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Dan #2

Has Religion Done More Good Than Bad?

Religion has done more good than bad  

20 members have voted

  1. 1. Religion has done more good than bad

    • True
      2
    • False
      16
    • Undecided/Idon't Know
      2


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Simple true or false answer. I'm curious as to what people think.

 

 

I vote 'false,' because for a long time, if you were to think outside of the box, you could consider yourself crucified. I figure this has probably hampered a lot of progression, throughout the years.

 

And then you have the scores of people who have died for Jihad's, Crusades, and those killed solely for their beliefs.

 

What do you guys think?

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I agree w/ you there and for exactly the same reasons.

 

But also assume for a second that there is a god and a devil (I'm atheist so hence why the assumption) I cant think of a better way to divide mankind than religon.

 

Lol on another note there was a funny actor who played mr. bean (I cant spell his name) where he was playing the devils assistant, and he was organizing the souls into categories.

"Catholics? Yes over here please. Yes thats right, the Jew's were right"

 

lol just about pee'd myself when I saw that

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In my opinion religion is the opiate of man. Marx hit in on the nose with that baby right there. Religion becomes it's own God and creates it's own mythology. People kill in the name of their "God" when really they are killing in the name of their Religion's rules. Many religions appear to be very similar, at least the modern day ones. Most have loving and caring God's, so why has it been throughout history that more people have been killed under the name of religion?

 

I think that the real demon of religion is money. Money and power, because if you can create a followig that is willing to die for their "God" you can gain supremacy.

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My fav book series Dune (wow aint that a suprise)

 

Talks a lot about religion and politics.

 

A great quote that I use a lot is "When religion and politics ride in the same cart, the whirlwind is sure to follow"

 

Its a great book, at the end of the first book the main char sets up his political reign that is controlled by religion and you get to see it come apart.

 

"Every revolution carries with it the seeds of its own distruction"

 

"When law and duty are one, united by religion, you never become fully conscious, fully aware of yourself. You are always a little less than an individual. "

 

"You cannot avoid the interplay of politics within an orthodox religion. This power struggle permeates the training, educating and disciplining of the orthodox community. Because of this pressure, the leaders of such a community inevitably must face that ultimate internal question: to succumb to complete opportunism as the price of maintaining their rule, or risk sacrificing themselves for the sake of the orthodox ethnic."

 

okay enough quotes lol

 

*edit* Dune Quotes

Edited by calgarydave
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i havent voted yet, because it's hard to say. we wouldn't be here if it weren't for religion. i don't mean that in the creationist sense, but the fact that a lot of our history occurred because of conflicts due to religion and belief.

 

when you look at it on a smaller scale, on a personal level it works both ways as well. i was raised roman catholic and went to all the sunday school business and was a part of the religion heavily for 3-4 years of my life. when i got to the age where i started to learn more history, think critically and think more for myself, i learned that roman catholocism wasn't for me. but i'm glad i had the experience of learning about it in the capacity that i did. i had to experience what mass following was like in order to realize that i wasn't going to be a part of it.

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This is a good thread. I would definitely say that religion has done more harm than good. However, the good that religion has done should not be overlooked. Religion was the driving force of Western civilization for a very, very long time.

I, being strongly atheist, believe that while religion has done both good and evil in the past, its time is (or at least should be) pretty much up as any sort of influence or power. I see it as a primitive, archaic relic of an ignorant and superstitious time, with no real application in the modern world other than to enforce its dogma and promote hatred and more ignorance.

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i say it's done more bad than good. yeah, cite the crusades and everything...

 

fact is, human nature loves to say, 'in the name of god, do i justify my perversely twisted ways...'

 

it's far too much of a cop-out to say, god wants me to.

 

which is why religion grinds at my nerves.

 

i think the fact that i've had religion force-fed to me all my life has something to do with that too.

 

take christianity for example. north american society is predominantly christian. at least, the influence religion-wise is. these bible thumpers who run around screaming bloody murder about all sorts of things make me sick... the fundamental teachings of the faith are to love your neighbour as yourself... not to harass them to no end and make them hate the light you're supposed to be shining.

 

anyways.

 

enough ranting in brief.

 

bedtime.

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i think the fact that i've had religion force-fed to me all my life has something to do with that too.

 

take christianity for example. north american society is predominantly christian. at least, the influence religion-wise is. these bible thumpers who run around screaming bloody murder about all sorts of things make me sick... the fundamental teachings of the faith are to love your neighbour as yourself... not to harass them to no end and make them hate the light you're supposed to be shining.

I think you're referring to a small, yet vocal minority. My church is nothing like that. I enjoy being in the United Church, actually. It's very open and tolerant, and I feel comfortable sitting there on Sunday mornings.

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i say it's done more bad than good. yeah, cite the crusades and everything...

 

fact is, human nature loves to say, 'in the name of god, do i justify my perversely twisted ways...'

 

it's far too much of a cop-out to say, god wants me to.

 

which is why religion grinds at my nerves.

 

i think the fact that i've had religion force-fed to me all my life has something to do with that too.

 

take christianity for example. north american society is predominantly christian. at least, the influence religion-wise is. these bible thumpers who run around screaming bloody murder about all sorts of things make me sick... the fundamental teachings of the faith are to love your neighbour as yourself... not to harass them to no end and make them hate the light you're supposed to be shining.

 

anyways.

 

enough ranting in brief.

 

bedtime.

Sure, horrible things happen in a religious society, the inquisition for example, people often cite all these terrible things religious institutions have caused. What about atheist institutions though?? Joe Stalin anyone??

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Rowan Atkinson ;)

 

The frequency of wars attributed to a difference in religeous belief seems to speak for itself. On the other hand, who can say what history would have been like without religeon? We may very well have found reasons to slaughter one another just the same.

