Religion Responsible for the Majority of the Worlds Problems

Discussion in 'Religion & Philosophy' started by Don Townsend, Jul 31, 2013.

  1. Don Townsend

    Don Townsend New Member Past Donor

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    IMO Differences in religious beliefs are responsible for the vast majority of the conflict that exists in the world today
    and throughout history. Muslims hate non-Muslims because they're not Muslim. Even Christians have a long and checkered past of killing non-Christians i.e. the crusades. If all religious beliefs could be magically wiped away and
    the entire world could live by the same universal moral code most of the conflict in the world would disappear. You
    don't have to believe in an imaginary supreme being to be a descent moral person.
     
  2. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    Religions are like competing fast food chains. They offer people a variety of snacks. Some people prefer hamburgers, others chicken, others pizza, some some like sandwiches. All of the main types have a lot of different outlets that put their own spin on the main items. You can get something to eat at any one of them to ease your hunger pains but no matter how good it is people still have their favorite. So it is when it comes to worship. Theoretically that are all worshiping a deity but they want to do it their own special way. That's one reason Cain killed Abel.
     
  3. Don Townsend

    Don Townsend New Member Past Donor

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    Yea, Whatever !
     
  4. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    That is so insightful!
     
  5. Don Townsend

    Don Townsend New Member Past Donor

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    Yea, Whatever !
     
  6. junobet

    junobet New Member

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    Yeah, sure, it's all down to religion. Politics and injustice have (*)(*)(*)(*) all to to with it and your moral code got conjured up out of thin air..

    [​IMG]
     
  7. KAMALAYKA

    KAMALAYKA Banned

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    Hitler didn't hate the Jews for religious reasons as much as the fact that they were a convenient scapegoat. By blaming them for Germany's economic troubles, he was able to rally enough support to get himself into power.
     
  8. Swensson

    Swensson Devil's advocate

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    I have no sympathy for religion, but I don't think that religion is "responsible" for most problems. I do however think that religious people tend to slap a religious label on problems that already exist.

    Personally, I'd say the biggest culprit is nationalism. Control over land is a relatively reasonable thing to fight over and it is certainly a large part in Israel/Palestine, India/Pakistan, IRA, ETA, Falklands, WWI, WWII, Korean war, Kuwait war and a whole bunch of other conflicts. However, I can't claim that that's where the buck stops. The reason for wanting control over this or that may have even deeper reasons, depending on the conflict.

    Religion, however, is malleable. Religious officials can justify anything from interpretations of religions. It may be so that religion often makes a conflict more intense, since it skews from the original conflict and may introduce combatants from areas that weren't involved in the beginning, but I think they rarely cause any conflicts from the ground.
     
  9. perdidochas

    perdidochas Well-Known Member

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    People would figure out a reason to have conflict even without the convenient excuse of religion. Anybody who thinks that getting rid of religion will get rid of conflict is hopelessly naive.
     
  10. OJLeb

    OJLeb New Member

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    War is a political concept, not religious. Religion is just a sidekick, a motivator so to speak, for war in the same way nationalism can be too.

    But when was there a conflict fought just because of religion? Without any political gain for either side?
     
  11. 4thBattalion

    4thBattalion New Member

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    Is it now...

    In french we have a saying, "La ou il y a de l'homme, il y a de l'hommerie..."
    Roughly translated it mean, "Where there's man, sh*t happens..."

    Religion isn't the problem, intollerance, greed and just plain residual tribal mentality is the problem.
    In a perfect world everyone would be able to believe or not believe, be rich or poor, be straight or gay, black or white and be able to live in peace anywhere in the world.

    As long as there is exclusion and sectarism there will be no peace. I'm sorry to say but muslims are one of the worst offender in this presently. Maybe in time they'll understand that their truth isn't the whole truth. Like any other religion, they've got only part of the message. It's when we all sit down and compare notes that we'll finally know peace. Most of the world is just about ready for it. We're just waiting for the few violent muslim, jews & militant evangelical christian to either die off or join us.
     
  12. Ivan88

    Ivan88 Well-Known Member

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    Religion is our worship of the social ego that resides in our heads. It is not "nature's God".

    And, the ego is our worst enemy. It will kill you just to prove it was "right".

    This thing we call ego is a collection of beliefs, customs, attitudes and policies that we inherit from parents and society, and considers its feelings and thoughts as supreme.

    If we are to escape our long standing religion of self, we need to do as the Apostle Paul said to do, " Sacrifice your reasoning minds to be reformatted and reprogrammed to the Word of "nature's God". Romans 12:1-2
     
  13. montra

    montra New Member

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    The problem is collectivism, not religion.

