Quote:
Originally Posted by Halx
We have a lot to thank religion and faith for. It was created to explain the things people could not answer with their knowledge at the time. I understand the purpose and effect of prayer in a humanist sense: as noted, it creates a placebo effect that pleases those who believe.
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But this isn't the extent of it. Prayer isn't just a means for feeling better for oneself; it's also a means for focusing one's values.
You see, that's what religion is--a set of values. Although I'll admit that most religious systems were appropriated and abused so that they could be used as a tool of control, pacification, and destruction, that's not why or how they came about.
We can trace something such as Christianity as far back as the pagan religions. Why did these come about? Well, for several reasons, I'm sure. But the most influential aspect of religion, belief, and prayer is that they are a means for one to focus on a set of values that many can generally agree upon. For the lack of a better analysis, this is like the Golden Rule. Most of us can generally agree that the Golden Rule is a good thing in practice. Well, that's what these sets of values do: they enable one to practice what's generally acceptable behaviour amongst the populace.
And this is why it's interesting that we can trace several parallelisms between faiths such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, etc. Even atheists will agree to some, if not many, of the fundamental principles of these faiths.
These are codes for decent living.
We tend to focus on whether or not there is such thing as a sky god, or whether or not we are reincarnations of previous life forms, yet we overlook what in essence these systems are saying and teaching.
Is there a God? Not likely.
Is religion outdated? Maybe.
Is prayer ineffective? I have to say no. It serves a purpose, just like any other form of self-reflection.
Even atheists practice self-reflection.