Originally posted by Cris
I watched an in-depth analysis on Osama recently and it was quite clear he was motivated by past (1000 years) injustices against Islam.
Was this before or after 9/1?
And the USA is perceived as one of the most Christian countries in the world.
Not as far as the UK is concerned, it is seen as decadant and violent.
Where else would you get someone wanting to marry his horse?
It is also percieved as one of the most freest countries.
The pope even changed the interpretation of the Jesus teaching that one should love your enemies to mean only if one’s enemies are also Christian.
If that is true, then religion cannot be blamed, only the misinterpretation of it, which is not religion.
Safer in this sense means fewer feelings of terror of being attacked by irrational religious extremists.
What about dangerous people in general, you ought to see the homicide arrests that were made in just 1 year in USA, and those were only the ones that were convicted and sentenced.
Live and let live is fine but you don’t have to be religious to follow that guideline.
True!
Sin means disobeying a god – if such a god does not exist then sin has no meaning.
But if such a god does exist it has meaning right?
Religious belief is the root of many evils. Religious belief is a belief outside of reason and is highly dangerous since it has no factual basis.
All belief can be the root of evil. Robert Oppenheimer a great scientist was responsible for a great number of deaths and misery which still has effect today, he believed he was doing society a service. Who do you blame for that?
When one believes that a super-being can communicate through visions then the resultant aberrations can be highly dangerous.
Your right it can be. But not nesaccerily.
But a religious belief that death is a gateway to something better significantly detracts from efforts to make life on Earth a better place.
With the belief that death is a gateway to a better life, for someone who accepts God, comes the responsibility of living this peacefully and respectful of all Gods creatures, not just humans but animals as well. Of all the attributes required the most important is non-violence.
We don’t need a fantasy super-being to tell us these things.
Of course we don’t, as in the same way we do not need people concocting fantasies like the whole cosmic manifestation came out of nothing and the love we feel for others is nothing more than a chemical reaction.
Religion encourages beliefs in fantasies as if such things are true.
Wrong, it encourages understanding of self, the parts that we cannot percieve or understand, irreligion encourages beliefs in fantasies.
Atheists who positively reject theism usually do so because theistic beliefs are specifically not grounded in reality, and such individuals tend to live lives based on rational thought.
Are you saying outright that God doesn’t exist?
What is needed is a positive secular humanist philosophy where activities are based on what is best for humanity, and not what is best for an imaginary deity.
Humanists think that:
this world and this life are all we have;
we should try to live full and happy lives ourselves and, as part of this, make it easier for other people to do the same;
all situations and people deserve to be judged on their merits by standards of reason and humanity;
individuality and social cooperation are equally important.
Apart from the first point, there is not much difference between that and religious principles as layed out in the scriptures.
Your alomost there!
Have fun Cris!!
Love
Jan Ardena.