but it ISNT made up.... its a real and viable form of respecting 'god', but even when some sects in the antiquity did use sacrifice.... thats still far fewer deaths then what has been committed by christianity/islam .

The difference is that, anytime a so-called christian kills someone, or even causes minimal violence, it´s going against his own religion, and not following it.

 

since when have 'militant athiests' killed or caused social unrest 'in the name of their belief'?...

 

true some mass murderers have been athiests but they didnt kill in the name of atheism.

When someone kills or persecutes a person for having a faith, that equals to killing someone in the name of your "lack of faith"... That´s what happened in pretty much any communist country. Of course atheism didn´t cause so much mass murders in our western world because it´s not organized and it only became widespred in the last few centuries, so atheist themselves were never numerically big enough to cause commotion. But it´s a real fact that in ANY country that it has became the "official" system of belief, it´s has caused death and persecution. Which means is not christianity that caused deaths, but the states embracing any belief as "official". The belief that the world without religion would be much better is a very very childish myth. The countries without religion we have in the planet so far are in fact much much much worse places in fact, when it comes to freedom and human rights. Western society needs a "devil" to blame for its own faults. Once it was witches, then jews, and now faith is the new "devil" that distracts us from our own faults.

The belief that the world without religion would be much better is a very very childish myth.

 

Well, of course it is for you - you're blindly religious. :rolleyes:

 

I'm from Croatia, and we are very religious country. BUT I'M NOT....

I totally agree with the article.

Edited May 3, 200817 yr by Zara

And you Christians seem to forget that passage in the bible concerning the father who was perfectly willing to sacrifice his son to "God" if he so demanded it....

Christians don´t forget the story of Abraham, you instead forgot (or pretend to) the rest of the story... how the appearence of a certain lamb has saved Isaac from sacrifice, and from centuries to come the sacrifices of little children (very common among "inofensive" paganism in mesopotamia, where Abraham was raised) was substituted in Israel by animal sacrifices. This of course made the whole difference between Israel and their pagan neighbours concerning human sacrifices. Obviously, when Abraham lived human sacrifices were considered normal and broadly accepted in society, just like in almost every ancient pagan civilization. If the sacrifice of Isaac was consumated, Abraham would be doing nothing new or shocking to the society of his time. The intervention of the lamb, however, was something in a way to change mentalities. Later in the old testament, even animal sacrifices were considered unnecessary.

 

Oh, and according to a certain sect of Mormonism, "God" seems to demand you force underage girls into marriage and repeatedly rape them until they comply with your every whim...... <_< The branch of Paganism you talk about is from THOUSANDS of years ago.... Modern Paganism has progressed way beyond the ideological limitations of Christianity and Islam and is an incredibly sophisticated (and humane...) belief system.. Bhuddism is similarly far more sophisticated and all-encompassing than, say, Catholicism to which your own country is a hostage and is incapable of developing because of, not to mention the fact that your own Govt oppresses Brazilian tribal minorities... As a Brazilian, you should be disgusted and agreeing with us, that religion is a destructive force....

And what does a sect of Mormonism has to do with Christianity? Mormonism itself ain´t a part of christianity. They developed their own system of belief that have nothing to do with the Bible, but only their book of Mormon written in America by Joseph Smith. They aren´t even monotheist for Gods sake. Hinduism is more similar to christianity the mormonism is.

 

Russ is right, your ignorance knows no bounds, a good thing for Brazil that truly enlightened people, such as Sepultura ex-frontman Max Cavalera, hold more influence than you do....

 

And, as Richard Dawkins said in a recent interview - Stalin and Mao never stated what they did was in the name of Atheism, whereas Politicians like Bush, Blair and Ahmadinejad just cannot help themselves but to declare their own respective religious dogmas to define everything they do..... <_<

Lol, you wouldn´t believe how Max Cavalera is influent in Brazilian society.... :lol: I´m so sorry that you rely on the argument of poverty and inferiority (I read between the lines) of 3rd world people to build your anti-religious cliches.