    The collectivist of ancient times tried to convince us that he was God. Then when that got old or no longer worked, he tried to convince us that he spoke for God. And when that got old or no longer worked they tried to convince us that there was no God, thus making them the ultimate authority and a god like Stalin that needs to be immortalized by embalming them.

    So what is next? I guess the only option is to go backward again and say that they speak for God. That is why I'm convinced Islam is the wave of the future.

    If there is a God, then we are made free men. It is man who enslaves.
     
  14. Jeannette

    Jeannette Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    So you're saying then the Soviet Union was paradise? :confuse:
     
  15. Don Townsend

    Don Townsend New Member Past Donor

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    Below is just one more of thousands of conflicts initiated by differences in religious beliefs. This one's in Russia where evidently your trying to convey religion doesn't exist.

    One of the main reasons for the split in Chechen society which led the Kadyrov family to power is the religious question. It began to receive emphasis at the onset of the second Chechen campaign, and it was precisely through their reluctance to become followers of the radical Islam espoused by some members of the armed resistance that former guerrillas justified their move to the side of the federal forces.
     
  16. junobet

    junobet New Member

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    You'll find that the problems in Chechen society have less to do with religion than with the wish for national independence from Russia and the question whether the Kadyrov family are just licking Putins boots or not. Religion is a mere tool in this conflict, not its cause.
    However: Chechen independence was of course unthinkable in times when the UDSSR was still in full bloom. I think this UDSSR is what the poster wanted to point you to: religion of any kind was violently oppressed. Did that make the UDSSR a nicer place to live? Probably not.
     
  17. Don Townsend

    Don Townsend New Member Past Donor

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    If religion didn't exist there would be no need to oppress it. Another example of conflict because of religion.
     
  18. junobet

    junobet New Member

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    That’s one of the most unenlightened statements ever. It’s like Stalin saying: “if persons with different political persuasions than mine did not exist I would not need to oppress them”. If you can’t respect another person’s belief or the lack thereof that puts you right in line with the most intolerant Islamists Chechnya could possibly sport. Freedom of conscience and religion are some of our highest values and IMHO that should stay that way.
     
  19. Lien

    Lien Banned

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    Muslims dont hate anybody because of they're not muslims . How many times you had heard the name of "muslims" before 9/11 ? Many of you had never heard before . Maybe just in history books as "cruel animals" because of their war of existence agains Roman Empire .
     
  20. usfan

    usfan Banned

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    Please. PEOPLE are the reason.. their ideologies & philosophies just reflect that. Christians kill christians, too, as well as muslims on muslims. Humans have killed each other for myriads of reasons.. stalin killed in the name of his 'religion' as did pol pot & even hitler. When have people ever needed much justification to go kill each other? You think that everyone becoming an atheist would stop that?
     
  21. Don Townsend

    Don Townsend New Member Past Donor

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    If everyone was taught and lived by the same universal moral code, which doesn't need to have anything to do with a belief in an imaginary supreme being , there would be much less conflict in the world. It sure beats kill the infidel or non-believer ! I believe there
    are certain traits inherent in normal human nature such as not doing harm to someone else or taking something that doesn't belong to you. I'll take an atheist (REALIST) with good moral values over a fanatical religious freak any day.
     
  22. Alfalfa

    Alfalfa Banned

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    Well that, and you know, satan.
     
  23. CKW

    CKW Well-Known Member

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    Based on history of our past and our present--- religous belief seems to be a necessary component to a thriving society.

    Based on the nations that do have majority Atheistic/agnostic citizens----it would be a pretty dismal world if the world's majority people had no belief of a higher power.

    Its silly to say the reason we have conflicts is because of religion. The only way to stop conflict---is to conquer all nations and put in place a tyrannical ruler who keeps people from expressing thoughts deemed harmful to society, who prosecutes those who have a different belief system.

    Which by the way---is what fascist Islamic terrorists are working for. They want that peace too!!!! Peace acquired from having all people adhering to the same belief system, the same morals---a world of absolute and total peace.

    So frankly---we could all convert to Islam and that would accomplish your goal!
     
  24. junobet

    junobet New Member

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    Sorry mate, but you’re not coming across as much of a realist in this thread. And which ”universal moral code” would that be you’re talking about? Yours? The one that wants to police other people’s opinions in metaphysical questions? No, thank you. The Golden Rule? Nice one. But incidentally that’s been taught by all major religions for centuries. It still has not kept people from bashing each others heads in. Why? Seems that by our very nature we’re too selfish, inconsiderate and tribal to abide by it most of the time.
     
  25. The Wyrd of Gawd

    The Wyrd of Gawd Well-Known Member

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    What do you suggest would be an ideal universal moral code?
     

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