Organized religion

I too, like debating religion with someone open-minded. This debate is obviously between a Chistian and a non-christian (or maybe he just likes being controversial, which is cool). Anyways, seeing as how he is not going to be able to answer any of my questions then the following will simply act at rhetorical questions for him to think about: Can you PROVE that wind exists? - you can't taste it. - you can't see it. - you can't grasp it in your hand like you can a spoon. The answer to this question is obvously "YES". You CAN prove that wind exists. How? You can feel it, you can see how it blows the leaves off a tree or hear how it howls at night. You have material evidence that it exists just by your feeling of it on a cold day or the aftermath of a tornado. "No you don't. Unless you can PROVE that God exists, then you can't make this statement. .. " - you can't taste Him. - you can't see Him. - you can't grasp Him in your hand like you can a spoon. However, the answer to this question is also "YES". I can feel His presence, I have seen the power of prayer and how the Gospel enriches the lives it touches. I have material evidence to prove that God exists, the Bible. And I have material evidence to prove that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, the Book of Mormon. I have proof that we still have prophets in these latter-days, just research the prophecies that have been made and see how many of them have come to pass. I KNOW that the Lord blesses us, because of events that have happened in my life as a result of my faithfulness. God is like the wind, you can't see him, but you can feel him. And if you listen with a sincere heart, you can hear him. Can I scientifically prove that God exists? No. So if the only way I can PROVE if God exists is to scientifically prove it, then I can't prove it. But that's not what God is about. If you could prove He exists, then there would be no faith. "If I don't believe it I'm not allowed to stay. " - If you don't believe it, then why would you WANT to stay? ! This statement above assumes that any and every church will kick you out because you do not agree with their teachings. This is not the case, no church I have ever been to will kick you out or ask you to leave because even though you wish to stay. And I've been to alot of churches in my life. "If I lead a great life, am happy, and contribute to society but am not baptized in the priesthood then I will not be saved. " - That is not true. If you live a great life, are happy, and contribute to society, you will still go to heaven (the Tellestial or 2nd glory of Heaven); however, the Celestial Kingdon (where God and Christ reside) is for those that have been saved, accepted the gospel and lived righteously. "My opponent states that she always asks "Why do you believe that? " because she does not understand. Why does she not understand? Because it is not what she was taught to believe. " - Why do you ask someone "why do you like to go dancing? ". It's not because you don't understand, at least it's not for me. I ask the questions because I am always fascinated with what makes people act the way they do, or believe what they believe. I have been to alot of churches, and I know why I am Mormon, I have a personal testimony to go along with it. When I ask someone "why do you believe that? ", "What do you believe? ", or "what do you like about your church? " I'm not asking because I don't understand, but because I like hearing their response on their faith. And I usually come out of it with a better knowledge of something I didn't know much about before. For example, I learned about the LDS church from my fiance. I was curious about the church because I heard things that were not true (poligamy and such), not because I didn't understand but I was generally curious and I love learning about different religions and such. Now look at me, I am a member of the church! My point in bringing up the church membership was because typically in "brainwashing" people believe what they are told to believe. They don't know why they believe it, they just do. They usually have no personal testimonies of it being true, they just believe it because someone told them to. With religion, including church membership, every member has a personal testimony of how the Gospel has worked in their life. They don't believe in Jesus Christ because someone told them to, but because of their personal experiences that strengthen their testimony of the truth of the Gospel. I myself went 4 years without any religion at all. I hated church and didn't believe a word of it. I was pretty much an atheist, but I'm mormon. Not because someone TOLD me that I HAVE to believe the Mormon faith, I was never asked to leave because I had a question. In fact, they embraced my questions. I have a personal testimony that God exists, that the Book of Mormon is true, and the church is true. Conclusion: Brainwashing means forced persuasion, causing people to believe what they hear just because they are told to. If organized religion really does brainwash people, then any member of a church would answer "i don't know" when you ask them why they believe in God or how they know God exists. Every member of a church is a member of that church because they believe that what they have been taught is true, and have a personal testimony of its truth. The only way a church could actually brainwash its members would be for the church to say "you are no longer allowed to watch tv, radio, or even go anywhere other than church. " Basically, isolate the people so that all they heard was that same message. But instead, we have freedom of choice. We can choose whether to believe what we hear or not. To brainwash means to give up that freedom of choice. You believe it because you are told to. And that is not the case here.