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I really don't like religion.

 

I have a few religious friends and they are actually some of the most open minded and giving people I know. But there's also the side that preaches bigotry and hate which really drives me crazy.

 

I think a lot of people have suffered because of religion. I think too many wars have been fought over religious differences. But if you really look at it, relgion is often an excuse when the war is actually fought over money, power, or simply land. And opression is a big one too, but not necessarily religious oppresion. It's easy to blame a lot of bad stuff on religion simply because it's an often used excuse by those doing the bad things.

 

But I'm still very anti-religion, but to each their own, just don't try and force it on me.

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religion has done more harm than good to people in general: all social issues have been attacked by religion and all social rights have been rejected by religion: use of condom, abortion, homosexuality and same sex marriages, sex, etc.

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So has institutionalized atheism. In the USSR, carrying out an act of homosexuality could've earned one 5 years in prison for "lewd behavior" or soemthing along those lines. They interefed with just about every imaginable right.

 

The problem with people lies not in religion or lack thereof I think, probably has more to do with people's nature that longs to impose their will upon others regardless of what that will actually is.

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i put "undecided" because this is a really hard question. I've thought about it before.

 

Many of the world's problems, especially in the middle east, has been caused by religious strife. It really is a very devisive thing. Alot of prejudice and death has been the result.

 

On the other hand, it has helped many millions or billions of people throughout history in their daily lives, and helped them stay on the straight moral path or given them hope/strength in bad times.

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On the other hand, it has helped many millions or billions of people throughout history in their daily lives, and helped them stay on the straight moral path or given them hope/strength in bad times.

I thought about that too, but they stay on the straight moral path out of fear. Does acting moral make you moral.

That's a whole new debate all toghether.

 

i think it would be hilarious to see all these people that devoted their lives to jesus all of a sudden die and realize that it was all bullshit.

I know. It's a pity you can't see people's reaction.

 

"Fuck!! I could have come out of the closet years ago, and spent my sundays sleeping in!!"

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I have talked a lot with my ethics professor about this issue. I think Marx definatly hit it on the nose with "religion is the opiate of the masses" that guy was ahead of his time. Secondly there has been a lot of research about humanity and how as humans get together we tend to try to explain things, and explaining why and how etc we are here is just one of the many attempts to a situation we simply cannot answer. Biologically speaking, there is a lot of research that suggests that as humans we have a NEED to explain things biologically, there is a payload of endorphins sent to the brain when we figure things out, that " ah ha!" moment. IM not saying its a lot of endorphins it is a small payload, its just that feeling you get when you figure something out and it all makes sense. So since we want that feeling more and more we attempt to explain things more and more even if we are completly wrong, and this is where religion comes in. When looking at religion its so full of contradictions and stupidity it becomese clear it is simply a social construction. We create the reality we live in.

The question i love to give die-hards of religion is: " If god is omnicient, and all religions believe it is, than how can we have free will?" it is simply impossible, you cannot have a creater knowing exactly what your going to do, and have free will to do what you want at the same time. That was really the final nail in the coffin for me in terms of religion. Its all a bunch of hooey!

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The question i love to give die-hards of religion is: " If god is omnicient, and all religions believe it is, than how can we have free will?" it is simply impossible, you cannot have a creater knowing exactly what your going to do, and have free will to do what you want at the same time. That was really the final nail in the coffin for me in terms of religion. Its all a bunch of hooey!

john milton's 'paradise lost' touches on that topic a bit... the whole idea of 'god's plan'. this is of course, milton's own thoughts on the topic, not necessarily my own. just something interesting to consider. when satan falls, he realizes that no matter what he does, it all fits into god's plan. he could do the most horrible of acts, but because everything fits into god's plan, nothing he does is truely evil since it all fits into god's plan, which is purely good. so whatever satan does, he can't be a true rebel. so yeah, that negates the whole idea of free will.

 

also, a character in the film "waking life" (good movie, you all should see it if you haven't) argues that at its simplest, our lives are governed by chemical reactions. when i have a thought, it's basically just electricity passing through chemicals in my brain. but when i have these thoughts, is it me thinking these first or am i just doing this because of the chemical reactions in my body? so how do we know that existence itself isn't the same sort of thing? how do we know that we're all not just one big chemical reaction just going through the motions? the dude said it better, but hopefully you get the jist of it.

 

finally, i would just like to add something for all the people here who think that people who belong to a certain religion or faith are somewhat weaker or more dependant and therefore aren't thinking for themselves and just 'sheep'. your faith in your own intellect is the same thing as those people's faith in a higher power.

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also, a character in the film "waking life" (good movie, you all should see it if you haven't) argues that at its simplest, our lives are governed by chemical reactions. when i have a thought, it's basically just electricity passing through chemicals in my brain. but when i have these thoughts, is it me thinking these first or am i just doing this because of the chemical reactions in my body? so how do we know that existence itself isn't the same sort of thing? how do we know that we're all not just one big chemical reaction just going through the motions? the dude said it better, but hopefully you get the jist of it.

Would he be talking about Determinism?

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also, a character in the film "waking life" (good movie, you all should see it if you haven't) argues that at its simplest, our lives are governed by chemical reactions. when i have a thought, it's basically just electricity passing through chemicals in my brain. but when i have these thoughts, is it me thinking these first or am i just doing this because of the chemical reactions in my body? so how do we know that existence itself isn't the same sort of thing? how do we know that we're all not just one big chemical reaction just going through the motions? the dude said it better, but hopefully you get the jist of it.

Would he be talking about Determinism?

yeah i guess i could've just said "determinism" couldn't i? goddamn it. i studied the whole "free will v.s. determinism" argument in my crime and punishment class this year too. blast. thank you.

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