Religion Causes the World's Problems

[-iLluSiON-]

I think it is obvious that if you look at the facts, relgion has been causing most of the major wars throughout history. People claim that their religion is the "right" one and do not agree with any other religion so they 1.) Wanted to Overthrow it 2.) Invade land inhabited by persons of the 'wrong' religion 3.) try to incorporate its people into their religion because it's the most sensible one etc. The list goes on. We have the Crusades... the Spanish Explorers in South America... Present day India/Pakastan... Present day Israel/Palestine... etc. The list can go on for pages.
Why can't we just realize that religion is not something worth fighting for? It's makes the whole human civilization look like a bunch of idiotic morons. I think by today's standards, we should have realized this --- religion is a worthless cause to fight. It is mainly a person's beliefs and outlooks, and does not require violence. Ahh, how stupid we are...

[moonman]

True, to some extent. Wars have been fought over religions, but the object has always been the same. Greed for money and power. Religions have been the tools for acchieving these means.
Often the religions themselves teach that we should not kill or harm for any reason whatsoever. If a God tells his followers to kill in his name, and goes on to say he is the all benevolent all just and all loving, then I truely question the motives behind such a belief.

No the religions are not the problem, humanity is the problem, it doesn't matter what we believe or what we don't believe we will still kill each other. You might think that you are never going to kill anyone, for whatever reason, but many people are not this way, it doesn't matter which god they believe in or if they believe at all they will still kill. The arguement might be that we are what we are taught to be, true, but 99.99%of the time it's not the religion doing the teaching, but people. You might argue that religions were written by people, (lets not get into this whole thing) you must look at what the 'books' teach, and you will see that most often they teach love.
The problem is how people choose to interpret their religion, because it's individual for all.

And just for the record, I am not religious. I'm more of an Agnostic, but I am trying to acchieve a buddha mindset. I love the history behind all religions, and the philosophies they hold. But I don't submit myself to any one belief.

[sycoindian]

---No the religions are not the problem, humanity is the problem---

that's a more accurate description of the problem... humans twist it all around to accomplish various goals... its just pathetic..

[Nehushta]

I agree that religion has been, and continues to be, a major factor in many of the world's problems. I propose abandoning all externally imposed religious dogmata in favor of true spirituality, which can only be found within.

[-iLluSiON-]

Originally posted by moonman
True, to some extent. Wars have been fought over religions, but the object has always been the same. Greed for money and power...

No the religions are not the problem, humanity is the problem, it doesn't matter what we believe or what we don't believe we will still kill each other.

I agree with you on how humanity is the problem. But it was humans that created religion; and if you think about it, I think religion is more of a political tool among international relations. It's not a question of what you believe anymore, it's how you believe it and how you can contribute to the effectiveness of it upon other people. It's ridiculous that humans created religions for peace, yet use them for war.

[spookz]

land/natural resources is the major factor in any conflict. everything else is secondary/convenient excuse

[TBD]

Religion often has more of an effect on the situation than just being the excuse. The belief in an afterlife is the reason people are willing to die, so even if their religion isn't preaching violence, it will still facilitate it.

Remove religion for the equation, and you've still got fighting, but not nearly to the extent that it is when present. Democratic solutions would be more common in this event. Getting rid of religion would not solve the world's problems, but it would be a step in the right direction.

[CounslerCoffee]

Religion doesn't cause problems, the people behind it do.

The problem with religion is that to many people read into it, and then certain people misunderstand it's meaning. Peace is what some religions are about, and from what we draw from that? To have peace you gotta have war first. War for peace? Does that make sense? Maybe it does for the people who misuse religion.

[biblthmp]

Originally posted by -iLluSiON-
I agree with you on how humanity is the problem. But it was humans that created religion; and if you think about it, I think religion is more of a political tool among international relations. It's not a question of what you believe anymore, it's how you believe it and how you can contribute to the effectiveness of it upon other people. It's ridiculous that humans created religions for peace, yet use them for war.


There is just one problem with that proposition, Humans created religion in response to the supernatural, which still exists. Attend any number of Christian healing crusades, and there still exist large numbers of confirmed medical miracles, for those who had no other hope. The only cases of cured AIDS has been supernatural Christian miracle.

If there was no God, and no imitating demons,it would be easy to get rid of all religions. However, there is a God, and there are demons that imitate, and mimic him. Hence we have religion, and a multitude of false religions too.


_________________________________
The fool has said in his heart, there is no God.
Psalms 14:1

[ConsequentAtheist]

Originally posted by -iLluSiON-
I agree with you on how humanity is the problem. But it was humans that created religion; ... So what? Humans also created the Dixie Cup and the Snickers bar. Stalin and North Korea did not require religion, only territorialism and xenophobia. Where was the religious catalyst for the Civil War?

It's a silly argument. Move on.

[-iLluSiON-]

@ConsequentAtheist
Notice that I didn't say ALL the world's problems. I said MOST of the wars in the past two millenia have had some form of religious relativity. Stalin and North Korea may have not had religious factors contributing to their views, but Hitler did; Al Queda Terrorism does; the Isrealian/Palestinian Conflict; Ireland/North Ireland,etc. The good majority of conflicts and wars have a religious backbone to them... now I'm not saying that religions are the MAIN reason they're fighting, but it's one of the major elements to it.

@CounslerCoffee
Yes, the people behind it do. But, the people behind it are what make the religion. That may sound stereotypical, but it's the fact that every different relgion has its own certain viewpoints and it clashes with other religions' viewpoints. What is a religion with no followers? I think it's about time that the world grows up. We all bleed red, we're all humans, and we must respect ourselves rather than disrespect other people's beliefs. I am an atheist, but I do not fully hate any religion. I respect all of them but I just think it's stupid how we have extremests and conflicts in the modern day.

@ biblthmp
You really believe that propaganda? It's to increase the number of followers and believers.

Thanks for your posts... if you get offended by anything I said, I'm sorry, I had no intention to.

[ConsequentAtheist]

Originally posted by -iLluSiON-
@ConsequentAtheist
Notice that I didn't say ALL the world's problems. I said MOST of the wars in the past two millenia have had some form of religious relativity. "Religios relativity"? Did you just make up that phrase? Is "Religions relativity" the same thing as "Religios Causes"?

Furthermore, are you, in fact, even aware of "MOST [sic] of the wars in the past two millenia ", or is this simple hyperbole?

If so, then say so and substantiate it. If not, be advised that cum hoc ergo propter hoc becomes no more valid as a result of being semantically garbled. It's a silly argument. Move on.

[-iLluSiON-]

@ConsequentAtheist (again)

Relativity (a form of relative) - Having pertinence or relevance; connected or related.

Religious Relativity - connecting to or related to any form of religion.

I also suggest that you open up a few history books. If I had the time to research every major war in the past 2000 years and write down all the ones that were related to religions in some way, I would.

Oh, and BTW, learn how to spell "religious"

[ConsequentAtheist]

Originally posted by -iLluSiON-
Relativity (a form of relative) - Having pertinence or relevance; connected or related.

Religious Relativity - connecting to or related to any form of religion. It's a silly argument. Move on. :rolleyes: