Quoting Post Archived Topic: It will not be bumped to the top of the forum. Topic "Studying Religion" Membername   Not a member? Sign Up Free (takes 20 seconds) Password   Forgotten your password? Post Font: Verdana Arial Black Georgia Comic Sans Impact   Size: Tiny Normal Big Huge   Color: Default Dark Red Red Orange Brown Green Olive Cyan Blue Dark Blue Indigo Black [ Check Spelling ] [ Post Preview ] [ LiveTags ] Quote: from [m]Alabamarama[/m] at 12:57 am on Aug. 20, 2008[quote]People don't have to be religious in order to study religion, and they don't need to know the Bible by heart to study it. You are biased, and you don't know what you're talking about, so please, go to sleep. Edit: And what Bearsy Bitch said. That's true too. [/quote] FAQ Keyword Search: Post Options Favorites Manager Notify me of new replies to this topic by email Notify me of new replies to this topic by private message Original Post I never forget Posted at 12:54 am on Aug. 20, 2008 So I'll be fair, and say that this is somewhat biased. I'm an atheist, and I see all of the religions I am aware of as stupid, pointless, and potentially harmful. I really do find that any variation of "I've studied religion" to be....a bit of joke. I know that by definition of the word "study" you can study pretty much anything. Though It's just humorous that some people have pride in knowledge of a "holy" text, and the fact that you can go to college for it is just hilarious to me. Studying the Bible(just an example), and being able to pull verses out of your ass. Is about as impressive as studying the Harry Potter books(just an example), and finding deep meaning in it, morals, and all that fun stuff, all throughout the chapters of it. I'm sure there are things I'll want to fix and change here...but I'm getting my drunk ass to bed.

Replies sophos Posted at 9:14 pm on Aug. 20, 2008 There is a clear line between fact and fiction, and until otherwise proven, religious doctrine invariably falls under the latter. Although there is a place for any field of study, sweeping claims as to the indispensability of religious study stem from the claimants naiveté. The study of religion has no more relevance than that of culture or tradition; there may be a place for it, but definitely not a crucial one. Man may live by his many beliefs, but the religious ones are as inconsequential as beliefs in fairies or UFOs. Link01 Posted at 11:58 am on Aug. 20, 2008 to study religon is my opinion is to study all of them and to find the good the bad and the uggly of all of them SovSull Posted at 9:11 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Quote: from I never forget at 11:01 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Studying history is different. Religious texts are nothing but ridiculous stories. Where as reading the history of the legacy of the rulers of some civilization is for the most part fact. yeah its not like religious texts have been some of humanity's earliest literature or have been a huge influence on the world or anything like that edit: proofread good exceedinglyrare Posted at 9:02 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Quote: from I never forget at 11:01 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Okay So I've read the Bible, I've read the book of Mormom, and I have dabbled in the Qur'an and Torah, So I'm not completely ignorant. I just think it's funny to call it studying. I've said this before, but this was months ago and I assume some of you forgot about this.   Studying history is different. Religious texts are nothing but ridiculous stories. Where as reading the history of the legacy of the rulers of some civilization is for the most part fact. You honestly think you can't understand people without understanding their religion? Well Then I suppose you're just bad at reading people.   As for the study of literature. I'm not so much of an..."art" person. I've been in about 6 different operas, and been in a few plays outside of school. I don't find much meaning in these. It's not hard to see a moral if there is one in a story. Though to call it "studying" to me just diminishes the word. Like I said in the OP you can by definition study anything however.   You don't need to spend hundreds-thousands of dollars to study religion academically, to understand this world. I suppose it may help some people, but it's not required. You might as well argue that we should study the fucking birds and the bees, bob the builder, and sesame street. So you can get a good understanding of where the people of today get their morals, and smart making skills(smart making?). The thing is, there's a huge difference between saying "It's not my cup of tea" and "It's not real studying." You've yet to explain why "it's not real studying" for any reason other than "I don't think it's real and I don't like it." Those, frankly, are not good reasons. At all. Also, just to point out that in a lot of cases, religious texts double as historical texts. It's sheer ignorance (oh the surprise!) to assume that religious texts are solely philosophical or mythological, when they actually serve a variety of different purposes, including literary and historical. Alabamarama Posted at 8:27 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Quote: from I never forget at 10:01 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Okay So I've read the Bible, I've read the book of Mormom, and I have dabbled in the Qur'an and Torah, So I'm not completely ignorant. I just think it's funny to call it studying. I've said this before, but this was months ago and I assume some of you forgot about this. Studying history is different. Religious texts are nothing but ridiculous stories. Where as reading the history of the legacy of the rulers of some civilization is for the most part fact.   