God

[advocatexxx 0]

There was a show on TV which thoroughly went into the detail of what are the chances of another intelligence civilization being in our galaxy.

First they examined all those 200 billion stars in Milky Way (this number is an estimate.  Real number of stars in our galaxy may vary +/- 100 billion).  Out of those 200 billion stars which ones are old/young enough to have allowed life to progress ?  Out of those stars, how many have planetary systems ?  Out of those, is one of their planets at the right distance from the sun ?  Out of those, is that planet a gas giant or a solid terrestrial plane ?  Out of those does it contain a suitable atmosphere with proper pressure/temperature as well as layers to sheild from the deadly solar/cosmic rays ?  Out of those, does that planet have elements necessary for life to evolve ?  Out of those, that planet would have to exist for a couple of billion year without being severly damaged in its eary stages by mega-asteroids.  Out of those, even if life had evolved, who's to say it would be intelligent ?  Look at Earth, there are billions of species, ranging from bacteria, small insects, animals, birds, fish.... etc.  Yet only one - humans have managed to evolve into an "intelligent" state.  Not only that, but we have been here for an extremely short period of time.

Spread your arms horizontally.  The tip of your right hand marks the time when earliest single-celled organisms lived on Earth, the tip of your left hand marks current time - present.  The time when human beings have begun to show signs of intelligence until today would be no more than the white piece of grown nail on that tip of your hand.  That's how short we've been here. So even if an intelligent race somewhere in our galaxy did evolve, who's to say it would be in the same timeframe as us ?

Taking all these factors into account, consider how incredibly vast this Galaxy is, 100,000 light years across with billions of stars.  If another life did indeed develop and actually advance to an era where it has the technological capability to efficiently travel within this galaxy without annihilating themselves with wars and sociological problems, then they'd have to search a good number of stars before they find us.

Maybe life in the Universe is indeed very delicate.

[WKK Gimbal 0]

I read a great novel by Arthur C. Clarke about some astronauts who lands on a planet and finds ancient signs of a civilization, being instinct for maybe 1000s of years or more. They find a device which miraculously still functions and turns it on. It seems to be a recording of how life was on this planet back when it was inhabited. At the end of the film a line of symbols appear over the screen, symbols which the astronauts can make no sense of. It was this row of symbols: A WALT DISNEY PRODUCTION

[advocatexxx 0]

Or Planet of the Apes. Lol.

Who knows, maybe an alien race discovered our planet in its primordal stages and planeted our genes closely resembling other life on here. Perhaps we're just an experiment, being observed how we evolve and devolve as we seem to be doing.

I have no doubt there are some civilizations out there, though if they have charted this Galaxy then God almighty they most certainly have been around for far longer than we have.

Ever wonder what the first words we'd use would be ? "Hi, how do you do ? Say, your dicks aren't bigger than ours, are they ? Because if they are...... !@#%"

[Hardliner 0]

I would say that life existed before humanity but thats just my thought on it. It is true that bacteria can survive being in a vaccum and when back on a planet it starts up again, kind of like a stasus period or something like that, at least that was in a documentry I seen recently. It was seen as possible for life to be traveling between planets this way and was considered one way that humanity showed up here.

But every race out there would have to take a long time to get to a high advanced level (evolve), a level that we are not barely even close to yet at all in my opinion. It would be a reason that intelligent life has not made contact, humanity is not ready.

Also in that documentry they showed how far radio waves from this planet had traveled out into the vastness of space, not very far altho to humans its a great distance. I rekon life is known to be on this planet by others out there. I'm not sure where I heard this but I heard that in times of war UFO sightings have been said to have increased dramatically. If so it would mean that their interested in our conflicts.

Seem unbelieveable?

[WKK Gimbal 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Hardliner @ June 09 2002,19:11)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I'm not sure where I heard this but I heard that in times of war UFO sightings have been said to have increased dramatically.<span id='postcolor'>

hehe, probably enemy spyplanes and shit like that.

