Ryuu_Kaze wrote:I really don't understand people who think organized religion fails due to the corruption of men....
No matter what terrible things man does in the name of God (or whatever), it's still man who decided to do it....
And if you really think religion shouldn't exist because man created it, then isn't that the same as saying man can't create ANYTHING good, because of his inherit corruption? In which case, you have a very depressing outlook on life. One wonders why you'd bother living, since it seems like humanity shouldn't exist if it's so messed up.
Also, you don't have to follow all the rules in the bible. The way I was taught, was that those were the rules AT THAT TIME. Later, they had different rules, that fit into the times better.
The reason that this is different is simple. If I went up to you and told you that George Bush came to me in a dream and told me I needed to send 5000 woolen sweaters to the natives of Central America - you would correctly consider me insane. If you were religious, and I told you that God came to me in a dream riding a Harley Davidson Fat Boy, and told me to impregnate every woman in a 50 mile radius - some idiot wouldn't think I simply had too much peyote the night before, and would help me round the women up.
It isn't the fact that religion is run by men that makes it bad. There are plenty of things run by men that are pretty darn good (The Red Cross for example). What IS bad about religion is that it is run by men who know how to use fear to get people to do what they want them to do.
"You'd better listen to me, because I talk to God, like, everyday. And you know that God can listen in on your thoughts, and sees everything you do, and knows that you think Sister Mary is smokin hot. But God told me that he'd forgive you if you give me money and do anything that I tell you to do."
I don't know about you, but the concept that people can listen in on my thoughts and knows what I do all the time, is pretty freaky. That's why I never much liked Santa Claus by about the time I reached puberty.
It is this exploitition of the natural fear that people can see into your innermost thoughts and blackmail you based upon them, is what makes religion so repugnent to me.
But honestly, that wouldn't bother me if people actually saw their religion through a filter of reality. If someone ever said, ' the whole Noah flood thing is pretty retarded, it was obviously a story about a local flood which to a tribal people would indeed seem like the whole world was gone', I would respect that. But you have people who believe that their holy book is the literal word of God, despite being translated and copied over the course of 2 thousand years.
I had a debate with one person who insisted that the King James Bible was the literal word of God - despite having been comissioned by a man who based his claim to the throne as having been divinely granted. Because God would have interveined and stopped any attempt to change the wording of His work. I mean, really (try to stop me God!!!)...
In the beginning, God created a mudpie and then sold some lemonade.
(Guess he didn't think it was all that important)
So that's really the problem that I have. Well, that and the fact that you can't debate someone about religion because it is somehow holy and therfore not open to debate. Try to talk to a fundimentalist about gay people, and you will get the same tired belief. 'Marriage is about procreation, homosexuality is a sin, it's filthy and is what Sodom was destroyed for', blah, blah, blah. Because it is a religious statement, somehow it is supposed to be a fact and we are supposed to respect him for his (quite obviously) bigoted belief. It's not like old people who will never have kids together don't get married all of the time. And if you think gay sex is gross (lesbian sex is ok for some reason) - I also think sex between old, fat, ugly people is gross; but I don't think it's a sin or should be illegal.
You said that "The way I was taught, was that those were the rules AT THAT TIME. Later, they had different rules, that fit into the times better." and that is awesome. Except, how do you know which rules apply now? Do you determine it yourself? By what judgement do you use to tell which is valid and which is not? If you use your own judgement, why not just do that in the first place?
Do you really need someone to tell you that that killing is wrong? This can be rationalized easily. As you are walking down the street, remember that every person that you pass could whip out a shiv and stab you in the throat before you could blink. But they don't, because you don't stab them in the throat. Therefore, in the interest of self-preservation, you shouldn't kill anyone yourself.
Or you can say God told you not to. Unless he told you that you should. God is really confusing about that.
So, to end this poorly organized bitch-fest, religion is worse than a secular government because of the inassailable platform that is available to the preists. If you cannot debate them, they cannot be proven wrong, or even proven right. The only thing worse than religion, is a theocracy - because not only are they always right, they also have tanks.
I should really work on outlines before I post. Blegh.
) or from their belief of the inassailability of their viewpoint.
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