Christian Fundamentalists...

[Polly]

Religion is pretty much mass insanity in my eyes (dont take offence if you are religious..... or do, im sure "god" will strike me down for ya....). I still find it very difficult to understand how in this day and age, knowing what we know, that seemingly intelligent people can believe in a "god" in any way shape or form. God is a creation of the human mind, an explanation to things we otherwise couldn't explain, except now we can explain alot of these things.... yet people continue to believe in some higher being? My parents are christian and both very intelligent, yet trying to make them see sense in impossible. It is actually quite frustrating.
Billions of people have been brainwashed from birth into believing in god, and it sends many insane, as the Norway incident/ 9/11
shows.
one of my favourite quotes is from Steven Weinberg and goes as follows "You will have good people doing good things, and evil people doing evil things, but for a good person to do evil things.... that takes religion."

tim minchin is very funny but also explains very well the same ideas:

sorry, think i went a bit off the topic of fundamentalists.....

 

[Canon Fodder]

I don't think religion drives "many" insane, its more likely that insane people use religion as something to express that insanity.

I suspect the root of most religions was a way to impose rules that make sense for all of the "tribe" but not for the individual. If I have a lots of food and an elderly person in the troop doesn't why should I share? Logically it makes no sense, they aren't going to find any food for me, but the tribe would quickly break down if everyone was just out for myself. Another example is Kosher / Halal, it makes sense not to eat shell fish in a hot country with no refridgeration but if you try to explain that tiny creatures you can't see make it dangerous people would have done it anyway - its simpler to say God says you shouldn't.

So I think religion started out as a bunch of rules imposed by the smarter people in a tribe for the good of the tribe. As science has advanced it has moved to more providing a set of morals for people. Most morals don't make any sense, why shouldn't you steal from someone weaker than you if you know you won't get caught?

Most if not all religions have the common interest at heart, they are much more about compasion than hate. Hateful people may twist the holy texts to messages of hate but that's them, not the religion.
And Polly - god loves you, he's a little disapointed in you, but he forgives you...

 

[Polly]

I don't think religion drives "many" insane, its more likely that insane people use religion as something to express that insanity.

I admit i was ranting a little, this is probably at least partly true, but you cannot disagree that religion has caused millions upon millions of deaths and some of the worst atrocities mankind has seen, no exaggeration.

Also your point about religion being used to control people is correct and i can fully understand why religion originally came about, but people shouldnt still be being controlled, its the 21st century, has the past 2000 years really taught these people nothing? If people thought logically for 1 minute instead of having blind faith in a few books written thousands of years ago by goat herders that knew.... well... nothing compared to what we know now, the world would be a much better place.

Based on your post i assume you are athiest, and that you were passing gods forgiveness to wind me up....... if not thanks, im glad he could take the time off from murdering African babies to forgive me and i hope you and your imaginary friend have a great life

 

[Polly]

sorry missed the bit of your post about morals, if people really need a god to tell them what is right and wrong, they shouldn't be allowed to breed. And more about compassion than hate? have you read some of the bible, god seems to have an itchy trigger finger for smiting and genocide.

 

[Canon Fodder]

Polly - glad you took my post in the spirit it was intended, the God forgiving bit was entirely in jest.

I kind of beleive in a God but he's not really from a convential religion, he's sort of a cross between Karma and a sensible older brother and he doesn't murder African kids.

 

[Polly]

i can live with people believing in karma even if i don't, it never killed anyone and no one tries to force it upon you..... and african kids don't get murdered by god...... they die of malnutrition and god fearing bellends not rubbering up, happy days.....

 

[chuckwood]

One point: there is no 'Muslim world', there are countries that have their faiths as from the Q'uran and may be secular or not. This is another mindset that we are developing which leads to trouble 'us and them'.

There have been many mass murders over the history of mankind and many have been done from sanctioned governments and leaders which makes it all the more horrifying.

This was the act of a disturbed, unbalanced individual who was not seen by anyone as threatening due to the newer social fabrics we have in the Western World. We pursue our lives and ignore others.

Religion has also done amazing things for many people and it is also something that aims to help others-in all faiths. Do not tar religion with the brush of madness, that man is responsible for his own actions and is more than likely someone who should have been diagnosed and sectioned.

War is also determined by greed, fear, power and damn ignorance. Jewish people were simply a person's easy prey based on already established predjuices, do not forget that many Slavics and Gypsys were also murdered in the Nazi's final solution.

 

[Polly]

i do not tar religion with the brush of madness solely based on evil acts, believing in a big magical man in the sky on its own its pretty freakin insane.

"To have an invisible friend at the age of eight is charming and not a cause for concern. To have an invisible friend in adulthood is however a cause for concern and could be considered psychotic. So how exactly does giving them the name of a deity change that opinion?" - Phil Slattery

I agree religion has helped many people, but a little self confidence would have done the same job.

 

[Buddha 3]

and african kids don't get murdered......

So Rwanda didn't happen? Phew... glad to hear that.

 

[Polly]

I don't think Rwanda was anything to do with karma



edit: sorry i get ya, i didnt mean it like that though, obviously even without religion murders and atrocities will happen, some people are just bat**** insane and don't try hang it on religion