For once I agree with a Pope

[muddy]

Really ? 
Must have been Ireland .
The priest visited us every now and again , never asked for money .
Just made us all knew for a blessing .
( and we had coconut matting ) 

[Scrumpy]

I used to help a neighbour way back.. 
She was elderly and a pensioner.. I used to collect her pension for her at our local post office..
Every week she would lay her pension money on the kitchen table and put it into piles for things that needed paying ... plus food money..
She had very little for the food stuff but always put money in a little envelope to pay our local church.. CofE.
Perhaps if they had collected the pension for her .. saw her little piles of money and what was left afterwards they wouldn't have accepted the envelope. 
Money grabbing..

[klondike]

Perhaps if they had collected the pension for her .. saw her little piles of money and what was left afterwards they wouldn't have accepted the envelope. 

They likely would.

[ansu]

I am not a religious person, but as a "Christian"  I am trying to help others if needed. Since the fall of the wall we have a lot of atheists in Germany and more and more people leave church to save the church tax. 
In Germany Roman Catholic believers complain that women are considered to be more or less inferior to men and can't become priests etc. - moreover many think that it would be good for priests to be allowed to get married.
As to religion - what's quite astonishing is that humans always believed in something - in former times there existed a lot of gods, today some believe in one god, others still believe in many gods and even our atheists partly believe that nature is responsible. So maybe it's in the nature of humans to look for someone being responsible (destiny). 
However, some ask - if there's a god, why can he allow that there are such a lot of wars on earth, why doesn't he stop them. 
Heaven and hell - I read somewhere that people in the Middle Age had such a hard life that the prospects of getting into heaven after death seemed to them wonderful.
Nowadays we know or suppose that a life after death is an illusion. 
Sorry, it's a bit long.

[JBR]

I am not a religious person, but as a "Christian"  I am trying to help others if needed. Since the fall of the wall we have a lot of atheists in Germany and more and more people leave church to save the church tax.
In Germany Roman Catholic believers complain that women are considered to be more or less inferior to men and can't become priests etc. - moreover many think that it would be good for priests to be allowed to get married.
As to religion - what's quite astonishing is that humans always believed in something - in former times there existed a lot of gods, today some believe in one god, others still believe in many gods and even our atheists partly believe that nature is responsible. So maybe it's in the nature of humans to look for someone being responsible (destiny).
However, some ask - if there's a god, why can he allow that there are such a lot of wars on earth, why doesn't he stop them.
Heaven and hell - I read somewhere that people in the Middle Age had such a hard life that the prospects of getting into heaven after death seemed to them wonderful.
Nowadays we know or suppose that a life after death is an illusion.
Sorry, it's a bit long.

Well said.
Several reasons, perfectly believable, which explain why there isn't a god.

I believe... er, no, no I don't!
I'll start again.

I believe that the reason the concept of a god initially came about was that early man couldn't understand or explain why certain things happen in the world, and so their logical explanation was that 'God' (who acquired a completely different name and character in different parts of the world) was responsible and, of course, He (it was always a 'he' for some reason!) had His own reasons for doing such things and that all humans were so inferior in comparison that they could never know why 'He' did such things.

And it came to pass that this was so persuasive that people have continued to never question 'His' existence for hundreds of years.

[klondike]

I think it came about more because somebody was a bit smarter than the rest and realised there was an advantage in inventing  gods that he and he alone could communicate with and pass on their edicts which by pure coincidence were advantageous to him.

[Michael Rolls]

Well said.
Several reasons, perfectly believable, which explain why there isn't a god.

I believe... er, no, no I don't!
I'll start again.
He (it was always a 'he' for some reason!)

Not in all religions - the Norse worshipped Freya, Ran, Oestre, all  ladies off the top of my head, they also feared another lady Hel, the goddess of their equivalent of Hell

[JBR]

I think it came about more because somebody was a bit smarter than the rest and realised there was an advantage in inventing  gods that he and he alone could communicate with and pass on their edicts which by pure coincidence were advantageous to him.

And so came the beginnings of the priesthood!
Quite a position of power, I should say. 

March 10, 2024, 11:28:50 AM

Not in all religions - the Norse worshipped Freya, Ran, Oestre, all  ladies off the top of my head, they also feared another lady Hel, the goddess of their equivalent of Hell

A female god?  Why not?  Rather less dictatorial and overbearing than God, or certainly Allah, I'd say.

[Diasi]

And so came the beginnings of the priesthood!
Quite a position of power, I should say.

March 10, 2024, 11:28:50 AMA female god?  Why not?  Rather less dictatorial and overbearing than God, or certainly Allah, I'd say.

Sheeesh, can you imagine the Muslims if it turned out Allah was a female. 

[dextrous63]

A transitioned gay one at that.

[JBR]

A transitioned gay one at that.

Brilliant.  I wonder what would happen if I publicly stated that Allah has 'transitioned' to a woman?

I should have to quickly disappear, of course.
Or perhaps transition to a woman.

[dextrous63]

😬😬😬😬

[klondike]

Or perhaps transition to a woman.

They would doubtless provide you with some assistance in that.