agchristie, the negative effects of religion are accepted by the believer, but are often forcibly imposed upon the non-believer.
Children taught from birth that they are sinners grow up with adverse perceptions of self-worth, assuaged only by the parallel teaching that the horrors of hell or the perpetual oblivion of the grave may be avoided if they submit themselves, both physically and intellectually, to the will of a severely judgemental god. In the case of Christianity, that imposition of negative self-worth is further endorsed by a story of a man who voluntarily suffered a most brutal death in order to save humanity, so together with the entirely unnecessary burden of a notion of guilt and self-reproach, pathos is introduced thereby effecting an unavoidable obligation for eternal gratitude too.
Conversely, in areas of the world where religion strictly dictates the rules, non-believers, homosexuals, or women seeking abortions, for example, along with many others, are purposefully denied control over their own lives, so considering all the foregoing, it’s difficult to assess which group is most negatively affected. Religion affects and restricts us all in one way or another – some more so than others.
I can’t speak for other critics of religion, but Grasscarp’s consistent accusation that my analysis equates to denigration of the religious here on a personal level is inaccurate. It doesn’t. I criticise religious dogma and the detrimental effect that it inflicts upon human beings and upon our planet. Curiously though, Grasscarp, like one or two others here, doesn’t seem to realise that persistent efforts to silence people suggest that, once again, religion is attempting to impose its will upon the rest of us, as can be seen in the charge that my assessment is ‘rude’, which amounts to nothing more than a demand that I respect something in which I see no rationality whatsoever. I don’t respect religion, and the rights of the religious to speak freely do not take precedence over the rights of everyone else to do likewise.
As for the soul, without that concept, the notion that a supernatural god, that has ultimate power over life and death, exists, would be relegated to extinction – but self-preservation is paramount, and so it persists.
ag, it strikes me that you ask a lot of questions, but rarely offer an opinion. Do you have one?