https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL–1Z_g4DE

@raphjd:

@Matie:

Yes, this did really well in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, and North Korea (as well as Romania, GDR, Cuba, Vietnam, Albania…..)

Umm, you can't blame that on non religion.

However, all over the world nasty/evil things were have been done in the name of various religions.

That is so much apologist bullshit, I'm afraid.
Stalin killed Christians in support of atheism, atheist dictators killed more people than religion has in its entire history. I'm against evil dogmas being imposed on people, whether religious or non-religious. The fact is, atheism can be abused just as religion has been. I wouldn't want a world shaped and controlled by people like Dawkins or Sam Harris, just as I wouldn't want to return to rule by Popes. And before you return to your (rather conventional) twisty turny 'logic' and absolving of atheists, Sam Harris has written that he favours the idea of killing those with 'bad beliefs' (I am paraphrasing, but that is essentially what he has written).

It's a lie to say that Stalin killed for the sake of atheism.  He killed anyone who opposed the absolute rule of the government.

If the church followed what Jesus says in the bible ( "render unto Caesar" ) they probably would have been left alone.

@Matie:

Yes, this did really well in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, and North Korea (as well as Romania, GDR, Cuba, Vietnam, Albania…..)

Umm, you can't blame that on non religion.

However, all over the world nasty/evil things were have been done in the name of various religions.

That is so much apologist bullshit, I'm afraid.
Stalin killed Christians in support of atheism, atheist dictators killed more people than religion has in its entire history. I'm against evil dogmas being imposed on people, whether religious or non-religious. The fact is, atheism can be abused just as religion has been. I wouldn't want a world shaped and controlled by people like Dawkins or Sam Harris, just as I wouldn't want to return to rule by Popes. And before you return to your (rather conventional) twisty turny 'logic' and absolving of atheists, Sam Harris has written that he favours the idea of killing those with 'bad beliefs' (I am paraphrasing, but that is essentially what he has written).

I resent all religions pretty much equally.  Although my previous hate for the Dali Ling Ling has been surpassed the muslim sham.  For christ's sake (blasphemy intended) the goddamn Kaaba is quite possibly a shiva lingam of the Hindus.  It most certainly was revered far earlier than when the prophet profit(eer) who raped little girls (girls not women) became so sacrosanct that people had to die over his image.  As a little side note of interest check out the war on Wikipedia over this image, I know a few years ago (and imagine it has only gotten worse) the number of edits, take downs, reups, blah of the page about this was considered one of the great wars of the digital age (or something or other, it was interesting just in just how utterly inane it was/is).

The bottom line to me is that much like satanic cults, even religions are perverted into something that I'm sure they were not intended to be. Even the Salem Witch Trials have their roots based in the name of religion. It only goes to further enforce that religions are no better than cults. While they may worship a different being (if that's what you want to call them), they both involve the same kind of mentality in the end. For me anyway, I just don't think that's the way to go, but then again… different strokes for different folks.

On a side note I know how fashionable that Buddhist crap can be, especially amongst misguided homos but everytime I bring up Buddhist eschatology with one who identifies as Buddhist to me I feel like I am talking to another Christian dismissing the Old Testament.

i do go on…

I don't see beth dins (jewish courts) being any better/different than sharia courts, when in modern country.  Both are extremely sexist, though they both strongly disagree with that.  They are both very limited in what they can and can't do.

The UK has had beth dins since King James, of bible fame.  Under the guise of equality a few years ago, the UK had a choice, get rid of beth dins or allow sharia courts as well.  Since the beth dins have been here so long, they decided that they had no choice but to allow both.

@Matie:

I do think I understand your pov a lot better, and you expressed yourself articulately and less controversially

Cheers, bro

Oh poo, are you saying the full moon has an opposite effect on me?   :blind:

I don't know, but whatever the effect is it seems pretty agreeable

I do think I understand your pov a lot better, and you expressed yourself articulately and less controversially

Cheers, bro

Oh poo, are you saying the full moon has an opposite effect on me?  :blind:

Cheers, bro

I am also not calling for the persecution of the religious, as I also clarified I am not exactly saying let's outlaw religion.  I am also not denying God.

