Religion good for you

[Martin Jr.]

Religion good for you, Reduces teen pregnacies, too: 19 April 2010
The Iona Institute has launched the first-ever ad campaign to promote religious practice, with the message, "Here's a little science. The practice of religion is good for you". The campaign, which started last week, focusing on Dublin city at first, consists of 110 bus shelter ads throughout the city and will run for a fortnight.

The Institute launched the campaign to coincide with Easter. Commenting on the project, Iona Institute director David Quinn said, "This campaign is unprecedented. Nothing like it has ever taken place in Ireland, or anywhere else that we know of. Its aim is to present a positive image of religion". "There are now a lot of scientific studies", he continued, "showing that religious practice has numerous beneficial effects. The aim of the campaign is to let people know about this".

The effort is based on a paper by well-known psychiatrist Prof Patricia Casey, "The Psycho-Social Benefits of Religious Practise". The paper examined the various scientific studies in this area, which showed that religious practise was associated, on average, with lower levels of depression, martial breakdown, alcohol and drug abuse and teen pregnancy, faster recovery from bereavement and illness, longer life expectancy, etc.

Quinn remarked that "If the campaign gets a good response, we hope to roll it out in other parts of the country in the next year or two". "Religion", he added, "has a very negative image at present.

The campaign was first conceived four years ago when books like the God Delusion were best sellers. We wanted to counter this negativity by pointing to the evidence that, on the whole, religious practice is beneficial both for individuals and for society".

He emphasised the non-demoninational nature of the campaign: "The message of this campaign is not specific to anyone denomination, or even any one religion. it is a generic message and applies to all the mainstream religions". Net. March 30. The Irish Times. March 30

 

[dusty-Stetson16]

Interesting...
Thanks for posting.

JD

 

[John SD]

Thanks Martin. "The practice of religion is good for you." That says it in a nutshell. Religion is certainly not going to do much for you if it is not practiced.

 

[redrobin]

He emphasised the non-demoninational nature of the campaign: "The message of this campaign is not specific to anyone denomination, or even any one religion. it is a generic message and applies to all the mainstream religions". Net. March 30. The Irish Times. March 30

I agree that religion has some benefit to society and the individual, however, religion is also one thing people rely on to satisfy their spiritual longing that God places in people. It can be used as a crutch to keep people from actually dealing with their need to repent of their sins and accept Christ as their savior. Religion can also be very bad. Muslims for example are killing innocent people at this particular point in history in the name of religion. Generally speaking the world could use less religion and more Christ.

 

[Martin Jr.]

In my experience I would define religion as the way God comes to us, and would not be a crutch or a hinderance to knowing God or repenting of sins.
I suppose some religions could be otherwise.
Certainly repentance is one of the core messages of the bible.

 

[redrobin]

In my experience I would define religion as the way God comes to us,

If I understand what you're saying, then I would disagree. Are you saying that satanism or islam or budhism is just how God comes to those followers of that religion or are you saying that they are not a religion? In my opinion, Protestantism , Catholicism, Islam, etc. are religions and they can certainly be used in a way that a person can decieve themselves into thinking they are "ok" with God because they are a member. Just because you're a Baptist, doesn't mean you're saved from hell. Anyone can walk in a join a Baptist church.

 

[Martin Jr.]

I can only speak as a Catholic in that regard. It would seem to me hard to just be a member and not be open to Jesus Christ. Being a Catholic really requires a commitment, not just a membership.
As for Satanism, it obviously is not open to God, and not a religion as described in Webster's dictionary:
"Recognition on the part of man of a controlling superhuman power or powers entitled to obedience, reverence, and worship; a particular system of a supreme being or a god or gods; an object of conscientious or excompassing devotion: his country was his religion."
I don't think Budaism really believes in a god either, but just a pesonal search for good. Islam, their actions seem to leave them out too.
But I can see how one could think just being a member with no commitment or thinking he has been "saved" could lead to complacency.

 

[John SD]

I'm Catholic also, and agree with what Martin has written. Here's the way I see it. When considering the "pros and cons" of any organized religion I think the biblical concept of "By their fruits ye shall know them" applies. A true religion boils down to faith, how that faith is put into practice (works), and are the fruits of this faith pleasing to God.

Obviously throughout history and in modern times we have seen some pretty rotten fruit from followers of Islam. While Christians should correctly criticize Islam for this, we must remember history. There were atrocities committed by Catholics and Protestants against each other in the middle ages and more recently in modern day Ireland. There have been martyrs since the beginning of Christianity. Being tortured and/or killed for the faith you believe in is the ultimate example of faith in action.

On the faith/works issue that has divided Catholics and Protestants since the 16th century, here is a link that I think explains the Catholic position quite well. http://www.catholicapologetics.org/ap020800.htm

 

[Soapweed]

My good wife, Peach, helped me with this. :wink:

What is the difference between Christianity and Religion? Christianity is striving to be Christlike. Religion is a teaching and a tradition, handed down through the generations. Christianity is a way of life given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. It's a means to cleanse our thoughts and hearts. It's a means to bring us to the feet of Christ. It's a means to make requests that only our heavenly Father, our Creator, can answer. There is constant bickering in Religion where there should only be love amongst Christians.

Focus. It's really all about focus. Who or what is the center of your life? The temptation has always been to focus the attention on ourselves rather than on Jesus Christ, the Only Source of Life. He is the Tree of Life in the center of the garden. The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil always leads to self-centeredness.

Legalism, religion, or adherence to any humanly imposed laws which are implemented to try to make men righteous, kills us by distracting us from the only One who is able to save us, Jesus. The Law will drive us either to corruption or self-righteousness, both of which lead us to death. The cross gives life and keeps us on the path of life because it was His sacrifice, not ours, that is our justification. When we focus on Christ, we are changed by beholding His glory, not ourselves. Only by His Spirit can our hearts and lives be changed.

 

[John SD]

Good post Soap, and hats off to Peach for helping you with it. :wink: Unfortunately the constant bickering between and within religions is nothing new. As recorded in Mt 18: 1-4 and Luke 9: 46-48 the disciples argued among themselves which one of them is the greatest. Jesus used the example of a humble child to show them (and us) that the least among us are the greatest. To enter the kingdom of Heaven, we must trust and depend on God as a child trusts and totally depends on parents.