Philosophy Discussion Forums | A Humans-Only Club for Open-Minded Discussion & Debate

[Vanamali Thotapalli]

Continuing my views on morals, values - I present exhibit 3 - God & Putin
Honestly, when it comes to religion, we seem to lose all morals & values
We live in a world where we admire success based on hard work, defeating the odds, sacrifice, dealing with setbacks & finally EARNING Success!
A world where to say your wife or daughter did not earn that job or promotion, she got it because she had a "relationship" with the boss is an insult!
We look down upon Communist/Corrupt countries where whom-you-know is how things get done
The better qualified, the better product does not get the job, the contract, but is GIVEN to those with connections

But amazingly Religion preaches the exact opposite of the above values - Heaven cannot be Earned, it can only be Given & it is given only to the favored, whom-you-know matters, not what-you-know. "Relationship" with the boss is a must & not just any boss, it must be the "right" boss
And amazingly even the most moral of us blindly nod to these views
Things get done just like in Corrupt/Communist countries

In North Korea, those the "Dear Loving Master" favors is given the rich life - the vast majority suffer a brutal life
The afterworld, according to religion, will be similar - the few who pray to the "right" God will live the rich life while the vast majority will suffer
And guess what, even the most moral of us, are completely oblivious to all this

But I digress - the theme was how just a change in a word - from a Cow to a Dog, from Brahmin to Royalty can change our minds completely, we do a 180 turn in our morals, values!

The likes of Putin says(and I am paraphrasing here) "Believe in me, support me and only me, sing only my praises and be rewarded or else!"
And many who have sold their souls and have done exactly that, have been amply rewarded!
In return these supporters have raped, tortured and killed so many - spared no one - not even children, of those who did not support Putin
And we correctly call Putin pure evil and his supporters have sold their souls for a few coins of gold

But let's change the name Putin to God and repeat the EXACT same words! A miracle happens! Now we get "Praise the Lord/Allah!"
Religious people have also raped, tortured and killed so many in the name of religion
And is still going on now in countries like Pakistan - try insulting Allah there & a mob will gather and lynch you to death!
And chillingly the western media finds this acceptable!

And the goal is the same as those who support Putin - a life of pleasure, a life of ease & comfort!
But amazingly while the supporters of Putin have something concrete, real, all followers of religion get is a cheap, easy promise!
Souls sold so cheaply!

I have tried to get my views on morals, ethics published but the media will not allow it
Media censorship is real - the only place where I can publish such views is in forums like this
I am glad that the previous two posts went thru but I fear when it comes to religion, even here I might face censorship

[Jennifer Bells]

I strongly believed in hardwork but I also believe in human relation. We can only be helped by our fellow human , thus connection. Although connection should not be the best practice for work but people always want to give things to individuals that they trust. What more can I say?

[Vanamali Thotapalli]

I strongly believed in hardwork but I also believe in human relation. We can only be helped by our fellow human , thus connection. Although connection should not be the best practice for work but people always want to give things to individuals that they trust. What more can I say?

Exactly! The world has changed a lot since these religions were born - back then they knew little about the world, it was a very violent world - in Muslim countries women hid behind Burkhas - in other parts of the world Kings, Dictators, tribes waged wars against each other, Kings were dictators really, always afraid of coups & when such things happened, or when an old king died, successors waged war against each other. You better back the winner or else! Most people did not know people beyond their borders and so religions born then, could easily spew hate against "those unbelievers, they are not like us" etc
Unbelievers were rounded up and killed brutally - it would be like living in today's Pakistan or North Korea - where if you did not support the "Dear Loving Master" goons will show up at your door
.
But the world has changed so much since then - today people belonging to different nationalities, religions & Atheists work together, are friends!
I have yet to see a Theist injured in an accident scream, "Please save me but only those who believe as I do!" They will take help from anyone!
They would need blood - this blood comes from all races, religions!
Christians do this at dinner - they hold hands and thank God for the bounty they are about to eat
When Covid struck many restaurant owners and their workers found that it was not God that was giving them the bounty but it was their customers - people of all faiths, Atheists - walking thru their doors
We depend on each other - what happens in China or Japan or some other obscure part of the world, affects us all!
.
But amazing is that the hate has not changed! Even today, unbelievers, people of other faiths are threatened with dire consequences! It says who they are as human beings does not matter, their values, morals do not matter - all that matters is their belief, religion or lack of it
Just like how black men are reduced down to their skin color in the eyes of a racist
Just like how Jews were reduced to just their religion by the Nazis & Christians & Muslims for centuries before that
An amazing willingness to be Nazis!
All based on a cheap promise of an eternal life of ease & comfort
Souls sold so cheaply

[Mounce574]

Correct m if I am wrong- isn't Putin an Orthodox Christian? From what I have read, the Orthodox Church has been an influential part of his regime. North Korea bans all religion-to the point of punishing people to death in labour camps.
Theoretically, morals are determined by the accepted norms of the surrounding society that has adapted to the conditions they face. As an example: As a Christian, I would not go to North Korea.
Prejudice is taught and applies to the racist, Nazi, Religion A vs Religion B,.
Why did most of the restaurants go out of business during Covid yet the Churches did not?

[Lagayascienza]

Fact: Most restaurants did not go out of business during COVID.
During lockdowns there were temporary closures of restaurants. And there were temporary shutdowns of church services. So what?