God vs Religion

8 Comments

1. lanf4604
   Posted February 4, 2012 at 4:47 pm | Permalink

   I think the problem with this video is that it is speaking to those who already accept Christianity. This video talks about how legalism or religion (the over emphasis of discipline and conduct) is not the way in which God intended those who have a relationship with Him to follow. I think that in order to accept this video as a worthy source of information, we would have to already believe in God an the attonement. It is more of a “how to be a good Christian” video than an agrument for the existence of God.

2. bjer2131
   Posted February 6, 2012 at 1:24 am | Permalink

   I agree with lanf on this one. To accept the argument the guy in the video is trying to make, you would already have had to accept the Christian belief in Jesus’ death as atonement for our sins as human beings.
   This video also inspired me to look up the basic definition of religion, which is defined as: (1) the service and worship of God or the supernatural, or (2) commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance.
   After looking at these definitions, I found some oppositions to the argument that religion is all bad. He says, “religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice.” To me, “they” represents the people that may use religion as self-justification, but that doesn’t mean religion itself is to blame. Having faith in a God of some sort does not give anyone the right to use that faith against others, but the faith itself should not be hated. As someone who is not very religious at all, I actually found this video really interesting. I know there are people out there who manipulate the words of religion as a cause for their sins, but in its most basic form, religion itself should not be blamed. People are not Gods for a reason. They are not perfect, but many people want to have a relationship with God, and what better way to do that than through religion? I’d also like to bring up this question: what came first, God or religion?

3. stra7483
   Posted February 6, 2012 at 2:50 am | Permalink

   I feel that the argument this guy is trying to make isn’t concise enough. He hits on a few ideas but he doesn’t get specific about it and in this situation he really needs to.

   I’ve seen a lot of reactions to this video and they are almost all the same. Everyone gets so wrapped up in the video production and the (albeit) beautiful metaphors that they miss a lot of the points he is TRYING to make. They are feeling a rush of emotion but they are wrong in believing it’s the message; they are moved because of the production and how it resembles poetry. I have asked many people what he’s saying here and none of them can tell me, but they’re adamant in now believing that this guy is right and they need to follow his lead.

   I love the poetry here but from a philosophical standpoint I can’t get by his argument to really break it down and get to what he’s actually saying. The only thing I can touch on other than what I have is that to me saying that you “Love Jesus/God but hate religion” is like saying “I love the Sabres but I absolutely hate hockey” which is absolutely absurd to me. I could be wrong, maybe my atheism is clouding my judgements.

4. Wayne Ceallaigh (Barone)
   Posted February 6, 2012 at 7:56 am | Permalink

   This guy used an art form to express an argument in order to stress the point that Jesus did not want organized religion to move away from God. Yes, this video accepts the fact that a Christian is going to be looking at this rather than an agnostic or atheist is going to look to it for proof. I found the video compelling, however I did not really find many philisophical questions regarding exsitence of God within it. I did show it to a friend, and he said that the whole front of organized religion has been the very thing that has been keeping him away from a faith that he feels has called him many times, but the hypocrisy of the organizations forced him away. I think that is the only aim for the video, not to convert anyone. This comes down to a question: If we disbanded all organizations of religion based on the faith that Jesus did not want organized religion, would that act not count as an organized religious ordeal, and all people who adhered to it, would they not be a part of an organized religion again?

5. J0ckam0
   Posted February 6, 2012 at 11:11 am | Permalink

   @Wayne Ceallaigh (Barone)- I remember one of my teachers in a high school comparative religion class saying that Christianity is moving in a more diverse direction, with nondenominational churches becoming more and more popular. (I don’t know exactly how much of this is really true though, he was a pretty poor teacher.) But this kind of relates to the whole disbanding of organized religion. I think it could be an area worth searching.

   @stra7483- I think it’d be more like saying, “I love the Buffalo Bills and football, but I hate the NFL”. I think the labeling of things is really what he’s getting at here. The organization is what he has an issue with. That’s my interpretation at least.

6. padr5645
   Posted February 7, 2012 at 7:34 pm | Permalink

   I feel that the man in this video was really trying to bring about an important message, however it sounded more to me that he was referring to religion as solely Christianity. It is important to remember though that organized religions include all belief systems. In general though I think that he was trying to point out that all too often members of all religions, including Christianity, use their beliefs to condemn others. This is something that has troubled me for many years. As a Christian I feel that it is important to respect all beliefs. It doesn’t matter whether someone is an atheist, a Christian, a Jew,or a Muslim,etc., no one has the right to condemn the beliefs of others. This man made a good point in the video, that all too often religion only sees the people who donate money and come to church on Sunday. Religion often fails to recognize suffering in the world and no matter what you believe as humans we should desire to help those that need help,not condemn them for not believing in the same things as you.

7. Ronald Waclawski
   Posted February 10, 2012 at 4:20 am | Permalink

   The Millennial Generation that the poet in the video speaks on behalf of has lost faith in many institutions, including religious organizations, but certainly not limited to them. In older days, churches and religious centers served as pivotal places of charity and community, instantiating the positive aspects the poet speaks of in relation to Jesus. Nowadays, the welfare state has constructed a safety net, nullifying the religious affiliation with almsgiving.

   The Roman Catholic Church is also a large institutionalized body, with a network of dioceses and parochial schools connected to it. With the church’s role in the community no longer as integral as it was, people are no longer incentivized in strictly adhering to religious doctrine. In fact, the doctrine and ritual of the religion is all that keeps many within the community attached to it, which means that current outlooks on things such as contraception and gay marriage are often preserved despite public populism because the church is established. Many of these headlines that the church gets involved with tend to bisect to population rather than bring them together.

   There are several things that define the Millennial Generation, one of which is a sense of community they have with contemporary social media, such as Facebook, Youtube, or even this blog. Much of what kept the church strong, and what still does, is the sense of community it instills. If the younger generation can find that easily elsewhere, and the community is diverse enough (which the internet surely is) than they can also adapt their morals and ethical codes to conform with populism outside the religious sphere. When they do, their progressive and compromising views seem obvious, where the institutionalized morals seem backwards and often hypocritical.

8. povh1777
   Posted February 10, 2012 at 6:45 pm | Permalink

   No, this video does not answer does not answer much of the philosophical standpoint behind God but it definitely makes you think. The video is made by a young man who already accepts Christianity though seems somewhat on the fence. I looked at some respones to this video and saw one “I love religion, and love Jesus || Spoken word” and this video is from the Catholic standpoint. It is interesting to watch them back to back.

   I understand that there are many other religions out there and as padr5654 stated quite nicely, that there is no need to condemn others for what they believe, even it is not the same as you though I don’t think that was the purpose of this video either.