The Holiday Season

Re: # 4

"They don't kill animal to please god (I am not sure what kind of God needs animal life to be pleased)..."

What about the god that needs human life (of mushriques, kafirs and mujahideens) to be pleased....

I am not expert in Budhdhism. But it does not depend upon miracle or word of God. They don't kill animal to please god (I am not sure what kind of God needs animal life to be pleased).

My parents and teachers taught me what to believe when I was a child, I questioned it when I was a young man, I don't believe those things now that I'm close to 40, maybe in a few years as my health goes downhill I'll "get religion" again. What good is religion unless it changes (for the better) the way I behave?

Azra: What is your point? Why do you restrict to monotheistic religions? All religions demand an unquestioning faith assured by self-sacrifice.

Most “miracles” do not bear scientific scrutiny well, which is why over such a long time, organized religions have tried to downplay education in general and education that stimulates questioning minds, in particular. Organized religions derive their strength from the weight of the status quo and from the constantly replenishing and vastly higher number of minds that would always take the more convenient route of following what is prescribed rather than question it and experiment with the new.