[Hardliner 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (WKK Gimbal @ June 09 2002,19:27)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Hardliner @ June 09 2002,19:11)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I'm not sure where I heard this but I heard that in times of war UFO sightings have been said to have increased dramatically.<span id='postcolor'>

hehe, probably enemy spyplanes and shit like that.<span id='postcolor'>

During WW1 and WW2?

Well not sure about that just heard. Plus I seen it in documentries.

[advocatexxx 0]

Yeah UFOs during the time of war, with their sides labeled "USAF".

[Oligo 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Longinius @ June 07 2002,11:27)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Where did the big bang come from then? And what existed before it?<span id='postcolor'>

Are you joking? Considering that we live inside this universe, it's pretty hard to extrapolate further than the big bang, at least with the current knowledge. Our point of view is maybe a little too involved?

Anyway, I think that even if somebody manages to come up with something predating the big bang, your question will just be moved backwards: Where did X come from then? The ultimate answer to this quetion might well be: Whatever you believe. If it is a god you believe caused the big bang, you go ahead and believe it.

[Oligo 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (WKK Gimbal @ June 07 2002,13:30)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Interesting read, though I'm surprised by the "let's pack up and go home" mentality of those scientists who seem to think they've found the truth. Such things would require major unquestionable facts before being accepted scientifically. It's not enough to just say "we can't think of other options, so this must be it".<span id='postcolor'>

They didn't give up. It's just that the religiously motivated article claimed that. There are new theories coming up all the time and new experiments performed. The debate is still raging on.

Also, it is pretty irrelevant whether god started big bang or not. What is relevant, however, is that god (if there ever was such a thing) no longer affects things. Nobody has yet to produce any reliable proof of this.

[Oligo 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (advocatexxx @ June 07 2002,18:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If an alien being came to our planet and observed us, and it would ask us why is murder punished, what would we say ?  How could we show or proove to it that murder is wrong ?  We could present what we think would be facts, arguments and counless array of diverse blabber, but in the end we would have no real way of convincing it that murder is wrong, yet we all believe it is.  <span id='postcolor'>

Right and wrong are just concepts. We wouldn't need to explain these concepts to the hypothetical alien. However, it would be easy to explain why murder is punished:

We have finite lives and each individual has a self-preservation instinct. Thus, not many people want to die. Thus we do not generally take life, since it causes distress.

In the set of behavioural rules accepted by most of us, murder is prohibited. It is not some kind of universal truth that murder is 'wrong'.

[Oligo 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Tovarish @ June 09 2002,06:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">The fact that we're the only species to singlehandedly rape the whole planet the way we're doing perhaps? But seriously, if you go by Christianity, only humans have souls. why would God deny all his other creations from paradise?<span id='postcolor'>

We're still not worse than the other animals. There have been several global crises in the history of Earth, caused by animals.

For example: When the first single-celled organisms capable of rudimentary photosynthesis emerged, they polluted the world with oxygen. Since all organism back then were anaerobes (does not need oxygen for living or even tolerate it), there was a huge mass extinction caused by oxygen poisoning. But the survivors adapted and now most organisms NEED oxygen to survive.

[foxer 0]

How do we know aliens aren't living with us right now ? I believe they do visit,and study are way of living,i believe one day they will probably make contact.I say this because i believe there's too many ufos for them just going stay in the sky.Damn i sound like a nut case...

[Ruud van Nistelrooy 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (advocatexxx @ June 07 2002,00:25)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">First, i ask that no one bash another religion.  You may criticize its practices, seek answers, but no insults.

--------------------

Seeing how 95% of the world's population believe in some form of a superior being, it sparked my attention as to what exactly do these people think God really is.

With the breakthroughs that science makes on a daily basis, I find that more and more young people don't worship.  I remember my great-grandmother going to church every Sunday even though she was an astounding 98 years old.  My parents attended church in a regular pattern in their early years, but apparently they stopped.  As for me, well, aside from those 3-4 times I actually prayed that's pretty much it.

Some argue that while more and more people each year don't worship, they still maintain a certain connection to their religion.  Thus, ultimately, one day religion will be a thing of the past.

Others on the other hand argue just the opposite.  That despite science's intervention, religion will continue to play a major role in our lives.