 

As blaming catholicism ofr our country being incapable of developing is beyond any stupidity and ignorance... I myself am not catholic and not even like it, but this goes beyond ridiculous. If you knew minimal about Brazil or any other undeveloped country you would know corruption is much more likely to be blamed. I can´t bother myself if Bush or whoever uses his religion as justification for its acts. Christianity is against killing people and against violence. It preaches to be nice even with your enemies. How the hell could it have any influence on making people be violent...

 

Well, of course it is for you - you're blindly religious. :rolleyes:

Lol, you really think that the world without religions would be like the Island of fantasy... How CHILDISH and BLIND you are. You don´t know what the real causes of problems in the world are and prefer to find and easy target. Your argumentation sounds like coming from 13 years old rebel with not cause. A world without religion but with a mentality like yours would be a hundread times worse then Taliban regime.

Lol, you really think that the world without religions would be like the Island of fantasy... How CHILDISH and BLIND you are. You don´t know what the real causes of problems in the world are and prefer to find and easy target. Your argumentation sounds like coming from 13 years old rebel with not cause. A world without religion but with a mentality like yours would be a hundread times worse then Taliban regime.

 

 

my my...so defensive.

 

You waffle endlessly about this book you follow - like it's true. I mean, I like fiction... but I wouldn't dream of living my life by it, however great that book of fiction is, you know? You yourself see living your life along the lines of a work of fiction as the only way you're able to live your life.

 

Of course, I pity you - but there's no need to be so defensive, really there isn't.

 

Despite your religion dominating your life... I suggest try going out, having fun, enjoying yourself in town somewhere...it's a Saturday night.... you might even get to meet some real friends. I'd avoid the subject of religion, though...it's a colossal turn-off.

Lol, you really think that the world without religions would be like the Island of fantasy... How CHILDISH and BLIND you are. You don´t know what the real causes of problems in the world are and prefer to find and easy target.

 

 

oh, ps, too.... the majority of the problems in this world emerge from ONE thing - RELIGION.

 

It's hugely divisive and destructive.

 

You seem to have this utterly banal and bizarre idea that people can only function by being religious... well I'm afraid - you may be half a person... I am NOT. I live my life by the set of rules laid out to me by my parents - nothing whatsoever to do with any organised religion, but to do with being a good person, being a kind person, not doing anything to harm others. Many things the book of yours seems to speak about on one page - then blow out of the water the next page.

 

And Scott is right - religion appears to be flourishing in countries with poor education systems, in countries where there appears to be little else to turn to. Thankfully, in the civilised world, religion is dying a death. And not a moment too soon either.

oh, ps, too.... the majority of the problems in this world emerge from ONE thing - RELIGION.

 

It's hugely divisive and destructive.

 

I live my life by the set of rules laid out to me by my parents - nothing whatsoever to do with any organised religion, but to do with being a good person, being a kind person, not doing anything to harm others.

I agree entirely. That’s the philosophy I believe in, the way I try to lead my life. I’ve no interest in following any religion, just try to be the best person I can be. So many of the problems in this world stem directly from religion. On a personal level, one of my relatives married someone who subsequently became a vicar, and believe me, he's the biggest hypocrite I know. It sure helped to put me off religion for good.

my my...so defensive.

 

You waffle endlessly about this book you follow - like it's true. I mean, I like fiction... but I wouldn't dream of living my life by it, however great that book of fiction is, you know? You yourself see living your life along the lines of a work of fiction as the only way you're able to live your life.

 

Of course, I pity you - but there's no need to be so defensive, really there isn't.

 

Despite your religion dominating your life... I suggest try going out, having fun, enjoying yourself in town somewhere...it's a Saturday night.... you might even get to meet some real friends. I'd avoid the subject of religion, though...it's a colossal turn-off.

