Just to show the other side of the coin: "Religion is unnecessary. It's been proven that people innately know right from wrong" There have also been studies that show that religious people are happier than people who don't believe in anything.
I agree that religious people have done some horrible things, but my point is that it's the people, not the religion itself. For some people, religion makes their lives fulfilling and gives them a purpose-and that makes them do good deeds, be good people, etc.
Just wanted to be devil's advocate for a second. Now for my own viewpoint, I don't know if there's a god (I lean towards no due to lack of proof) and honestly, I don't care. I know that a lot of the traditions I follow don't make any sense, but I follow them because it gives me a sense of identity. Judaism is part of the culture I grew up with. I love kugel. I think Passover is great because a week without grains makes me appreciate what I have. It also gives us an excuse to do a spring cleaning. While I'm going through cans of food looking for wheat or corn ingredients, I also check expiration dates. I guess my point is that I choose to follow the traditions that I think make sense, as well as some that don't because they give me an identity. I'm fully aware that pork is safe to eat these days (or I will be once yesterday's lecture on trichostrongyles fades a bit :P) but with it, I feel like I'm part of a Jewish family. I have a community to turn to should I ever really need them.
I also like that Judaism doesn't proselytize, and maybe I'd feel differently if I were raised in a religion that does do so. But luckily I don't have to worry about the what-ifs.
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Date: 2011-09-13 02:27 am (UTC)"Religion is unnecessary. It's been proven that people innately know right from wrong"
There have also been studies that show that religious people are happier than people who don't believe in anything.
I agree that religious people have done some horrible things, but my point is that it's the people, not the religion itself. For some people, religion makes their lives fulfilling and gives them a purpose-and that makes them do good deeds, be good people, etc.
Just wanted to be devil's advocate for a second. Now for my own viewpoint, I don't know if there's a god (I lean towards no due to lack of proof) and honestly, I don't care. I know that a lot of the traditions I follow don't make any sense, but I follow them because it gives me a sense of identity. Judaism is part of the culture I grew up with. I love kugel. I think Passover is great because a week without grains makes me appreciate what I have. It also gives us an excuse to do a spring cleaning. While I'm going through cans of food looking for wheat or corn ingredients, I also check expiration dates. I guess my point is that I choose to follow the traditions that I think make sense, as well as some that don't because they give me an identity. I'm fully aware that pork is safe to eat these days (or I will be once yesterday's lecture on trichostrongyles fades a bit :P) but with it, I feel like I'm part of a Jewish family. I have a community to turn to should I ever really need them.
I also like that Judaism doesn't proselytize, and maybe I'd feel differently if I were raised in a religion that does do so. But luckily I don't have to worry about the what-ifs.