Personally, I don't pray to God every night, I don't attend church, but I do celebrate Christmas, Easter and other Christian holidays, thus I am Christian in nature, though probably not the best one out there : )

In the end, the question arises, is God really there ?  Or is he merely a manifestation of our ancestors to have something superficial to believe in.  Someone they'd pray to for help, for salvation.  Someone who had all the answers albeit not too willing to give them up.

I once heard a George Carlin show, where he made a speech on religion.  While somewhat humorous, I feel he made a couple of quite valid points.  Here's a transcript:

Religion is nothing but mind control. Religion is just trying to control your mind... control your thoughts. So they're gonna tell you some things you shouldn't say because they're... "sins".

And besides telling you things you shouldn't say, religion is gonna suggest to you something you ought to be saying...

Here's something you ought to say the first thing you wake up in the morning... Here's something you ought to say just before you go to sleep at night... Here's something we always say on the third Wednesday in April after the first full moon in Spring at 4 o'clock when the bells ring.  Religion is always suggesting things you ought to be saying.

Since most people in this world have a weak mind, they are easily swayed into such things.  Why do you think those envelopes that say "You are a millionaire !" are mailed to the elderly for the most part ?  They are lonely, bored, and are easily pulled into such hoaxes.

I'm not saying religion is a hoax, though over the millennia it surely has shown us just how improper it can be.  At one point church sold the so called "pardons" (if I remember correctly), which, after purchasing they would serve to forgive one of your sins.  Everyone has always sought only to fulfill their best interests, their financial security, their future.  People have always been taken advantage of in promise of "heaven after death", in promise of "eternal happiness", in promise of "God's infinite love" for all mankind.

Are we to re-evaluate the biblical publishings ?  Are we to implement thousand-year-old teachings and practices into our everyday lives because they are so right, they can't even be questioned ?  Are we expected to believe that by not attending some building in which a few sculptures rest, every Sunday singing songs and speaking well-organized patterns of words we will end up going to "hell" on the judgement day ?

Look at the latest scandals regarding child abuse from the Catholic church.  These are the men who chose, for their life-long goal, to be preachers of God ?  To obey his rules fully ?  

I'm not only talking about Christianity.  Orthodox Jews wear long black coats, even in summer when the temperatures reach 42*Celsius.  There are millions of them, and they all believe that to be right.  Surely enough they sweat greatly, feel very uncomfortable, but it's all for a good religious cause.

Are humans, by nature so weak-minded, that they continously fill their brain with magical ideas of faith only to have some sort of superintelligent entity serve as a mentor ?

Religion has kept many from committing suicide, from committing crime and other evil deeds, yet on the contrary it has also sparked numerous wars in which millions perished.

So by believing in God, is one bound to associate with a particular religion ?  

Personally, when I view the awe greatness and balance of the Universe, everything from electrons to the mightiest of Galaxy clusters, and all the laws that govern them, I can't help but think that perhaps some sort of intelligence is behind it.  Call it God if you will, but it's quite difficult to imagine such things evolving by themselves, something must have set them in motion.  To think that we are here today, typing on our keyboards, viewing these words on our cathode-ray tubes which project data that travels at 300,000km/sec, when we all evolved from a primitive, single-celled organism that populated this planet in its primordial stages is nothing short of inspiring.

Perhaps this is where science and religion meet, perhaps not.  Perhaps the Universe, being as it is has always been there, and always will be.  After all, the life-long questions in the likes of "Who created God" or "Who created time" are still puzzling, and even philosophers and scientists who spend their lifetimes seeking the answers end up no closer in the end than when they first began.  Or perhaps, the Universe itself is the God, maybe we just lack the sense to detect him.

I do believe in God, though not in the form of a big invisible grandpa with white hair and beard who hovers up in the clouds constantly "hearing" and "seeing" all that goes on.  For God is that which holds the answers our kind has spent its entire existence seeking.  Our primitive little brains are quite possibly incapable of comprehending what/who God is.

