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Is Religion The Source Of Most Conflicts?
81 Answers
We have had questions and debates on this issue before on AB. I thought it might be worth revisiting given a recent article in the Guardian. Some interesting views expressed, from writers with a range of personal beliefs. All of whom are contributors to a forthcoming book "For Gods Sake", which sounds like it might be worth a read.
Have a read, see what you think :)
http://
Interesting comment from one of the contributors;
"terrorism occurs when you combine a sense of military and economic inferiority with a sense of moral superiority. Religion is very good at conferring a sense of moral superiority on its followers."
Have a read, see what you think :)
http://
Interesting comment from one of the contributors;
"terrorism occurs when you combine a sense of military and economic inferiority with a sense of moral superiority. Religion is very good at conferring a sense of moral superiority on its followers."
Answers
One thing religion does exceptionall
01:46 Wed 03rd Jul 2013
I have always thought I ( a militant atheist) am more moral than a believer, because i do not need heaven or hell in order to behave decently. I behave decently because I have given all the alternatives my deepest consideration and have come to the conclusion that in behaving decently I am acting rightly and ethically.
AB Editor
The article you cite is a particularly repugnant one written by Jim Goad. In this piece, he appears to have only a passing understanding of atheism and history. It purports to be a balanced work - it is anything but. I'm not going to dissect the article piece by piece because I simply can't be bothered but a couple of things should be noted.
Jim seems to be under the impression that 6 million Jews were killed in WW2 by an atheist Nazi regime. He seems to be unaware that the Nazis in general and Hitler in particular were Roman Catholics. I find it hard to believe that an author such as he would make such a silly error unless of course he was trying to be controversial. Perish the thought.
Jim also has this to say, “... What I find most loathsome about them [“pushy” atheists] —besides their personalities and, in extreme cases, their personal hygiene—is that despite all their chest-thumping about being rational skeptics, rare is the neo-atheist who dares question one pubic hair upon the corpus of our dominant cultural dogma, AKA the Cult of Equality. Almost down to the very last soulless soul, every one of these alleged “skeptics” gullibly gulps down every dumb, implausible, impossible, and unscientific tenet of liberal creationism. There is nothing remotely reasonable about blank-slate equality, but they treat anyone who dares challenge it as a heretic...”
Make of that drivel what you will. Personally, I think that such a stupidly blinkered and patronising article should be given the contempt it deserves.
The article you cite is a particularly repugnant one written by Jim Goad. In this piece, he appears to have only a passing understanding of atheism and history. It purports to be a balanced work - it is anything but. I'm not going to dissect the article piece by piece because I simply can't be bothered but a couple of things should be noted.
Jim seems to be under the impression that 6 million Jews were killed in WW2 by an atheist Nazi regime. He seems to be unaware that the Nazis in general and Hitler in particular were Roman Catholics. I find it hard to believe that an author such as he would make such a silly error unless of course he was trying to be controversial. Perish the thought.
Jim also has this to say, “... What I find most loathsome about them [“pushy” atheists] —besides their personalities and, in extreme cases, their personal hygiene—is that despite all their chest-thumping about being rational skeptics, rare is the neo-atheist who dares question one pubic hair upon the corpus of our dominant cultural dogma, AKA the Cult of Equality. Almost down to the very last soulless soul, every one of these alleged “skeptics” gullibly gulps down every dumb, implausible, impossible, and unscientific tenet of liberal creationism. There is nothing remotely reasonable about blank-slate equality, but they treat anyone who dares challenge it as a heretic...”
Make of that drivel what you will. Personally, I think that such a stupidly blinkered and patronising article should be given the contempt it deserves.
One thing religion does exceptionally well is give believers the mental tools with which to do the most inhuman things imaginable. In the mind of the believer anything goes if it is sanctioned by a holy text. It doesn't matter how illogical, barbaric or stupid it is – if it's “written” then it's fine and dandy.
Want to mutilate your kid's genitals? No problem; it's in the scriptures.
Feel the need to beat your wife? Not a problem – we've got a verse for that.
What to commit an act of genocide and start a war? Bingo - we've got you covered!
I realise that atheism is not the answer to all the world's problems but I truly believe that religion is an infectious mental poison. It imbues the believer with the idea that this real and corporeal life is just a stepping stone to a better afterlife. That is a very dangerous idea as it inevitably devalues the here and now. It can and is used to justify atrocities by fanatical morons who think they're doing people a favour by murdering them.
If I were to try and think of a way for people to murder one another with a clear conscience, I don't think I could come up with a more convincing reason than the promise of an eternal afterlife. It is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.
Want to mutilate your kid's genitals? No problem; it's in the scriptures.
Feel the need to beat your wife? Not a problem – we've got a verse for that.
What to commit an act of genocide and start a war? Bingo - we've got you covered!
