Does your religion make you a better person?

[apelike]

I believe the question was "Does religion make you a better person?" not "Can religion make you a better person?"

 

There's rather a large difference between the two questions.

 

In the topic title it actually says "Does your religion make you a better person" which presupposes that you have a religion to follow.

 

As I have none then I cant answer.

[flamingjimmy]

I understand what you are saying but your examples are not really correct.

In a way they are, because...

 

Religious belief [is] subjective

...as are the concepts of good and evil.

the two people in this example will no doubt have differing opinions on religion. A person who believes homosexuals are going to hell, and are homosexual himself will not accept their sexuality and would not identify themselves as homosexual.

 

Your second example of the mutilation of the sons genitals again is only evil in your opinion. The father is not committing an evil act in his opinion and that of the community he resides. This does not mean it is not wrong, but it does not make the act evil.

 

Now the previous example of Murder is evil. No one in our society would argue against this. It's premeditated and its executed in sound mind. Thus, a good person cannot commit murder without becoming evil.

 

Wrong again in my opinion. Let's say a good person who's a Christian stones someone to death for one of the various sins it says it's cool to do that for in the bible. IMO that would be murder, and evil, yet if they were doing it because they believed that the perfect goodly being commanded it then they wouldn't really be evil themself would they?

 

Nitpicking my examples is one thing but as far as I can tell you haven't engaged with the larger point about evil people requiring intent to do bad and not just doing evil things by accident or due to a lack of understanding/different subjective opinion about whether mutilating the genitals of small children is a good thing .

Edited March 11, 2016 by flamingjimmy

[dutch]

Understanding religion has made me see that there is no such thing as a good or bad life. Things appear good or bad only because of our standards and something that is good to us is bad to someone else and what we call bad can be good for others.

 

If someone becomes good because of religion they may have joined a religious club but have simply not understood religiousness.

Religiousness is freedom, love, insight, growth, joy, not being good or bad.

But I will never give it a name or some stupid rulebook, that turns it into some institution that controls judges and represses ones life.

 

That is why ISis is so popular for even a few westeners. It appears and pretends to be free and joyful by breaking free from society and celebrating the matter they are growing.

Their freedom is only outer and physical and even that bit they have to fight for very hard by killing people and destroying their environment.

If they only realized their inner joy and freedom they would throw these weapons, admit they were foolishly mistaken in their religious search and to repent their mistakes.

 

Several people have realized and found that inner freedom today and throughout history, most existing religions have originated from their experiences.

Many others are searching, confused, stressed, doubting, thinking, angry, frustrated, lost. They are the ones who made religious rulebooks out of the original scriptures to keep themselves under control and call it good when you follow the rules and bad when you don't.

[crookedspire]

Interesting chat in the pub last night where our religious friend insisted that religion makes you a better person. I disagree that it makes somebody a better person in any possible way. That said, she did get a round in.

 

Are you religious then?

[RootsBooster]

In the topic title it actually says "Does your religion make you a better person" which presupposes that you have a religion to follow.

 

As I have none then I cant answer.

 

You are quite right, in that respect I have nothing to contribute either.

[LeMaquis]

Understanding religion has made me see that there is no such thing as a good or bad life. Things appear good or bad only because of our standards and something that is good to us is bad to someone else and what we call bad can be good for others.

 

Stupid argument. Paedophiles would consider their behaviour good. Everyone else however would consider it bad. Just because one person says something is good doesn't mean it is. Otherwise why have any laws, any standards, any morals?

 

In any case, contrary to your claim, religions do have definitions of good and bad - the ten commandments, for instance - so I can't see how you can come to your conclusion based on religion.

[Kensmith]

In all my years as a minister of a church I have seen people change when they become Christians , I have seen drug addicts change from that life style to live totally differently . I have seen alcoholics turn the corner of life into better people . In my opinion with faith comes fruit and the fruit is the change in people's lives when they accept Jesus as their saviour. I can tell you many stories of people's lives and how knowing Jesus changes them .

[flamingjimmy]

In all my years as a minister of a church I have seen people change when they become Christians , I have seen drug addicts change from that life style to live totally differently . I have seen alcoholics turn the corner of life into better people . In my opinion with faith comes fruit and the fruit is the change in people's lives when they accept Jesus as their saviour. I can tell you many stories of people's lives and how knowing Jesus changes them .

 

I've always found it strange that religious proselytisers have so much more luck with drug addicts and alcoholics. It's almost as if they target people in bad places and have very little to offer people who aren't in crisis.

 

Also, Hey Ken how's it going? How come you pretended a photo of someone else was you?

[GhostRiders]

In all my years as a minister of a church I have seen people change when they become Christians , I have seen drug addicts change from that life style to live totally differently . I have seen alcoholics turn the corner of life into better people . In my opinion with faith comes fruit and the fruit is the change in people's lives when they accept Jesus as their saviour. I can tell you many stories of people's lives and how knowing Jesus changes them .

 

With all due respect it's clearly not Jesus that changes them because I've heard exactly the same claim from Muslims (who accept Jesus as a prophet but not saviour), Hindu's and Buddhist's...

 

and, more tellingly from people who took up hobbies or 'distractions', I know people personally who were on the brink of alcoholism and the discipline of martial arts changed them, for the better and they've never looked back. As I said earlier I do believe religion CAN change you for the better, but a particular religion over another, or religion over something else...I'm not sure I buy that at all.

[sgtkate]

With all due respect it's clearly not Jesus that changes them because I've heard exactly the same claim from Muslims (who accept Jesus as a prophet but not saviour), Hindu's and Buddhist's...

 

and, more tellingly from people who took up hobbies or 'distractions', I know people personally who were on the brink of alcoholism and the discipline of martial arts changed them, for the better and they've never looked back. As I said earlier I do believe religion CAN change you for the better, but a particular religion over another, or religion over something else...I'm not sure I buy that at all.

 

This, exactly this.