quote:

Originally posted by Darkarbiter Serious amount of atheist snobbery detected in said post.

bollocks. learn to read.

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All sheep need their shepherds.

Religion is bullshit, it holds back evolution, it holds back little pigglets & anal rapes them, it is the stupid of all the stupidness of the earth, the definitive of stupid, the massive errectus stupidness enormii. Back 2000 years ago, they couldn't explain why the wind, so they praid to the tree gods & then god farted & thy anuses erruptus with great vengence & flooded the lands with female period blood & mucus. And the dwarves were happy again.

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quote:

Originally posted by Beat Blog Okay, so perhaps the Holocaust was more racially motivated than faith motivated, but that's just one example. There are plenty of other examples throughout nearly all parts of history when differences in beliefs caused war, persecution or invasion. Please try to stay on topic rather than nitpicking at small parts of my original post which are incorrect.

I thought i was statying on topic. I'll elaborate: Most of the things you attribute to religion i think could be attributed to other things, or at least a combination of religious beliefs and other things. Holocaust was just an example. I just think you're being a bit one-sided in all of this, no need to get all defensive.

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quote:

Originally posted by teegee sometimes, i sit on my hand until its numb and then masturbate...i call that a stranger.

You kids just keep having fun with this thread.

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last minute disco dot net

quote:

Originally posted by RJT You kids just keep having fun with this thread.

Actually, I'm quite optimistic that we'll all be able to attain a point of mutual understanding, if not the persuasion of one side to the other.

These threads invariably turn out that way.

quote:

Originally posted by Paradox Lost Actually, I'm quite optimistic that we'll all be able to attain a point of mutual understanding, if not the persuasion of one side to the other. These threads invariably turn out that way.

No, they don't.

This happens once every few weeks - similar players, same story, every time.

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last minute disco dot net

quote:

Originally posted by RJT No, they don't.

...yes...I know. That was...the joke (I knew I should have used some smillies),

Oh well, that minor misunderstanding aside, I was alluding more to this general type of discussion anyway, as opposed to the specific ones that pop up around here.

quote:

Originally posted by eckmek I thought i was statying on topic. I'll elaborate: Most of the things you attribute to religion i think could be attributed to other things, or at least a combination of religious beliefs and other things. Holocaust was just an example. I just think you're being a bit one-sided in all of this, no need to get all defensive.

Point taken.

I'm not really being one-sided though. I'm seriously unable to make up my mind as to whether religion is good or not in the long run.

I see all the good that religion has done...but then I also see the bad, and I can't decide which outweighs the other.

Hence asking for opinions.

I haven't really received any yet - I'm asking that we discuss "the big picture" and people are getting all parochial on me.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN bollocks. learn to read.

Well considering the person I'm quoting.

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here's my 2 cents:

Can religion lead to good? Sure... people go on mission trips or whatver all the time and volunteer to help people all over these 3rd world countries when they don't have to because they believe in the service and that it's the right thing to do.

On the other hand, they could do the same thing without believing in some silly fairytale... to me they are just gulliable as to the reasons for doing it, but they still do good things for people nonetheless.

My personal take is that religion does more harm than good, and that it suppresses independant thought and the advancement of science. I feel sorry for people who believe so strongly in something there's not even the tiniest shread of evidence for, because they happened to be born at this point in history in the region they were born in... and because their parents/family "told" them that's what they need to believe at such a young age. I hate seeing churches pop up on every street corner... to me they are all just businesses competing for your cash in one way or another. To paraphrase Richard Dawkins, each religious generation looks back at the previous one and laughingly dismisses their perspectives on religion... (the sun as a god, zeus and greek mythology, Thor, and so on....) it will be no different in 100 years when people look at how people today view religion and scoff at it.

quote:

Originally posted by The17sss here's my 2 cents: Can religion lead to good? Sure... people go on mission trips or whatver all the time and volunteer to help people all over these 3rd world countries when they don't have to because they believe in the service and that it's the right thing to do. On the other hand, they could do the same thing without believing in some silly fairytale... to me they are just gulliable as to the reasons for doing it, but they still do good things for people nonetheless. My personal take is that religion does more harm than good, and that it suppresses independant thought and the advancement of science. I feel sorry for people who believe so strongly in something there's not even the tiniest shread of evidence for, because they happened to be born at this point in history in the region they were born in... and because their parents/family "told" them that's what they need to believe at such a young age. I hate seeing churches pop up on every street corner... to me they are all just businesses competing for your cash in one way or another. To paraphrase Richard Dawkins, each religious generation looks back at the previous one and laughingly dismisses their perspectives on religion... (the sun as a god, zeus and greek mythology, Thor, and so on....) it will be no different in 100 years when people look at how people today view religion and scoff at it.

Great answer!

I had forgotten that religion has purposely resisted science at times (i.e Galileo).

As for your final comments - I've often wondered whether religion will even exist in 100 years. It appears to me that each generation is seemingly less pious than the previous...