Who knows, maybe one day, being that the human race actually survives this technological/sociological/political struggle will evolve to such an advanced state that we'll become only energy.  Perhaps then we will look back at ourselves and laugh (considering we'll still have such emotions).  Laugh and think that it is us we've been worshipping all this time.

...Who knows.<span id='postcolor'>

This thread may have moved on but i couldn't be arsed reading past the first post:

I don't think god exists because the entire idea of this magical all powerful being is just stupid. Then we have this group of people believing in a different all powerful being making religion overall just stupid.

Plus, i think since all life is so complicated, god/jesus/mohammed/terry whoever religion x says created us really wouldn't be able to create beings so complex, thats more of an evolution thing which goes against all religion.

Religion nowadays is just either:

a) a way to cheat dumbass god squad people out of their hard earned money through television and snazzy dressed salespeople

b) a way to justify a jihad whenever any american looks awkwardly at a muslim for whatever reason

c) a way to sell music by making out that pop stars are in fact gods

d) A good excuse to wear cool looking balaclavas and go around shooting schoolchildren and women in the streets.

e) A good excuse to get huffy about real estate matters.

IMHO of course.

Sorry if i've ruined the conversation or anything

[Hilandor 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Ruud van Nistelrooy @ June 09 2002,10:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Religion nowadays is just either:

a) a way to cheat dumbass god squad people out of their hard earned money through television and snazzy dressed salespeople

b) a way to justify a jihad whenever any american looks awkwardly at a muslim for whatever reason

c) a way to sell music by making out that pop stars are in fact gods

d) A good excuse to wear cool looking balaclavas and go around shooting schoolchildren and women in the streets.

e) A good excuse to get huffy about real estate matters.

IMHO of course.

Sorry if i've ruined the conversation or anything <span id='postcolor'>

a) yes i totally agree some of the churches/religion seem to have aquired a varied amount of riches over the years. The vatican if i remember my history stored most of the jews valuables paintings etc and im sure they probably still have most of it

b) what a crock of shit, just like any religion there is good muslims and bad muslims

c) ive yet to see a pop star made out to be a god, i remember the flak the beatles got when lennon said they were bigger than jesus, if i remember rightly this affected their record sales in USA very much

d) religion isnt the cause of these psychos shooting folks in street this happens cos these people are fucked up.

e) well yes some religions like property but again its back to the money argument

[Ruud van Nistelrooy 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Hilandor @ June 10 2002,10:22)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Ruud van Nistelrooy @ June 09 2002,10:34)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Religion nowadays is just either:

a) a way to cheat dumbass god squad people out of their hard earned money through television and snazzy dressed salespeople

b) a way to justify a jihad whenever any american looks awkwardly at a muslim for whatever reason

c) a way to sell music by making out that pop stars are in fact gods

d) A good excuse to wear cool looking balaclavas and go around shooting schoolchildren and women in the streets.

e) A good excuse to get huffy about real estate matters.

IMHO of course.

Sorry if i've ruined the conversation or anything <span id='postcolor'>

a) yes i totally agree   some of the churches/religion seem to have aquired a varied amount of riches over the years.  The vatican if i remember my history stored most of the jews valuables   paintings etc   and im sure they probably still have most of it

b) what a crock of shit, just like any religion  there is good muslims and bad muslims

c) ive yet to see a pop star made out to be a god, i remember the flak the beatles got when lennon said they were bigger than jesus, if i remember rightly this affected their record sales in USA very much

d) religion isnt the cause of these psychos shooting folks in street  this happens cos these people are fucked up.

e) well yes some religions like property but again its back to the money argument<span id='postcolor'>

b could apply to anyone looking awkwardly at anyone else really, its just given the last decade it seems someone declares holy war on country x for reasons like this, mostly it seems in the middle east. there are other reasons but it all boils down to one country just hating another. True, this could've been Britain hating France or Argentina or Russians hating Americans etc... I'm not for any religion, i think they are all equally stupid, except maybe buddhism which i think doesn't have a faceless god type figure except for that fat guy, who actually existed, so sorry if it seemed i was singling out the muslims here, it could easily be christians, siekhs, scienctology people or whatever religion.

