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Quote by: another day  I said nothing about atheists. I am not even an atheist actually I would describe myself as a pantheist, but that's beside the point. Whether you are deist or agnostic or atheist, that will not lead to any of this kind of fanatic religious persecution of peoples (though politically and socially it may be different). The danger comes in the subscription to organized and dogmatic scriptural religions, which all have one thing in common - they claim to know God's will, something no Deist will claim. |
Why is that a danger and why should people feel any remorse over following such an organization. Smoking kills, so do cars, guns, and drugs. Should we all agree they should be banned and not used because they have the potential for harm?
Hitler wrote a book so should that book be banned from reading because it was written by a genocidal maniac?
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Quite. That's exactly what I said isn't it. Simply put, don't act surprised that religion is interpreted and wielded in this manner. It's the nature of the beast. Over the years this is what religion has been used for above all else. This "peace, love" stuff was never the predominate theme in christianity, despite what Jesus may have said. The "turn the other cheek and love thy neighbor" stuff is apparently glazed over as some kind of mawkish sentimentality that is spoken of nominally and yet never truly followed. No, over the years the church and organized religion have been predominantly instruments of oppression, of judgment, and of conflict. I'm not saying this is the point of christianity, or what the bible is trying to teach, but it's the simple nature of what religion does to the masses of society, with a big help from the church of course, which is probably the reason for the utter corruption of most religions.
To me, the fact that some of the most evangelical Christians/other religious fanatics can be so intolerant, hateful, judgmental, and cruel, just shows that morality and goodness does NOT come from religion AT ALL. It comes from another source which religious folk have absolutely no sort of monopoly over. Religion can perhaps help clarify and further instill this goodness in already good people, but for the rotten ones all it does is fanaticize them, while giving them seemingly legitimate beefs in the eyes of the masses who still have faith, literally, in these dogmas.
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Peace and love were always the message. Look to the oldest stories. Leading the slaves out of Egypt was a peaceful revolution against authority, not a violent uprising against cruel masters.
Other stories deal with defeating foes which of course is only natural given the ancient state of warring mini city states.
Taking into account the story of Jesus, did Jesus promote violence and uprising against Roman authority? Did he stop a stoning of an women or allow it? No, he stopped the violence and gave the famous throw the first stone speech.
I'm sorry, your idea of the bible being an instrument of hate fails. The ultimate words come from Jesus, which in effect seals a new covenant with humanity, where love and respect of your neighbor is the only rule and code.