a radical Muslim extremist it guarantees his way to heaven, which to him is "being a generally good person". There is no concrete of definitive definition of being a "generally good person". It all depends on your ethics, and your ethics depend on your beliefs, and most of the time your beliefs depend on your religion and society.
Quote:
The kind of people I'm talking about as being 'slaves' are the people that never questioned, but simply listened to what was presented to them by their parents and accepted regardless. the kind of people that don't know that the story of Jesus is a fairly solid rip of the story of Hercules (minus Hydra and the like), or that Christmas is on the day it is because that was the former pagan Day of the Sun. that kind of thing.
You mean the fact that Hercules was half-man and half-god, born of a God and a human woman. Despite the fact that there was no mention of a virgin birth in the story of Hercules' birth, and that Jesus was the product of immaculate conception, rather than a god having sex with a woman. Nor do most denominations (Catholic included) see Jesus as half-man and half-god, but rather God born to a human body being fully God while at the same time fully man. And the fact that Hercules did nothing prophetic or was crucified in any way. Fail to see how that is a fairly solid rip off, but rather a coincidence, seeing as how there have been innumerable religions over time, and they are bound to have some similarities.
And as for the day of Christmas, obviously the exact day isn't known and even if it was it wouldn't coincide with our modern Gregorian calender. The early church purposefully placed many of their holidays to coincide with pagan celebrations as a way to kinda cleanse the days and convert more pagans to Christianity.
Quote:
besides, i'm quite certain the christian/catholic god forgives ALL sins as long as you accept him as your god.
Nope. In many christian denominations sins aren't simply ignored, but rather must be amended for (like with confession for Catholics for example). Many believe that you can only get to heaven based upon your faith, this is know as the belief of "Sole Fide", Latin for "Faith Alone". Some believe that you are saved simply by your baptism. Some believe that people are predestined from birth to either go to heaven or hell. Some believe there are only a certain amount of spots in heaven. Some believe that you can only get to heaven by spreading the good news and converting people. And still others believe that at the end of time, God will judge you one by one, on every action you take, and will ultimately decide if the good deeds you did on earth outweigh the evil ones. Every religion is different and unique.
Quote:
hooray for delusions of persecution.
I knew you weren't talking about me specifically. That doesn't matter. I'm not angry based on who the comments were directed toward, but rather the condescending and arrogant manner they were said in. I don't care if you are religious or not, but I can't stand people who try to put other people down for their beliefs. If you think people are slaves, than think they are slaves. But why do you feel like some spiritual Harriet Tubman? Leave them be. Did you even consider that religion might be a very integral part of their lives and even psychology? Maybe they need it and it's good for them, just not for you. But there is no reason or benefit to you, condescending other people's most cherished beliefs. Not to mention there is a possibility that you are the one that is wrong, and they are the ones who are right. You act as though you have some kind of proof against religion, when all you really have is opinion.