What I am saying is religion would be ridiculous if it wasn't so bloody evil.  I am the first to admit I am not verse in all of the world's religions but I did once have a 'soul seeking' phase and have more than a passing knowledge of most of the fairy tales.  In my opinion the best of the lot is Sihkism and the most blatantly inane award would likely go to the latter day saints.  Truth be told sometimes I regret not getting out of here on the Hale-Bopp when the opportunity presented itself.

I do believe (oh ye of little faith) that if we stopped indoctrinating children into a faith we would make a gigantic step toward solving a lot of the world's conflicts and problems.

I am sorry, it's a little late or early and I may or may not have indulged in a little full moon madness so I am having some difficulty in expressing in words my belief toward religion.

The long and the short of it is any rational human being should be able to realize and accept the one flaw in most religions, there is no proof and they all require faith, which is fine except so many of don't accept that.  Instead so many have fashioned their faith into a way of life and a tool with which to bludgeon the different from them with….

I am fading, will revisit these thoughts and hopefully with a better clarity.

I suppose "Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, and North Korea (as well as Romania, GDR, Cuba, Vietnam, Albania…) are sited as failed religion free zones.  Do I need to make the list of states, countries, zones, etc that religion is/was allowed to flourish in that are failures?  Sorry, not only can I not be bothered but I think I might be here for the rest of my natural life compiling the list.  If indeed the intent behind this list was an attempt at justifying religion not only is it spurious but it is also made ridiculous by the much longer list that could be compiled of religion's atrocities.  We all know size matters & mine is bigger.

Outlawing religion is not exactly what I am calling for, even though "Yes" it is what I said.

Better would be the hope that all religions whither & die off from a lack of interest, outlawing them should not have to be necessary.

Respectfully, you're wrong. The inquisition took centuries and didn't 'achieve' what Pol Pot did in a couple of years. The atheists win on any objective or empirical score. Outlawing religion likely will cause more deaths, and certainly the mass persecution of people. By persecuting the religious, you won't make religion wither and die, but you might cause an almighty backlash.

I suppose "Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, and North Korea (as well as Romania, GDR, Cuba, Vietnam, Albania…) are sited as failed religion free zones.  Do I need to make the list of states, countries, zones, etc that religion is/was allowed to flourish in that are failures?  Sorry, not only can I not be bothered but I think I might be here for the rest of my natural life compiling the list.  If indeed the intent behind this list was an attempt at justifying religion not only is it spurious but it is also made ridiculous by the much longer list that could be compiled of religion's atrocities.  We all know size matters & mine is bigger.

Outlawing religion is not exactly what I am calling for, even though "Yes" it is what I said.

Better would be the hope that all religions whither & die off from a lack of interest, outlawing them should not have to be necessary.

No matter what religion one subscribes to there is no denyng that any God that requires worship and doesn't make that method available to each and everyone is a fairly impotent God.

“Imagine there's no countries. It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for. And no religion too."

It's like how the RCC threatens politicians with excommunication if they vote in certain ways the church doesn't like.    We saw a lot of this with gay rights in Canada and other countries.

Also, you have to remember that your religion/god hates you according to your holy text and church leaders.  In order to get around that you would have to be self loathing, or guilty of apologetics and cherry picking.  Neither option is a good one.

Yes, this did really well in Maoist China, Stalinist Russia, Khmer Rouge Cambodia, and North Korea (as well as Romania, GDR, Cuba, Vietnam, Albania…..)

Umm, you can't blame that on non religion.

However, all over the world nasty/evil things were have been done in the name of various religions.

"The Church" is very different than religion. It is "The Church" that causes all the problems, not religion. What has happened in American is that we have allowed this "so-called" freedom of religion to become distorted from the view that the founding fathers have laid out. All they want and wrote down was that the government could not make any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion. They did not mean that people could stand on a corner and tell others they were going to hell because they didn't believe in the same ideology as them. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and is preached against by most gospels.