Are religions mind control?

[BeBMan]

Actually some parents manage to get their children to grow into self-thinking human beings....

[Pekka]

Sure. Hey, this isn't about religious people are bad or this or that.

It's about the topic, simply put. There's no point going off like Shrapnel just did, because there's a million ways you can spin this and not talk about the topic itself.

It's a fairly simple question really.

[Wezil]

I don't try to "indoctrinate" anyone. If people choose to believe in imaginary beings I really don't care. Just don't ask me to believe in your false gods.

[Pekka]

Wezil, Haha! This was actually a bust for you pagan devils! MUhahahahaha, you will hear from us soon.

Signed,

Soldiers of Mukamah

[BeBMan]

Who carries out the mind control if they are all real believers (assumption)?

[Kataphraktoi]

I thought you had a point though, now I realize you're upset about me questioning if religions are mind control or what the likelyhood of that is. You see how your indoctrination is hindering you already? Emotions have been triggered and you can say all you want it isn't about that, it's about me being a jerk, it's about something else, but we can look at your wording over and over again and you just owned yourself.

Your own indoctrination shows. Your rationalizing it by saying shrapnel is the one indoctrinated.

The idea that religion is a separate entity from science and reality and all that is a fiction. Atheism, Christianity, and Nationalism are all religions. Plenty of people come willingly to all three of these.

Mind control is what advertisers would love to use, and do if they can. Imagine a hot theater in the middle of summer. A bottle of coke is displayed on the screen-you can see the moisture forming on it, indicating its cool. It stirs up memories of what coke is like, and the good feeling when you drink one. You want a coke now, but you may not have before the ad. Infact you could put it on the screen and replace it with something else before viewers could realize they had seen it, though part of their mind had. This could be a form of mind control.

[Proteus_MST]

Originally posted by BeBro
Actually some parents manage to get their children to grow into self-thinking human beings....

Yep,
I think that is the diffeence between moderates and fundamentalists in religion.
Where the first ones are more likely to present their belief wiithout trying to indoctrinate other people the latter ones will be more likely to indoctrinate people. And it looks like converted people in almost all religions seem to be those with the most fundamentalist world view.

[BeBMan]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi

Atheism, Christianity, and Nationalism are all religions.

No.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi

Your own indoctrination shows. Your rationalizing it by saying shrapnel is the one indoctrinated.

Question. Do you believe in Zeus? Why not?

[Pekka]

"Your own indoctrination shows. Your rationalizing it by saying shrapnel is the one indoctrinated."

Well, he did assume I was an atheist and my life was crap so I had to take it on religion. So I figured he is a religious person who got upset. Which is a result of indoctrination, it is not very rational.

And what is my indoctrination? Rationalism? Anyway, I recognize that all my thoughts have been thought before and the way I percieve reality is through science (science is not a religion by the way), but also through social reality, which by large has been set up by people as well as the values and norms in it, so many feelings and opinions I have and things that seem natural are actually a product of that, for example see protestant work ethic, or social constructionism. That's KIND of the point of this main question, have religious people considered it's all false and this is mind control? I realize many of my understandings are acutally a product of something else, difference = try to see the way I think and why that is, keep questioning.

Nationalism isnt' a religion. Who is the deity of nationalism and what are the rules?

So no. Sorry.

This is the typical thing you get when you even question religious truths. It gets VERY philosophical after a short while "I mean who knows what is real, is your thumb real, I don't know, I just believe". Just into very weird cycles of what exists and what doesn't exist. And that you choose to believe in X and that X is never a religion. No. Faith is what is pivotal in religion. So it should include FAITH. Nationalism doesn't need faith. It doesn't have a deity and it's definitely not a religion.

[Kataphraktoi]

Question. Do you believe in Zeus? Why not?

Im neutral. There is no real evidence either way. All his supposed powers and happenings have not been proved not to happen or be impossible, and stranger things happen on stargate sg1 all the time and are depicted as possible. If you mean i think he is a god right now, then no.

After all you could say there are aliens living in the center of the earth and there is no proof either way. Its a moot statement



Lets take a look at the definition of religion.

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

Nationalism isnt' a religion. Who is the deity of nationalism and what are the rules?

The state itself, and its laws or desired beliefs are the rules.

[BeBMan]

What has "The state itself, and its laws or desired beliefs are the rules." to do with "a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe"?

[Pekka]

Hey, wanna see the definition of nationalism? We can go to the same source, let's see if it's a religion there. No? Give up the threadjack already.

[Kataphraktoi]

In a super nationalist state(fascism) the state itself could be the universe. Nazi Germany would seize on anything to perpetuate itself and maintain power.

[Kataphraktoi]

Whatever floats your boat pekka