I realise that atheism is not the answer to all the world's problems but I truly believe that religion is an infectious mental poison. It imbues the believer with the idea that this real and corporeal life is just a stepping stone to a better afterlife. That is a very dangerous idea as it inevitably devalues the here and now. It can and is used to justify atrocities by fanatical morons who think they're doing people a favour by murdering them.
If I were to try and think of a way for people to murder one another with a clear conscience, I don't think I could come up with a more convincing reason than the promise of an eternal afterlife. It is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.
Can you lot not see history, teaches us that God holds humans accountable for what they do to the earth. (Romans 15:4) In fact, God promises that he will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:18) and the Bible paints a portrait of the kind of people who are contributing to this “ruining.” Their predominant traits, as listed in the Bible at 2 Timothy 3:1-5, include a preoccupation with money and self to the point of caring little for God and, by extension, for his creation, including humans.
//It is that aspect of religion being misused that concerns so many.//
Not at all. Domination is fundamental to the Abrahamic religious philosophy. (In fact the word "domination" is inextricably connected to Christianity as the name of one of the nine orders of angels.
The original purpose is perfectly apparent to anyone who reads the Old Testament objectively.
Modern Christianity has diverged from this purpose, ignoring many edicts from the original because it would have otherwise found itself a great odds against the secular morality that developed in spite if religion.
Indeed the New Testament was the first major shift coming at a time where civilization had developed such that the bloodthirsty violence central to the original purpose of the church was no longer tenable.
It is high time that everyone realised that the Bible is a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes" where the reality is simply not being acknowledged.
It is changing though. More an more I see ordinary people speaking up when they encounter discussion about religion and pointing out the truth.
We are also confronted by Christianity's cousin, Islam which shows us what happens when people actually follow what Abrahamic faith actually mean.
Educated people are waking up to the truth. The rubbish spouted by the likes of goodlife who show us the utter stupidity and ignorance required to adopt a religious attitude. The blatant hypocrisy evident in the vast numbers of child abusers in the clergy and the untenable responses by the church hierarchy, are all leading to an accelerating demise of religion.
It can't happen fast enough.
Not at all. Domination is fundamental to the Abrahamic religious philosophy. (In fact the word "domination" is inextricably connected to Christianity as the name of one of the nine orders of angels.
The original purpose is perfectly apparent to anyone who reads the Old Testament objectively.
Modern Christianity has diverged from this purpose, ignoring many edicts from the original because it would have otherwise found itself a great odds against the secular morality that developed in spite if religion.
Indeed the New Testament was the first major shift coming at a time where civilization had developed such that the bloodthirsty violence central to the original purpose of the church was no longer tenable.
It is high time that everyone realised that the Bible is a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes" where the reality is simply not being acknowledged.
It is changing though. More an more I see ordinary people speaking up when they encounter discussion about religion and pointing out the truth.
We are also confronted by Christianity's cousin, Islam which shows us what happens when people actually follow what Abrahamic faith actually mean.
Educated people are waking up to the truth. The rubbish spouted by the likes of goodlife who show us the utter stupidity and ignorance required to adopt a religious attitude. The blatant hypocrisy evident in the vast numbers of child abusers in the clergy and the untenable responses by the church hierarchy, are all leading to an accelerating demise of religion.
It can't happen fast enough.
//Can you lot not see history, teaches us that God holds humans accountable for what they do to the earth. //
The problem is the religious don't hold humans accountable for what humans do to the Earth.
The religious don't care. They think God is going to come and fix it all. Indeed they relish the destruction of our environment as evidence that God is coming really soon.
They want Armageddon. They want to see billions dead. And the true believers will stand up to contribute to the slaughter like the heroes of the Bible when the time comes.
Abrahamic religion is the greatest pox ever to have befallen Earth.
The problem is the religious don't hold humans accountable for what humans do to the Earth.
The religious don't care. They think God is going to come and fix it all. Indeed they relish the destruction of our environment as evidence that God is coming really soon.
They want Armageddon. They want to see billions dead. And the true believers will stand up to contribute to the slaughter like the heroes of the Bible when the time comes.
Abrahamic religion is the greatest pox ever to have befallen Earth.
"Failing that, we should learn tolerance of other peoples beliefs but that doesn't look as if its going to happen any time soon."
Interesting point, does that apply to AB atheists as well? They don't seem particularly keen on tolerating the belief of others.
Major sources of violent conflict include political, economic, and social inequalities; extreme poverty; economic stagnation; poor government services; high unemployment; environmental degradation; and individual (economic) incentives to fight.
Interesting point, does that apply to AB atheists as well? They don't seem particularly keen on tolerating the belief of others.
Major sources of violent conflict include political, economic, and social inequalities; extreme poverty; economic stagnation; poor government services; high unemployment; environmental degradation; and individual (economic) incentives to fight.
