quote:

ORIGINAL: GoddessManko
Religion is a tool. Tools are neither good or bad. It's use depends on the wielder.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kinkygymfreak

i like topical discussions there is no act or audience i just saw this section in the forum and thought i would post my own ideas here.
just expressing myself.
but anyway i couldn't give a shit anyway, if i was after an audience or performing an act i don't think many on this forum would lose any sleep over it. who gives a shit at the end of the day

quote:

ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr


You kind of went back and forth between "Islam" and "Religion"; almost, it seemed, using them intermittently.

I'm not sure that belief in any particular religion is what's the real danger. I think it is the particular religion in question.

While plenty of people take issue with the Christian/Jewish Bible, the facts are that nowhere in that book are believers commanded to kill non-believers. Yes, belief in God, in a "God is on our side" kind of way, is used as an excuse for killings, but nowhere ... let me state that more clearly: NOWHERE does the Bible command the faithful to kill non-believers. If memory serves, the Qu'oran commands it, forty-six different times.

I consider Islam, at it's very basic level, to be akin to Nazism because of the explicit commands for death to the infidels. Yes, there are Christians that mis-interpret the Bible but it's pretty tough to mis-interpret the calls for beheading and such that are found in the Muslim "holy" book.



Michael

quote:

ORIGINAL: bounty44

quote:

ORIGINAL: kinkygymfreak

ALL any religion has ever done for humanity is to cause murder,terror,false fear,and general suffering. millions of people throughout history have had there lives cut short because of this crap.
it's sad to see but it won't ever stop! 500 years ago the catholic church instigated a centuries long campaign of terror,torture,and murder. for the crime of "witchcraft" now it's islams turn to do some damage. what will it be next?! and i agree that islam is much more hardcore than other faiths and indeed islamic countries are nothing less than dictatorships. because religion has impeded the minds ability to reason and understand. so there countries are barbaric hell holes!

I mean this gently, I hope someday you will be able to look back on that statement and realize how wrong you were.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kinkygymfreak

i don't think i am wrong. take the middle east for example a warzone since the crusades! and still is today. thanks to religion.
the world has always been divided because of religion. it is not wrong to assume religion is evil.

quote:

ORIGINAL: kinkygymfreak
i noticed what you support,
help for the truly needy. define truly needy? a person eats well has a roof over his head, but suffers terribly inside with mental illness is just as needy as someone without food.
personal responsibility, again this is assuming that the individual has no mental ill health or emotional problems. in which case this will lead to lack of responsibility and often self destruction. it is ok to say stuff like that when you have not had to deal with these things.but not everyone is the same as you.

• A Conservative interpretation of the US Constitution
  
• Personal Responsibility
  
• Help for the truly needy
  
• Limited Government
  
• Consumption Tax (non-profit charities and food exempt)
  

quote:

ORIGINAL: Nthrall

1. All religions ARE bad. Religions are tribal and compete with other tribes. All religions are based on core rules and/or fantasies and are out of date from their inception. Small and/or paranoid tribes recruit, persecute, fight, etc. They do this to gain/retain membership and defend their creeds.

2. Statements of belief, disagreement, aggression or twisted arguments won't cut it, even though most of the religious have been practicing this for centuries. All religions are palpably false, they do more harm than good, and they have no evidence to support their claims.

3. No one, with the possible exception of some ascetics, actually believes in god(s) - if they did they would BE ascetics (and terrified). Fortunately there are no gods (as we all know really), and heaven and hello are inventions. Religions are doing their best to create hell on Earth, but at least we can be sure that heaven is impossible, as no good person could be completely happy while suffering exists.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Dvr22999874

Doesn't the bible also mention something about blasphemers and adulterous women being stoned to death too ? It's a long time since I read it, so I may be completely off-track.

quote:

ORIGINAL: joether
Allow me to place it more in terms of this thread. Your original idea here.

Let's assume (for the sake of the argument here) that religion is a discovery of mankind. Like fire, navy ships, airplanes, and even super computers; religion was a concept that allowed two possible uses: A positive and negative use.

Take nuclear energy. In a positive use, we have energy to power homes, treat cancer patients, and understand more concepts of the universe around us. In negative use, we have nuclear weapons.

Religion can be the same was. In the Christian faith, the power of forgiveness is a good thing. Yet, the Spanish Inquisition was NEVER seen as a good thing. I'm sure if I studied this further, I could give the positive and negative examples of each faith.

But dragging science into the whole discussion is doing a disservice to science itself. Because science has one mechanism that most religions of the world do not possess: The ability to correct itself. If we were able to prove that Jesus was really some guy name 'Jack Bank' from New Jersey would created a time travel device and went back in time; would every part of Christianity correct itself given this new and profound knowledge? Hard to say. Some parts might. Other parts would not. With science, if you could confirm in test after test, of a cow being born from a horse; that would undermine the Theory of Evolution pretty quickly. To which scientists would discuss and debate things and go from there.

Finally, one bad apple ruins the barrel; as the saying goes. A few hateful people of one religion blowing up stuff and killing people may not be the truth reflection of the whole of people in that faith.

I've sat in on community discussions in which religious leaders voices solidarity as one group, when someone from one faith or another did something bad. When good people get together, good things tend to happen to those around them. When evil people get together, pain and tragedy are not to far behind. Telling the two apart can sometimes be easy and other times, very difficult.

quote:

ORIGINAL: DesideriScuri
For clarification, this was likely intended for me, not bounty...

Who are the truly needy? Those who can not support themselves. That is, those who have no choice in the matter. Those are the truly needy. Does someone with a mental illness they have no control over constitute a truly needy case? Yup. Does someone with a physical handicap that prevents him from providing for himself constitute a truly needy case? Yup.

Those who do not deserve help, in my opinion, are those who are fully capable (mentally, emotionally, and physically) to support themselves, but, instead, choose to not do so.

Do not judge me. You have not walked in my shoes. You don't know what I have or have not gone through.

You have an addiction problem? I truly hope you are getting help with it.