[vipluka]

No. However parents forcing their children to go to religious services when they are young, may turn them into resentful rebellious teenages who say they hate all religion as a result.

[Eunatis]

Not so. In order to be mind control, the individual has to be incapable of juding the situation and making a decision for himself. Almost all religious people have changed their beliefs based on personal expierence to some extent or another.

[XIMHOTEP-X]

Are you talking about religion in general or specific religions? Sure there are cults that brainwash people, but brainwashing is not restricted to religion. Take communism and nazism for example.

[Kdgjhytiy]

All religions, so I guess religion in general. But I might leave out the more.. philosophical ones. THe ones with stricter rules, God or Gods, stories that are considered as real, something that really did happen.

[HagsPusia]

They are not Ming control.

[Fouttysotlalf]

Religions/holy scriptures IMHO are mere tools. It depends on the religious leaders how they´re used.
Just like a knife can be used to do constructive work as well as to murder someone, religions can lead to an open society (if the religious leaders don´t promote mindless believing into the literal truth of the scriptures and preaches tolerance) or it can lead to an intolerant warlike society where members of other societies (or people who don´t adhere to some views of the religionists) are actively pursued.

[P3bWjm1j]

How is teaching or spreading a religion, what you want to call indoctrination, any different from anything else? Atheists try to indoctrinate people. Governments of all types try to indoctrinate people to believe in that governments polotics. Individuals indoctrinate their children into adopting their own moral set. I'm sorry, but what's your point? Are you guys just bitter because your life is cr@p, so you need to take it out on religion?

[ValdisSeroff]

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

[Annewsded]

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.

[TornadoPD]

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

[MaigicyuNinia]

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.

[vdw4Epsi]

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?

[Opening-auto]

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.

[tinamasak]

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.

[Kristoferson]

Whatever floats your boat pekka

[effebrala]

Originally posted by Kataphraktoi
In a super nationalist state(fascism) the state itself could be the universe. That makes no sense. There's a certain ideal of what a state is and what it does or how it works in fascism (as there are other ideals about a state with a democratic constitution etc.), but that does not make for a religion. You watered down the def so much that nearly everything with some rules and beliefs can be a religion, which makes such a def worthless, since it doesn't allow a clear distinction between different phenomena anymore. If your def includes everything you don't need it.

[Inonanialry]

This thread is mind control. (Nowhere near as potent as the mind control exhibited in the babe thread though...) The sun is mind control. Pekka is mind control. Everything is mind control.

[lollypop]

Yes, so is asking questions!

[mr.calisto]

Influence is just a form of incomplete control.

[agildeta]

Originally posted by Shrapnel12

Wezil,
If I were a person of faith, I would answer that I don't believe in Zeus because it is not of my faith. I would tell you that I believe in my particular religion because I have faith in my god. It doesn't really matter if that's a good or poor answer. It doesn't really matter if you understand the answer. I would agree that's no way to convince others however if that is the intent. "Faith" is not evidence. It is the opposite actually.