The danger of a morality based on religion

@whodey said
Considering that atheistic communism has murdered more people than any other ideology in the last century, your assertion can be seen to be blatantly false.

I believe the ideology of atheistic communism is responsible for more mass murder in the last century than any other ideology in the past 2000 years combined.

@secondson said

It seems that, as you said, "adherents of most religions believethat death is not the end and that they can go to have everlasting life" proves there is an "influence" on man greater than that of only "culture, geography and history".

I disagree. To me it indicates that there is the basis for religion that I described [anthropology, psychology, culture etc.].

The ubiquity of belief in deities and everlasting life is, to my way of thinking, information about the human condition and not information about supposed deities and the notion of everlasting life.

@suzianne said
hmmmm, so, more of a "karmic payback"?

Action - reaction is what it's all about! Can't escape physics and nature no matter how you try.

@fmf said
I disagree. To me it indicates that there is the basis for religion that I described [anthropology, psychology, culture etc.].

The ubiquity of belief in deities and everlasting life is, to my way of thinking, information about the human condition and not information about supposed deities and the notion of everlasting life.

Yes, I get that. You believe religion has its basis in the human condition relative to anthropology, psychology and culture. Is that correct?

Is it not also correct that you don't believe in supernatural causality for the belief in deities and life after death? That any such notions are a by-product of cultural, psychological and anthropological influences.

Just how then did the notion of the supernatural arise from within the mind of man seeing as how the "notion" of the supernatural was caused by the natural?

What specific cultural, psychological or anthropological influence was it that caused man to imagine the supernatural when there was or is no supernatural causation?

@secondson said
What specific cultural, psychological or anthropological influence was it that caused man to imagine the supernatural when there was or is no supernatural causation?

Curiosity. Imagination. Capacity for abstraction. Conjecture. Self-obsession. Fear of death. 'Is this all there is?-ism'. Social cohesion. Social order. Justification for control and coercion. Legitimizing of power. Group identity. Them and us-ism. Etcetera. All manner of stuff.

@secondson said
Yes, I get that. You believe religion has its basis in the human condition relative to anthropology, psychology and culture. Is that correct?

I don't understand why you are asking me to repeat or confirm something I posted only a couple of hours ago. I wrote it in a realy simple and clear way.

@secondson said
Is it not also correct that you don't believe in supernatural causality for the belief in deities and life after death? That any such notions are a by-product of cultural, psychological and anthropological influences.

I think human consciousness is one of the strongest bits of evidence that theists have for their belief in supernatural causality.

@secondson said
Just how then did the notion of the supernatural arise from within the mind of man seeing as how the "notion" of the supernatural was caused by the natural?

Maybe brain size and capacity; opposable thumbs; humans' social nature.

@fmf said
Curiosity. Imagination. Capacity for abstraction. Conjecture. Self-obsession. Fear of death. 'Is this all there is?-ism'. Social cohesion. Social order. Justification for control and coercion. Legitimizing of power. Group identity. Them and us-ism. Etcetera. All manner of stuff.

That, certainly, answers the question as to how "religion" exists, but it doesn't explain how man got the idea of God.

Would you believe in the existence of the supernatural based on the influence of the natural? I think not. And while it may be true of many, it would not be true of any rational human being.

If God exists, and His attributes and characteristics can be known, then the knowledge of such a being could not have come by natural means, that such knowledge would come by revelation.

And unless and until that knowledge is imparted to man by supernatural means, man cannot know it, he can only speculate about it, and thereby invent a religion to live by based on cultural, psychological and anthropological influences.

Think outside the box. The natural mind cannot perceive the supernatural.

@secondson said
That, certainly, answers the question as to how "religion" exists, but it doesn't explain how man got the idea of God.

I think it does. I think it answers it very well.

@secondson said
Would you believe in the existence of the supernatural based on the influence of the natural? I think not.

I think the natural world and human consciousness are the best evidence that theists have for their belief in a creator being.

@fmf said
I don't understand why you are asking me to repeat or confirm something I posted only a couple of hours ago. I wrote it in a realy simple and clear way.

It was metaphorical. I was building an argument that you dissected and apparently lost the concept as a whole.

Like not being able to see the forest from the trees.

@secondson said
unless and until that knowledge is imparted to man by supernatural means, man cannot know it, he can only speculate about it, and thereby invent a religion to live by based on cultural, psychological and anthropological influences.

Yes, we speculate about such things. I believe religions are founded on human speculation. Humans developed religions. I don't see religions as embodying "knowledge", aside from "knowlegde" of their own mythologies and doctrines.

@secondson said
It was metaphorical. I was building an argument that you dissected and apparently lost the concept as a whole.

It wasn't "metaphorical". You don't seem to know what the word metaphorical means. It was just repetitive, redundant.

@secondson said
The natural mind cannot perceive the supernatural.

I believe the human mind can imagine and contemplate "the supernatural", for the reasons I gave.