Is it possible that religion could have actually done something beneficial for our society?
There is one, and only one, thing that I can think of. And it happened because no one could agree.
Agree on what?
Which day is the Sabbath day?
Is it Saturday?
Is it Sunday?
No one really knows. The Bible is not very clear on the subject. You would think that if god wants to be especially worshipped on a certain day, he would make it clear which day that is.
The Bible instructs us to work 6 days and take 1 day off.
We ignore the Bibles instructions and work 5 days, taking 2 days off. Why?
Since no one could agree on which day is the Sabbath, we figured what the hell! We'll just take them both off! That way everyone is happy!
Thank you, religion! Because you couldn't agree, we get two days off instead of one! And YOU have to spend one of them sitting in a boring church meeting! Atheists get two whole days of lounging around in their underwear, drinking beer, and watching football games!
10 comments:
I'd also say that religion gives pretty good examples on what not to do.
You left out drinking coffee... It's nectar from the Gods, if there are any. :)
And I agree with Andy, religion shows us what not to do in a huge way.
I agree with Andy as well.
Heather, I wasn't aware that religion was responsible for coffee, or did I mis-understand you?
Oh man...I wasn't clear. :)
Sundays were for lounging in underwear, drinking and watching sports. Coffee should also be a Sunday activity. My bad. ;)
Oh, yes, that makes much more sense.
The Sabbath -- you got it right without knowing. The idea is to give one day a week for quiet refection on what the Lord has done and is doing in your life. I don't really think it matters what day it is.
One of my favorite Bible teachers compared this idea to telling little kids to get out of the sandbox, put their toys away and go take a nap. If parents didn't tell their toddlers to nap, they'd play all day, every day, and that would be unhealthy.
God desires we be healthy, so He says, "put your toys down and be still".
And yes, I LOVE to take a nap on Sunday afternoons :-) But not from boredom, maybe you just needed to try a different church!
The day matters to Mormons. If I decided to take a personal day on Wednesday and went shopping on Sunday and somone in the ward saw me, I'd probably be getting a phone call from the bishop wanting to interview me.
I agree with you completely that we all need a day off. R&R is good for your body as well as mind. The Seventh Day Adventists' main focus is the sabbath day on Saturday, and they have a point because the term "sabbath" is a derivative from the Spanish word "Sabado" which means Saturday!
And yes, I also agree that attending a different paradigm. Mormon church meetings are terribly boring. If you ever go, just look around and see how many people are sleeping.
I too grew up in a church of sleepers. For the longest time, I thought the word "Amen", which the preacher said at the end of the sermon, meant "wake up"! :-0
Legalists, regardless of their faiths and creeds, have done a lot of damage in the world. Maybe you already know this, but the Apostle Paul in the Bible was one of the worst. He even had Christians killed because he was so convinced they were wrong.
Praise the Lord, he finally got it right and started preaching the truth and love of Jesus! "Amen!"
Paul, then called Saul, was traveling on the road when a bright light surrounded him and he heard voices telling him what to do.
There is a medical condition that describes this: it's called schizophrenia.
He heard voices in his head and then started talking to and believing in imaginary friends!
Praise the Lord!
Oh I see you've heard of Paul :-o His writing is some of the best the world has ever known, most folks with such harsh disabilities can't write nearly that well. Praise the Lord, indeed!
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