c i know several people who idolize certain famous people as gods, they're manufactured to be appealing aspiration figures for youngsters and are idols. This is kind of like religion where some faceless guy tells people how to live and how to act in order to get to some made up heaven type place. Just like that advert on the telly with that s club 7 mag ''we'll show you how to look and act like a pop star!!!''. I can see a lot of similarities between that teenybopper stuff and the bible for example. As such, pop stars are in their way, made out to be gods that will tell people what to do in life and how to act/talk/think - religion does much the same thing except the gods they talk about are probably fabricated and will never physically exist since there was no TV back in olden days.

d) Thats true, but religion goes a long way to 'justify' such acts, like all that slaughter in isreal. People think its ok to blow other people because they feel god is telling them to do it, or least its what god wants. It doesn't matter if it doesn't justify it (which it doesn't). Religion is used to justify killing people to other people so that murder is considered ok - resulting in death. Thats how i see it anyway. People being fucked up can be credited to a huge number of reasons though, one of these reasons, a popular reason it seems, is religion.

[WKK Gimbal 0]

If you weight the pros and cons I think religion has caused more destruction than contruction. Sure, uncountable millions have found hope in it, but it's not like they would have died without. Lots have certainly died for it.

edit (sp)

[Hardliner 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (foxer @ June 10 2002,09:13)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">How do we know aliens aren't living with us right now ? I believe they do visit,and study are way of living,i believe one day they will probably make contact.I say this because i believe there's too many ufos for them just going stay in the sky.Damn i sound like a nut case...<span id='postcolor'>

You don't sound like one to me. Maybe its because I am one I don't know I'm sure everyone here has made their mind up already about me.

As for them studying us yeah I believe this. Doing tests on us I believe this. Maybe we have something they don't have and they want it (could be genetic). Showing up anytime a major conflict comes up (prolonged conflict) to study humans during war, the effect it has on us, how humans react, trying to understand or answer the question WHY we fight ourselves. This is what I said before about an increase in activity when a war is on, it would be a time to come and learn more about this race under a different situation. A good way to find out humaities weaknesses and its strengths.

I don't think planes can be seen as err UFOs. UFOs don't fly in a straight line, they hover around, going up down left then straight up and making manouvers that a human craft cannot accomplish. Even craft with the USAF on them can't do this and at the time of ww1 and ww2 I don't think there were many aircraft around that could shoot straight up into the sky and disappear at light speed (of course there were not).

[advocatexxx 0]

It was the USS Enterprise. Must have been one of those episodes where they travelled back in time.

[nordin dk 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (advocatexxx @ June 10 2002,19:58)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It was the USS Enterprise.  Must have been one of those episodes where they travelled back in time.<span id='postcolor'>

You stupid, stupid man....

It was the Voyager

[Hardliner 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (WKK Gimbal @ June 10 2002,11:51)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Lots have certainly died for it.<span id='postcolor'>

And theres alot more to come.

[Hardliner 0]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (advocatexxx @ June 10 2002,19:58)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It was the USS Enterprise.  Must have been one of those episodes where they travelled back in time.<span id='postcolor'>

You believe what you want

[Duke_of_Ray 0]

It is sad to see how some of yall make a joke about this. Ill will say this ,though. There is only one true way to get to heaven and that is throught Jesus Christ, God's one and only son. Jesus did die for us and through hime we can reach Heaven. God created the world and then created man for some companionship, but then man sinned an well look at the world today. Even though man sinned God still loved him enough that he sent his own son to die for us. Don't tell me their is not a God becuase there is and he is alive and well!

All you have to do to be saved is call upon the Lord Jesus, admit your a sinner and ask forgivness of your sins and repent of and believe with all your heart that Jesus is Christ and the he I lord and he died for yours and my sins and was raised form the dead.

here are some links

www.jesuschrist.com

www.jesusgift.com

[Oligo 1]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Duke_of_Ray @ June 12 2002,01:42)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">It is sad to see how some of yall make a joke about this. Ill will say this ,though. There is only one true way to get to heaven and that is throught Jesus Christ, God's one and only son. Jesus did die for us and through hime we can reach Heaven. God created the world and then created man for some companionship, but then man sinned an well look at the world today. Even though man sinned God still loved him enough that he sent his own son to die for us. Don't tell me their is not a God becuase there is and he is alive and well!<span id='postcolor'>

That's something I never understood. Christian morale teaches us that people are responsible for what they create. Let's say you build a bomb and it blows up, killing a bunch of people. Then it is YOU who have committed murder, not the bomb.

