Organized religion is not evil.

S

SkippingStones

splunk!
Registered Senior Member
Organized religion is not evil.

Recently I’ve noticed numerous flip answers in the religion forum that equate organized religion as ‘Satan’ or the only ‘real’ evil. These statements are immature. In the realm of good and evil, it is plainly obvious that organized religion can do both. While a great many ‘evils’ have and will continue to be linked with organized religion, there are many ‘good’ products as well. Religion provides a means for people to join in communal fellowship, to get to know each other, to relieve stress. It has the benefits, and detriments of any other organized social gathering. But that is not the issue of this thread.

On Sciforums, when confronted with religious statements that seem fanatical to atheists and agnostics, there are many other ways to participate in the discussion than to bash religion in general. Be careful to take the context of the discussion into account. If the debate is on three lines of a religious document, examine the document yourself, or think about the actual questions logically. Just because you don’t believe ‘in’ the Bible or God doesn’t mean that you can’t learn from discussing it.

If there was a discussion on Australian Shellfish, it would be inconsiderate for me to jump into the argument without learning what they are or what the basis for the discussion is. I don’t even know if such a thing as an Australian Shellfish exists.

So, next time you’re irked and want to go shouting “Religion is the Devil!” Remember the purpose of most threads is to discuss and learn; not to release your anger on a lump of generalization. :m:
 
Bravo.

The so-called "freethinkers" supress what is manifest and their thoughts become futile attempts to grasp what they do not want to know.
 
§our§tar: The so-called "freethinkers" supress what is manifest and their thoughts become futile attempts to grasp what they do not want to know.
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M*W: Christians are the only ones I know who "suppress" what they don't want to know. Freethinkers don't suppress anything. You're just another twisted christian. Freethinkers aren't AFRAID of what they don't want to know like christians are. Get your facts straight. You are suffering from what is called an Hawai'ian disease or (lackanookey). When was the last time you got laid? (Oh, I forgot, you're a christian and not a "freethinker.")
 
skipping stones :
you sit there and have the cheek to say,, that people on this forum are not intelligent enough to have learn anything about, what they are discussing. you cannot make a qualified assessment, if you have'nt first learn about the subject.
so if you dont like what they are saying, first think with your feet, and piss off, you cheeky patronising little shit.
 
Medicine Woman -

Of late §outh§tar has mentioned the equating of "atheism" to "freethinking". And we must admit some folks treat the idea of free thought a bit like the idea of an open mind. When it becomes an identity politic, it naturally becomes subject to exactly this sort of criticism.

However there's little I can say about the seeming assertion of faith as knowledge. That's ... yeah.
 
you sit there and have the cheek to say,, that people on this forum are not intelligent enough to have learn anything about, what they are discussing. you cannot make a qualified assessment, if you have'nt first learn about the subject. so if you dont like what they are saying, first think with your feet, and piss off, you cheeky patronising little shit.
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I think you have me wrong. I'm definitely NOT trying to say that "people on this forum are not intelligent enough" to contribute. But if the discussion is on say John 1:9, it WOULD be a good idea to READ John 1:9 before contributing.

I often feel like the atheist and theists in this forum are on two sides of a fence throwing dung at each other and progressing nowhere. Personally, I float more closely with agnostics than anything else but that dosen't mean I like it when someone breaks into a progressing discussion just to say "Religion is teh Devil!" Granted, there are threads designed solely to focus discussion on that statement.

Bravo.

The so-called "freethinkers" supress what is manifest and their thoughts become futile attempts to grasp what they do not want to know.
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Not to attack you personally SS but this is the kind of thing I'm talking about. I have only a small clue of what you meant in that statement but it was still patronizing.
 
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what the fuck do you think we do, sit there with our fingers up our arses.
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Maybe my generalization that there have been an increasing number of inflammatory posts recently is unfounded but the response in this thread has not proven me wrong in my opinion.
 
I apologize if I came across as patronizing, I didn't mean to.

But, do you understand what I'm saying about anti-atheist or anti-theist statements in discussions not centered around the atheist vs. theist argument?
 
SkippingStones said:
Recently I’ve noticed numerous flip answers in the religion forum that equate organized religion as ‘Satan’ or the only ‘real’ evil. These statements are immature. In the realm of good and evil, it is plainly obvious that organized religion can do both. While a great many ‘evils’ have and will continue to be linked with organized religion,
there are many ‘good’ products as well.
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only good thing about religion is it allows the con men(preachers)to "shear the sheep"/exploit/control the gullible(take your money!) ;)
www.objectivethought.com/atheism/carlin.html
Religion provides a means for people to join in communal fellowship, to get to know each other, to relieve stress.
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or you could just go to the bar,a club,a coffe shop,a library,gym,YMCA,malls,etc,etc,
It has the benefits, and detriments of any other organized social gathering.
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unfortunately the negatives of religion far outweigh its benefits imo
,
why the hell would anyone want to keep people stupid by keeping their minds in some 2000 year old superstitions,
brainwashing them into thinking/following lies,such as 6 day creation,man made of dust,woman made of mans rib(some people still think man has one rib less than a woman b/c of this) :rolleyes: Noahs Ark,talking snakes,and so on,all silliness and rubish,why?
I tell you why;b/c keeping people stupid is the best way to keep them under control.
 
SkippingStones said:
Organized religion is not evil.

there are many ‘good’ products as well. Religion provides a means for people to join in communal fellowship, to get to know each other, to relieve stress. It has the benefits, and detriments of any other organized social gathering.
Click to expand...

That is only an inch away from Marx's "Religion is the Opiate of the People" argument (or did Engels say that?). The way that argument goes is that Religion is used to hoodwink and divert People from what should be their priority concerns. So, you are not doing Religion much of a service by damning it with your halfhearted and faint praise.

Religion is more than just a leisure activity. Church is more than a place to meet chicks.

Your materialistic dismissal of all Spiritual Truth in the interests of making a social club out of the World's Higher Religions is perhaps more damaging then an attack on Religion's Moral intent. We can instinctively defend ourselves from an open attack. But the quiet insinuation that the Face Values of our Creeds were only contrivances for a Material Agenda -- such instills an unhealthy cynacism in people at just the time in their lives when they need to be working in pursuit of their Spiritual Goals.
 
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