VTA said:
Negative consequences of mankind. Nothing more, nothing less.
Religion isn't a physical entity that guides the fools hand in his msideeds,
the fool just hides his inadequecies behind it.
Individual responsibility is the hardest obligation for mankind to accept and he will go to any far flung extent to avoid that oh so atrocious possibility: BEING WRONG.
If indeed there is no God, then where did religion come from? Mankind.
Who is to blame for all of the maladies of the world? Mankind; the one and only blunderer.
Anyone with a proper understanding of religion would not be hiding their sins behind religion. They would recognize that they are at fault.
The study does not address the numerous other factors that may influence the greater amounts of problems in society. Media, peer pressure, and general mentality has a great contribution, not to mention collective ignorance.
Religions are also socially destructive insofar as they contaminate and pollute the education system. They tend to make people stupid by injecting unreality into a word of reality; they teach people to think in unparsimonious terms when trying to critically think and analyse situations. Further, they frequently discourage rational free thought or critical thinking via dogma propagation.
I disagree. I am Lutheran, and we don't go around saying "believe this or else". I feel invited to think constructively about the Bible and my religious beliefs. It is possible to be religious and think critically at the same time.
Moreover, myriad religious people will be completely rational, intelligent beings save for when the topic of religion manifests wherein they automatically shut-off their brains they prevent rational, free thought, because they are immersed in a realm of fiction-fantasy. Essentially rationality gives way to temporary irrationality as people go from thinking individuals to pious borg drones directed by their Pope or Zealot.
Way to generalize. What about people who don't follow the Pope? What about people who do think constructively, rationally, and freely about the realities of their religion?
People who take their religion seriously tend to obfuscate reality and erase the line dichotomizing the real and the fictional--damage ensues, bad things happen.
How so? Please enlighten me.
Jesus Christ himself was against organized religion.
Never heard about that. Please give the verse and I will take a look.
I believe in both creationism and evolution at the same time. I believe that, while it says "God created the earth in seven days", it does not say seven human days, or 168 hours. It says seven days. I take this to mean that, since humans aren't around, this is seven of God's days. Therefore, evolution could still have taken place. Also, it didn't mention the creation of humans until after the seven days were completed, which could mean that humans were created long after. Thus, it is possible to believe in both evolution and creationism at the same time, and I actually enjoy both more because of it.
The problem stems from either the ignorance of religion or the misinterpretation of religion. The Bible is not meant to be taken literally, because it is symbolic. One has to comprehend the meaning behind the verses in order to understand the religion. People can call themselves Christian or Muslim and not follow the moral guidlines of the religion. Also, people can mistake something in the Bible as meaning something else. Both of these problems contribute to the majority of sin in society.
Religion is not the problem. The problem lies with the people who succumb to their inherent greed. Like you said: mankind is responsible for the evil in the world. You can't plead innocent to murder on the grounds that "Satan made me do it." When Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent, it (to me) was symbolic of humanity's inherent lust for power.
"The snake replied, 'That's not true; you will not die (if you eat the fruit). God said that because he knows that when you eat it, you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.' The woman saw how beautiful the tree was and how good its fruit would be to eat, and she thought how wonderful it would be to become wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it Then she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. As soon as they had eaten it, they were given understanding..." (Genesis, 3.4-7)
When they ate from the tree, they were given free will, i.e., the ability to make their own choices, as well as the understanding of what was good and what was evil. With this decision, we gained the ability to do what we wanted, but at the cost that we would be responsible for our actions. Oops.
I would like to personally thank the Catholic religion for stopping the spread of condoms, birth control, tolerance, and womens rights in third world countires.
Because of their righteous crusade, these countries have overpopulation, higher cases of AIDS, and higher crime because of their stance against abortion. Dint believe me? Research why the crime rates went down in high crime areas after abortion became legal in the states. The missionaries are doing more hurt then help.
I don't understand why the Catholic church is against condoms and birth control. However, I have no proof that they have stopped tolerance and/or womans rights.
In some countries in Africa, the belief is that if you have sex with a child, you will be cured of AIDS. I don't see how banning abortion and getting more AIDS has anything to do with each other. If you have sex, you will probably get AIDS, abortion or no abortion. Overpopulation is the result of most families being poor. So they have lots of kids to help keep them alive. But their money is being taken and used by warlords. You are directing your anger at the wrong faction. You should take into account the political, economical, and cultural pressures that these people face, before getting all spaztic about how terrible religion is. Sorry to be blunt, but that is the bottom line.
Oh, and legalizing murder would bring the crime rate in high crime areas down. Does that mean it's good?