You claim god created man, so according to the morale taught by god, god is responsible for what man does. If man does sin (breaks against the arbitrary rules set up by god), then it is god who is responsible, not the man.

And don't give me the crap about god giving man a free will. This statement merely implies that god did something and then stepped back to observe what happens, therefore not knowing beforehand what would happen (does man sin or not). If he didn't know beforehand what will happen, he is not omnipotent (as claimed in the bible) and thus a worthless god.

Nope, being omnipotent, god must have created man to sin intentionally. Then he judges us for doing it. What kind of sick shit is he?

[Shabadu 0]

Oh dear...

[Ruud van Nistelrooy 0]

Jesus is a huge part of the whole christian religion and the fact there is no evidence for god, who apparently despite being invisible, a state of mind, an all powerful magical entity or whatever, knocked up some chick who gave birth to what became known as the son of god. There are so many things you can say to disprove this theory that i won't even bother. Its a story created by some guy in order to add weight to the whole ''Christianity worships the one true god, come here every day and worship us and donate your life savings to us''.

If indeed this did happen then why do all the middle easterns (remembering that it all apparently happened in the middle east) support different religions that say different things - ultimately to acheive the same goal (get people into church all the time in order to extort various services off them).

What no religion explains convincingly (not that any of them say anything that is remotely convincing and beleivable) is how the universe was created. I mean, we have the whole ''This all powerful invisible bloke who lives in the clouds used his magic to create the universe and created man for company'' etc... but there is way too much scientific evidence that goes against all that bollox.

Jesus was just the physical version of god. No doubt people would go up and ask ''if this god exists why can't we see him, why doesn't he talk'' etc... so, jesus was created to show everything that god in a way existed in a physical form - an attempt to maker the whole thing more believable. So this bloke who was born by a women who apparently was a virgin but got knocked up by this invisible, all powerful being, goes around claiming to be the son of god. So, everyone believes him - why, maybe they were more gullible back them, maybe he was a nice bloke who would actually touch lepers. Of course there are the miricles but there is no physical evidence that these ever happened. So, this guy goes around saying how great he is, and pisses off the romans who kill him. From all this there is a belief that jesus died for all of humanity (???) and so he truly is the son of god - result, people start going to these other guys, who claim to be messengers of god/friends of jesus, and they start worshipping them and dishing out the dosh to pay for their ivory back scratchers - they do this by inventing this place, heaven, which people have to follow these rules to get to. You don't follow the rules - fuck it, you're going to hell which is the worst place in the known universe (or in your mind, whatever you consider hell/heaven to be). In Fact, if you don't come and worship us, you'll go to hell, so you better dedicate your lives to our religion otherwise your fucked. So, people starts worshipping over a period of thousands of years. While thats going on theres about 4 other whole god incidents going on with their respective gods/prophets/miricles going on, all done by their gods/sons of gods... Result - War and Death as people go about saying god x is real and god y is a fake. During this people realise their is no real evidence for god and the whole concept is pretty stupid. Back to the wars - some not created by religion by still, the churches decide to capitalize on the situation by supporting various wars - reward - loot. With the introduction of Television religion becomes pretty much a profit seeking organisation - Church tries to become more hip by introducing smooth talking, witty and snazzily dressed people who blather on about god while relating it modern issues - development of brand image - more profit - smart religious folk become filthy rich.

Notice how this whole idea of money and profit comes up constantly in the whole religion thing.

Its like the pop industry - give the customer a set of aspirations, role models and rules (through promoting conformity and fashion) - brand images - profit.

This is how i see it anyway. religion isn't really something i study that much so please forgive any historical inaccuracies or errors. Plus also forgive my spelling and the overall length of this post didn't think it would be that long