No, they don't. ALL religions are abnormal. DELUSION is abnormal. Believing in fairy tales and letting those fairy tales direct your life is ABNORMAL.

Listen - if you want to believe in hocus pocus and be an ignorant moron - go ahead and do so - but don't try and tell us INTELLIGENT people that you're NORMAL.

You're not.

"ALL religions are abnormal."

Religion is the father of science, an attempt to see inside the thundercloud to learn the cause of lightning. It becomes counterproductive when the questions stop.

Actually religion and 'delusion' (believing in fairy tales as you call it) is entirely normal and has been part of the human method of processing, classifying and understanding the world we inhabit since the beginning.

It is that same process that established the very body of knowledge that allows you to announce your superior intellect to everyone else.

What do you believe in exactly?

Judaism and Catholicism are normal or abnormal, depending on the community you are discussing.

If you are discussing Saudi Arabia, I would say that both are rather abnormal, and perhaps somewhat less so in, say, small town Mississippi -- and rather normal in New York City.

Normal is not really much more than a statistical concept -- like saying blue eyes may be normal in Sweden, while brown eyes are more so in Kenya. No value judgment expressed in either case.

Thomas Paine:

Normal is not really much more than a statistical concept -- like saying blue eyes may be normal in Sweden, while brown eyes are more so in Kenya. No value judgment expressed in either case.

Yes, I suspect that the author of this thread was looking perhaps for the word "irrational" or "illogical" or something of the like. I really wish people would think before they type. So much for superior intellects.

Actually religion and 'delusion' (believing in fairy tales as you call it) is entirely normal and has been part of the human method of processing, classifying and understanding the world we inhabit since the beginning.

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Agreed.

IMO all earthly religions should be put to the test of "how stupid would you feel explaining it to the intelligent E.T. who stopped by to do research on earth."

Most Jews and Christians and the few Moslems I know seem pretty normal to me. Most have probably benefitted not from the "personal God" but from the set of rules created by the religion. Einstein said that Science and Religion complemented one another, though he was an agnostic himself. In the cases of Judiism, Christianity and Islam I tend to agree. Both Mormons I know are real good people too and owe something to Mormonism for making them that way. I'm OK with the B'ahai but based only on one individual that I work with. There are religions though that people are better off without. Satanism, Taliban most likely, Unification Church, People's Temple (Jim Jone's followers). I might be able to come up with another if I thought about it.

Taliban most likely,

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Taliban isn't a separate religion! Its a sect of extremist Wahabi Islam.

What is the definition of normal? What is the definition of religion? without so called "satan" would religions automatically go out of business. Or would they revamp their man made religious institutions, to allow for the omission of "satan and demons", so they could continue to have followers of their version of normal behaviors? Would the world be a better place, with or without "satan?

If you believe there is a " Satanic power", wouldn't Satan know his maker better than you and me? Does normal have integrity? Is normal kind, loving, giving without expectation, processing forgiveness without violence?

What about an eye for an eye, do you still have both of yours?

Is normal, turning a blind eye to injustice and murder for religions sake? Is it normal, for any man on earth to create a base of faith that is elite and promises no other way to G-d than by their base of religion? I'm very Happy to read you know nice people, is that normal?

and Tom Paine cornered the concept of normal...?

are we not processing normal individually? all mistakes included,

Look at your own family, how many mis-understanding's

develope over time? How many of you have taken the time to go

to that member,and tried to repair the mis -understanding's.

we all process in our own time....so why would we package

the G-d kind. into a man made institution? Try this experiment

on your own time...give the Holy Spirit in you, THE freedom.

to be who you are already... sons and daughter's of the Creator

of all living things on earth and the heavens above....Did the

most creative " ONE" require a institution....Is LOVE of LIFE the p

purpose? I believe this is normal....Our Creators creations are

beyond perfect, even so far beyond our understanding...

Or we wouldn't be hell bent on destroying all we have

been provided with. why do we allow babies to sit in mud of filth?

and starve to death? we are still processing normal.............

..