Is religion part of many of the world's problems?

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   Alondra Lopezposted 9 years ago

   Is religion part of many of the world's problems?
   
   Maybe it's my first time thinking out loud..
   Clearly many individuals view things in many different ways; especially in religion. There have been many wars due to people not keeping things to themselves or minding their own business. I have seen many people say there part of some amazing and lovable religion and want people to join as well. Also, when these people get someone into it, they go and pin point all flaws that others have without looking at themselves. This causes issues. For me it did at least.

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   jlparkposted 9 years ago

   I don't think it's religion persay, but the actions of many religion's followers.
   
   I think that most, if not all religions have love and peace at the heart of their teachings. But when people focus on the specifics of parts of their Holy Texts - right down to verses (or whatever verses are referred to in the Qu'ran and other Holy texts) in order to control others and their actions - despite the others not being of their faith - then we have issues.
   
   The fanatics of any religion are what make religion dangerous. The ISILs, the Christian fundamentalists and extremists, the Buddhist...(hmmm, I'm struggling with 'dangerous buddhism"...), the list goes on - these people aren't accurate portrayals of the faith to which they claim to subscribe.
   
   Unfortunately, I have to agree - people point out the flaws in others without noticing their own.
   
   But the flaw is not with religion, or that lack thereof for that matter, but with it's followers.

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      Alondra Lopezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yes I need to agree it is not religion itself, it is the followers. I myself do not follow any religion, but I am an okay person and i do believe there is something out there, maybe an energy! who knows!

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   Link10103posted 9 years ago

   I would like to think the majority of problems in the world today wouldnt exist if religion did not exist/did not have such a strangle hold on society. Of course something else might just take its place.
   
   I would rather have something that actually makes sense be the cause of the worlds problems than something like "My invisible guy in the sky is better than yours, go die" or "My holy book that was written x amount of years ago that not one can prove tells me its okay to be the biggest jerk and feel good about it".
   
   Oddly enough, the lesser of 2 evils in that scenario is the one that actually has some logic behind it.

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      Alondra Lopezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah I know. My thoughts are, that its all about ourselves. According to science our mind is very powerful, which means we can do godly stuff.  The bible or whatever holy scripture people use might be from a person with an incredible mind.

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   cjhunsingerposted 9 years ago

   Alondra
   The origins of deity belief, which may date back to 70,000 years, were attempts to understand the world in which people found themselves. We did not arrive here, with an instruction manual or a Google search engine. We found ourselves asking questions and too, found ourselves very vulnerable to other animals and the harshness and whims of the climate. Gods, totemism and animal worship were an infantile way to explain and to begin to define life. Such was the first attempt at science.
   Fear and reward are prime motivators and like today, there were the unscrupulous who realized that the lessor intelligent or more fearful and gullible could be easily manipulated and controlled with the use of these beliefs. In some instances these controls were not all bad, as groups or tribes were formed around these leaders, which provided protection from others, food and overall security for the clan or tribe. The first societies were created around such leaders, who embodied defined spiritual qualities and strength of leadership; normally the alpha male.
   With the advent of the atomic bomb Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Harry Truman warning of the great perils  that lay ahead. He admonished Truman by saying, "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe."
   All has changed and  we have  grown tremendously from the fearful cave dweller of 70,000 years ago, but we still cling to the idols and the totems for comfort and  security. We are still magnetically drawn to the promise of the infantile mind.and to those unscrupulous alpha personalities who manipulate through the godly promise of a promise. It is in this that good people and those with deviant tendencies are driven to bias and hatred, driven by the justification of a god to commit acts of brutality and savagery.
   Fortunately, as time passes and a  greater understanding of life emerges fewer are drawn to such ancient savagery, as Christianity was defanged by the Bill of Rights and good people are left to be good people, there are still those who can and will justify human savagery with the gods.

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      Alondra Lopezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Great explaination!

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