Religion is the most destructive force on the face of the Earth? (hell, doctrine)
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First of all I do agree that religion has done its share of damage but true Christians do not consider it a religion but a relationship.
There is an author, Vox Day who wrote, "An Irrational Atheist" did some research on this very topic, In his study of world history he concluded that about 123 plus wars have been validated as religious wars which accounts for a whopping 6% of wars in earth's history, 66 of which were instigated by the Islamics in that Christianity accounts for about 3% of earth's wars and I believe the casualty count was in the thousands.
Does Adolph Hitler, Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot ring a bell? from Marxism, Nazism, Socialism, Atheism, Darwinism, Fascism to Communism. Vox Day states that in the 20th century alone (the century furthest removed away from God) the earth's governments have massacred 200,000,000 men, women and children, he would be willing to up it to 300,000,000 but he can't get his hands on Chinese government records.
More people have died in this century alone than in all the centuries combined.
Last edited by Fundamentalist; 12-04-2008 at 03:33 PM..
Territorial expansion and resource access account for far more war than religion, any way you slice it.
But the preamble to your point is parties feel they have a God-given right to those assets. It's a pretty established fact that more people are killed in the name of "God" than any other - but like the OP stated, that's a symptom of the removal of a relationship, and the insertion of an ownership to God's authority.
I disagree. The preamble is the desire to possess something; be it a port on the Mediterranean, a buffer state to protect against invasion, an open trade route to the east, an expanded reserve of petroleum, more access to wild game, a greater amount of farmland, or simply to assert greater power over one's neighbors.
Personally ;I think man without any relgion is the most destructive force that man has ever seen. Witness stalin;hitler and all commiunist and socialist leaders.In this cpountry the secular world is destroying what many religous people in the past have constructed all in the name of selfishnesss and greed. Look at your televison at what the secualr world represents.JMO
Personally ;I think man without any relgion is the most destructive force that man has ever seen. Witness stalin;hitler and all commiunist and socialist leaders.In this cpountry the secular world is destroying what many religous people in the past have constructed all in the name of selfishnesss and greed. Look at your televison at what the secualr world represents.JMO
I'm going to attach a caveat to that--man without any virtue is the most destructive force on earth. Even Nero and Caligula had religion, but their religion was one in which they were the gods (not unlike the average person today, IMHO). Al Quaeda is theoretically based upon religion, but is lacking in essential virtue. Many a Christian king or statesman had been a bloodthirsty tyrant, not because they lacked religion, but because they lacked the virtues espoused by that religion. In fact, the virtues of the religion are cast aside, and the religion itself is twisted into to justify their acts.
The most destructive force on Earth is far and away Abortion. In The U.S.A. we murder about one million babies per year, but Globally, the annual figure is about 46 million (according to Planned Parenthood). Stalin killed a mere 39 million (it is estimated), in his long career. In The U.S.A. alone, this figure has been exceeded by Abortion, since Roe became The Law of The Land, in the 1970s, which incidentally, is also about 46 million.
Remember, the opposition to Abortion has largely been religious and that apparently, would include Catholics and Muslims. However, it does not include the people who live among us today, that claim to be Jews. Rabbinical Judaism does not prohibit abortion (although, it does recommend counseling). It clearly does not consider it murder or even the taking of a life. Remember, those people are the dominant group in America today. So, they set our standards. (you can source that in Mitchell's, "Eight Ways to Run The Country," 2007, which you can find anywhere).
Personally ;I think man without any relgion is the most destructive force that man has ever seen. Witness stalin;hitler and all commiunist and socialist leaders.In this cpountry the secular world is destroying what many religous people in the past have constructed all in the name of selfishnesss and greed. Look at your televison at what the secualr world represents.JMO
Not at all. In fact, the world shows us that humans will find ways to do horrible things, regardless of whether they are religious or atheists. Stalin didn't do the things he did because he was an atheist - he did those things because he was a dictator and lusted after power. This is the same thing the supposedly Christian kings and popes did throughout the centuries and what Islamic leaders still do today.
The problem with religion is that it provides a convenient excuse for such behavior. In other words, looking at Stalin, we can assess his actions based on what they are and condemn them. However, people often get excused for saying the most horrible things and doing the most awful things, because it is justified by their religion. Religion can serve to act as a shield for some pretty contemptible behavior. Take the examples of genital mutilation, oppression of women etc.
However, having said that, I think it is vastly overdramatic to say that
religion is the most destructive force on the face of the earth. Ultimately, humans, religious or not, can do some of the greatest damage on our planet.
Personally ;I think man without any relgion is the most destructive force that man has ever seen. Witness stalin;hitler and all commiunist and socialist leaders.In this cpountry the secular world is destroying what many religous people in the past have constructed all in the name of selfishnesss and greed. Look at your televison at what the secualr world represents.JMO
So it's necessary to believe in an imaginary super being to be a good person?
"First of all I do agree that religion has done its share of damage but true Christians do not consider it a religion but a relationship."
The embolded words are the important ones. True Christians do not do the things that are spoken of in the context of 'religion'.
The faith that comes from the word of God is called a 'religion' but, in fact, it was veryrarely called that in the scriptures, and that sense was not the same way as it is used now. Actually, the only time I can find the Christian faith called 'religion' is in the book of James where it is speaking of visiting the fatherless and the widows, and keeping oneself unspotted from the world.
The calling of the church that Christ died for a 'religion' is just another manmade doctrine.
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