 

Lol, I have many friends and lots of things to do... but it´s not really the subject. I see that you can´t prove your false affirmation that "religion is purely evil" and the next step is to move to personal insult or joke... that´s when it comes to putting my personal life on the table. Of course it is possible to live without religion... Millions of people do so. To say that it is completely unnecessary and evil, is one step ahead. For me it´s possible to live without going out on a saturday night... to say that it is evil to do so, is another thing. So free your mind... it is POSSIBLE to be different then you and HAPPY at the same time (that´s assuming you are really happy and not just tryng to fulfil your emptiness with saturday night parties like amy winehouse/britney spears, with I hope so :D ). For me, it´s a matter of being happy whatever mood I´m on, I don´t confuse happiness with fun or pleasure, which doesn´t mean these things aren´t good at all. But I can be happy even in those moments I´m not particularly having much fun or when having trouble... cause I don´t confuse my happyness with superficial shopping and raving.

oh, ps, too.... the majority of the problems in this world emerge from ONE thing - RELIGION.

 

Proof????

 

Did Martin Luther King Jr or Mahatma Gandhi caused more trouble then atheist Stalin??? Lol, it´s funny that you talk about the Bible, I wonder if you ever read it on full, or even read other books. By the superficiality of your arguments, it seems not.

 

The difference is that, anytime a so-called christian kills someone, or even causes minimal violence, it´s going against his own religion, and not following it.

When someone kills or persecutes a person for having a faith, that equals to killing someone in the name of your "lack of faith"... That´s what happened in pretty much any communist country. Of course atheism didn´t cause so much mass murders in our western world because it´s not organized and it only became widespred in the last few centuries, so atheist themselves were never numerically big enough to cause commotion. But it´s a real fact that in ANY country that it has became the "official" system of belief, it´s has caused death and persecution. Which means is not christianity that caused deaths, but the states embracing any belief as "official". The belief that the world without religion would be much better is a very very childish myth. The countries without religion we have in the planet so far are in fact much much much worse places in fact, when it comes to freedom and human rights. Western society needs a "devil" to blame for its own faults. Once it was witches, then jews, and now faith is the new "devil" that distracts us from our own faults.

 

nonsense... on almost every point

 

millions of people have been killed directly in the name of god...not the state..

 

a mere fraction of people have been killed for NOT being athiests (if any at all).

 

no we do not need religion, nor do we need a devil.... we just need to embrace the fact that there is no great power watching over us, there is no life after death... this is it... you dont need a book of any kind to live life properly, its a bloody obvious choice!

As blaming catholicism ofr our country being incapable of developing is beyond any stupidity and ignorance... I myself am not catholic and not even like it, but this goes beyond ridiculous. If you knew minimal about Brazil or any other undeveloped country you would know corruption is much more likely to be blamed. I can´t bother myself if Bush or whoever uses his religion as justification for its acts. Christianity is against killing people and against violence. It preaches to be nice even with your enemies. How the hell could it have any influence on making people be violent...

 

Catholicism has done nothing but exploit the poor of Brazil AND Mexico... Why does the Church say nothing about the Corruption rife within your system, and the Mexican system..? Simple, because it is complicit.... In Central America in the 70s and 80s, when Priests were openly critical about political corruption in places like El Salvador, Panama and Honduras, guess what happened...? The fukkin' POPE came along and threatened to ex-communicate them because they were supposedly "communists" (yeah, I mean, how DARE they object to their Parishoners being tortured, murdered, exploited and treated like dogsh!t by un-elected Military Juntas put into power by the American CIA....)..... Like I say - The Catholic Church = Complicity in corruption.... In the words of Zach De La Rocha - "WAKE THE FUKK UP!!!!!"

The difference is that, anytime a so-called christian kills someone, or even causes minimal violence, it´s going against his own religion, and not following it.

When someone kills or persecutes a person for having a faith, that equals to killing someone in the name of your "lack of faith"...

 

Baloney... Stalin and Mao were interested in one thing only - Power.. Absolute Power.. Power by any means necessary, the ends justifying the means - that's Machiavellian, not Atheism.. An established Church would be a perceived threat to anyone pursuing power to the extent that Stalin was.. Stalin's only "ideology" was power over others, he set himself up as a "God" figure within Soviet society.. Which is something that Atheism is against...