Muslims are closer to the teachings of Christianity? Menk visisted a christian school.

@EarthlingWise That freedom of thought came about because of Christianity. Nice of you to play the fool. When people desired to get back to basic Christianity they discovered that God actually wanted them to think. Thus every major social advance came from the Christian ideal. Who ended slavery? Christians. Who promoted democracy? Christians. Both ideals are part of the Christian understanding of the world we live in.

@hippyjoe1955 Religions have been weapons of progress, that's true. People had to think within the confines of religious dogma. Religions are human, so that's no surprise they could contain humanistic elements. You have a very limited (American) view of history.

@EarthlingWise Religion is innate to humanity. Only the god being worshipped varies. The atheist no less than the most fundamentalist ISIS. Every human has a god. Which one is the only option on the table.

@hippyjoe1955 Humans have (silly) beliefs, but that does not imply worship.

@EarthlingWise Care to elaborate? Worship is simply acting on your belief in my understanding. An atheist certainly worships his god when he acts on his belief.

@hippyjoe1955 Religions are not vague feelings, they comprise cosmological myths, saints, gods with super powers, rituals to follow, etc....

@EarthlingWise Nobody is more shocked than me to see me saying this but, I kind of agree with what dippy has said above.

If we look at the history of human development, we find a literal cornucopia of religious beliefs. Sure, we can explain this by saying that all of these beliefs were the result of humans trying to understand their world without the benefit of the scientific advances that we've experienced in say, the last two hundred years. However, their simple abundance does tend to give credence to the claim that religion is innate to humanity.

I've also put forward the argument to atheists number of times that, their atheism is no less of a belief system than that of a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist etc etc etc. Why? Because the one thing that they criticise believers for, ie the lack of empirical proof, is also missing in their claims. And yet they still believe🤷‍♂️

@EarthlingWise And the atheists have their own rites and rituals. Denying it won't change that fact.

@room101 Religion is simply your belief system. It is not going to church or mosque or temple or .... It is YOUR belief system by which you direct your life. Atheism is a religion just like all the others. Its believe is that there is no supernatural. Sadly that is a huge mistake since the natural can not be explained in and of itself and anything coming from the purely natural is of no consequence.

@hippyjoe1955 Kind of...........sort of. I prefer to use the word "faith" as opposed to religion.

To me, religion is an external construct that can be (and often is) fallible. Faith is purely internal and cannot be persuaded by others. One either has faith or does not, simple.

Yes, I belong to a recognised religion. Yes, I go to church sometimes. Yes, I observe the rituals etc associated with my chosen religion. BUT, all of that is more about connecting with my community and my ethnic roots rather than my faith in the existence of God.

@room101 I would agree with you in part. Your religion is an expression of your faith but at the same time your faith is partially directed by your religion. Having been to many many many different churches over the years and observing their religion/belief system at work I can't help but notice that they are inextricably. connected. A muslim act like a muslim and a Christian will act like a Christian if indeed the Christian is actually a Christian and not just a church goer on Christmas and Easter.

@hippyjoe1955 pure nonsense.

@hippyjoe1955 and you telling lies won't make them true.

@TheSentinel Pure ignorance on your part. Nice of you to play the fool again.

@hippyjoe1955 Nope, just truth. It seems that is something you don't recognize.

@TheSentinel OH I recognize your foolishness. Sadly you don't but that is part of your foolishness so I don't expect anything different.

@hippyjoe1955 Of course my religion is linked to my faith. Inextricably? No, I don't think so.

As a teenager, I questioned my religion and tried to distance myself from it. However, it very quickly became clear to me that my belief, my faith, didn't waver one little bit. In time, as I came to accept the cultural and communal significance of my religion, I stopped trying to distance myself from it and began enjoying it for what it meant to me.

@room101 You didn't get rid of your religion you simply changed religions. Religion is part of your belief system what ever that may be.

@hippyjoe1955 No, I did not "change religions". Where the hell did you get that idea????

@hippyjoe1955 Why can't you understand the words put before you?

[b]As a teenager, I questioned my religion and tried to distance myself from it. However, it very quickly became clear to me that my belief, my faith, didn't waver one little bit. In time, as I came to accept the cultural and communal significance of my religion, I stopped trying to distance myself from it and began enjoying it for what it meant to me.[/b]

@room101 Sorry clicked on the wrong reply tab. This was not meant for you.

@hippyjoe1955 Fair enough. Thank you.

@hippyjoe1955 This does not make sense. People that don't worship gods can have other beliefs besides religious beliefs, and the same goes for religious folks that can have other forms of allegiance.