You honestly think you can't understand people without understanding their religion? Well Then I suppose you're just bad at reading people. As for the study of literature. I'm not so much of an..."art" person. I've been in about 6 different operas, and been in a few plays outside of school. I don't find much meaning in these. It's not hard to see a moral if there is one in a story. Though to call it "studying" to me just diminishes the word. Like I said in the OP you can by definition study anything however. You don't need to spend hundreds-thousands of dollars to study religion academically, to understand this world. I suppose it may help some people, but it's not required. You might as well argue that we should study the fucking birds and the bees, bob the builder, and sesame street. So you can get a good understanding of where the people of today get their morals, and smart making skills(smart making?). Just because some area of study doesn't interest you doesn't mean that it's a joke. There are some people, religious and not, who are truly interested in what religious texts have to say, how they are tied to history, and what effects they have had on society. You don't need to understand a person's religion in order to understand the person, but if you understand what religion did to the world, it's easier to understand history. King Kong Posted at 8:09 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Quote: from Alabamarama at 8:57 am on Aug. 20, 2008 People don't have to be religious in order to study religion, and they don't need to know the Bible by heart to study it. You are biased, and you don't know what you're talking about, so please, go to sleep. Edit: And what Bearsy Bitch said. That's true too. agreed I never forget Posted at 8:01 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Okay So I've read the Bible, I've read the book of Mormom, and I have dabbled in the Qur'an and Torah, So I'm not completely ignorant. I just think it's funny to call it studying. I've said this before, but this was months ago and I assume some of you forgot about this. Studying history is different. Religious texts are nothing but ridiculous stories. Where as reading the history of the legacy of the rulers of some civilization is for the most part fact. You honestly think you can't understand people without understanding their religion? Well Then I suppose you're just bad at reading people. As for the study of literature. I'm not so much of an..."art" person. I've been in about 6 different operas, and been in a few plays outside of school. I don't find much meaning in these. It's not hard to see a moral if there is one in a story. Though to call it "studying" to me just diminishes the word. Like I said in the OP you can by definition study anything however. You don't need to spend hundreds-thousands of dollars to study religion academically, to understand this world. I suppose it may help some people, but it's not required. You might as well argue that we should study the fucking birds and the bees, bob the builder, and sesame street. So you can get a good understanding of where the people of today get their morals, and smart making skills(smart making?). tkster Posted at 7:40 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Well in my opinion you're rather foolish and I'll be happy to elucidate why.  Although I may not see the Bible or Qu'ran as holy or true and I may be an atheist, I do think that there is a benefit in reading these texts for yourself and studying them.  For one, it helps you connect with people in the world who are of these religions and understand where they are coming from, but it also gives you an insight to how to address various assertions by such people on certain topics. I dislike ignorant atheists in the same way that I dislike ignorant religious people; I have no problem with people of any view, but coming to a view without educating yourself is rather asinine. tk Prince o palities Posted at 5:51 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Quote: from I never forget at 2:54 am on Aug. 20, 2008 I really do find that any variation of "I've studied religion" to be....a bit of joke. I know that by definition of the word "study" you can study pretty much anything. Though It's just humorous that some people have pride in knowledge of a "holy" text, and the fact that you can go to college for it is just hilarious to me. What about the social sciences in general? Would it be ridiculous to study Near Eastern archaeology with an aim toward better understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? Would it be silly to study Chinese political history in order to better grasp the modern governmental climate? History, anthropology, sociology, archaeology. They all help modern man to better understand where man is and how he got there. With the overwhelming majority of the world's population being religious, it is impossible to accurately understand and interact with people without the study of religion. Nor is it possible to understand the history of the world, which had religion before it had civilization, without academic study in the field. That you think religion is stupid does not make it any less relevant to the history of the world or to a proper understanding of modern man. exceedinglyrare Posted at 4:56 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Quote: from I never forget at 3:54 am on Aug. 20, 2008 So I'll be fair, and say that this is somewhat biased. I'm an atheist, and I see all of the religions I am aware of as stupid, pointless, and potentially harmful.   I really do find that any variation of "I've studied religion" to be....a bit of joke. I know that by definition of the word "study" you can study pretty much anything. Though It's just humorous that some people have pride in knowledge of a "holy" text, and the fact that you can go to college for it is just hilarious to me.   Studying the Bible(just an example), and being able to pull verses out of your ass. Is about as impressive as studying the Harry Potter books(just an example), and finding deep meaning in it, morals, and all that fun stuff, all throughout the chapters of it. I'm sure there are things I'll want to fix and change here...but I'm getting my drunk ass to bed. Do you feel the same way about studying literature, then? Or, for that matter, history? nik1 Posted at 3:13 am on Aug. 20, 2008 It depends on whether you enjoy fiction or non fiction.  You have to look really hard to find non fiction in anything related to religion in my opinion.   BluShift Posted at 1:05 am on Aug. 20, 2008 OMG when I argue religion I use Harry Potter and an analogy too! Alabamarama Posted at 12:57 am on Aug. 20, 2008 People don't have to be religious in order to study religion, and they don't need to know the Bible by heart to study it. You are biased, and you don't know what you're talking about, so please, go to sleep. Edit: And what Bearsy Bitch said. That's true too. Bearsy Posted at 12:56 am on Aug. 20, 2008 Religion has had a huge impact everywhere in world history. All 14 previous replies displayed.