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Post by thisguy4000 on Apr 20, 2017 2:00:10 GMT
What do you think the state of the world would be like today?
Keep in mind, I'm not attempting to offend anyone with this thread. This is just something I as an atheist have wondered about for a while.
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romad
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Post by romad on Apr 20, 2017 2:35:03 GMT
People will still kill, steal, hate. Or not. Depending on the person. having religion does not mean you are a good person. Lack of does not mean you are bad,
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Apr 20, 2017 2:53:45 GMT
Assuming God doesn't exist, then man would create something to fill the void left by the lack of answers.
However, it would be far clunkier and less elegant than Judeo-Christian beliefs (Yes, that was yet another challenge) and would probably resemble something more piecemeal like Greek or Norse mythology.
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Post by Vegas on Apr 20, 2017 6:02:16 GMT
As somebody else in this thread pointed out: As others have pointed out in the past.. Religion has stood in the way of and slowed down some scientific progress... Without that hesitancy, Man evolves nuclear arms centuries earlier... and we'd all already be dead. Maybe.  |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 20, 2017 12:31:10 GMT
The world would be the same.
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Post by OldSamVimes on Apr 20, 2017 12:39:46 GMT
The world would be overpopulated right now.
So many people have either been killed for whatever religion they follow or have killed others because of their religion.
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Post by Aj_June on Apr 20, 2017 13:21:25 GMT
While, it might make differences in lives of individual people, I don't think overall it will make a significant change for entire humanity. I am assuming that we don't have to set some sort of criteria of wishful thinking where by we not just believe religions never existed but also that humans did not indulge in other things that can have similar impact on humans as religion did. Humans have fought in the names of many things such as land, women, languages and many other silly things.
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Post by phludowin on Apr 20, 2017 14:04:44 GMT
I believe that a predisposition towards religion and a teleological world view are part of the history of human evolution; and if homo sapiens had not had these predispositions in the past, the world might look very different today.
But I have no idea how.
And it's possible that the world would still look like the world today, even without religion.
But in my opinion, we might as well ask: What if humans had never evolved to leave the oceans? Or the trees? Or what if mammals had evolved to grow six limbs instead of four?
I guess we won't know unless we observe a planet where life evolved just like that. And I believe that it's unlikely to happen in my lifetime.
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Post by rachelcarson1953 on Apr 21, 2017 17:05:11 GMT
While, it might make differences in lives of individual people, I don't think overall it will make a significant change for entire humanity. I am assuming that we don't have to set some sort of criteria of wishful thinking where by we not just believe religions never existed but also that humans did not indulge in other things that can have similar impact on humans as religion did. Humans have fought in the names of many things such as land, women, languages and many other silly things. Our lizard brains would still find something to fight about.
www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/basic-lizard-brain-psychology-explain-rise-trump-article-1.2960261
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blade
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Post by blade on Apr 21, 2017 17:40:36 GMT
Nobody would be going to heaven in the afterlife.
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Post by drystyx on Apr 21, 2017 18:22:24 GMT
Obviously, the desire to hurt and kill has nothing to do with religion. It just becomes a scapegoat for homicidal maniacs. Isis, for example, owes its power over people to Western culture. Their gods are Eastwood, Leone, Coen, Raimi, and Coppola, among others. That's just the simple fact.
Without "religion", there would be no safety net at all for treachery and murder. The Nazi party, for example, was devoted to what they felt was a scientific ideology of survival of the fittest. The Khmer Rouge was the same way. The Khmer Rouge wiped out a larger percentage of its own population than any other faction I know of.
Religion gives people the illusion that they have a fighting chance against demon possessed humans, but the fact is that all humans have to constantly fight demonic possession, or be possessed, and the demons provide the incentive to hate. The people pick an excuse, if needed. If religion wasn't an excuse, they'd use another excuse. That's just a simple fact. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 21, 2017 23:07:40 GMT
The world would be overpopulated right now. So many people have either been killed for whatever religion they follow or have killed others because of their religion. Funnily enough, I was just about to type that there would be a lower population, because religion promotes large families. |
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Post by lowtacks86 on Apr 21, 2017 23:20:43 GMT
The world would be overpopulated right now. So many people have either been killed for whatever religion they follow or have killed others because of their religion. Funnily enough, I was just about to type that there would be a lower population, because religion promotes large families. I was gonna say the same thing. I also suspect the population would be a bit lower because there wouldn't be as many homosexuals pretending to be straight because of religious pressure and marrying off and breeding. |
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Apr 21, 2017 23:59:33 GMT
The world would be overpopulated right now. So many people have either been killed for whatever religion they follow or have killed others because of their religion. Funnily enough, I was just about to type that there would be a lower population, because religion promotes large families. Not sure how accurate that is. |
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Post by Marv on Apr 22, 2017 10:29:14 GMT
About the same, I reckon.
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Post by THawk on Apr 22, 2017 16:23:15 GMT
Religion was one of the main reasons humans grouped together and formed communities and eventually civilization. We'd all still be living in caves swinging off the trees without religion. (By religion I am including the entire spectrum of humans looking for answers and meaning beyond our immediate or physical surroundings)
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Post by Terrapin Station on Apr 22, 2017 16:28:51 GMT
Ironically, it might be like heaven.
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PanLeo
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Post by PanLeo on Apr 22, 2017 16:55:33 GMT
There would be less divisions, less wars and crrtain things would be accepted that are not today. Incest for example would be accepted and rightly so.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2017 20:19:31 GMT
Funnily enough, I was just about to type that there would be a lower population, because religion promotes large families. Not sure how accurate that is. I think that the statistics show that it is accurate. Non-religious people tend only to have children purely for selfish reasons, or by accident. Whereas religious people believe that they are commanded to have offspring in order for those lives to be treasured by the creator of the universe. |
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Apr 22, 2017 20:23:46 GMT
Not sure how accurate that is. I think that the statistics show that it is accurate. Non-religious people tend only to have children purely for selfish reasons, or by accident. Whereas religious people believe that they are commanded to have offspring in order for those lives to be treasured by the creator of the universe. It's not entirely fair to to do a one to one comparison given the overwhelming numbers discrepancy. They are plenty of religious people on average who have few children to none. Some don't have kids specifically because they focus on their religion. I think you will find a stronger correlation between class or geographic location than religion. |
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