The Real Evil Of Religion.

[_harmony]

A young man I once knew thought emotion of any sort (love, anger, lust, envy, etc.) that existed as a generalized social construct was a false concept. That the reality was that the emotion was simply a firing of specfic neurons in a specific pattern; that every emotion was simply a specific set of neutrons firing in a specific pattern in the brain. That the heart pounding generated when he first held his newly born baby girl was simply a specific set of neurons firing in a specific pattern designed by nature in order to increase the likelihood of continuation of the species. That there is no such thing as "love" in the poetic or romantic or emotional sense... it's all just neurons firing in sequence.

Kinda reduces the poets to meaningless blathering, doesn't it?

It's pretty darned cold, if you think about it that way.

[_Mercury]

But Schmo, listening to our hearts is what makes us human. Why do you love your family? What is love? Is love your head...or your heart talking?

No, its your genetic makeup that is talking Liz. We love our family because if we did not we could not efficiently assist our genetic material from propagating. Simple enough, and that reason alone is enough for me to justify love.

Just because it is a compulsory emotion does not make it fake. Love is still powerful just as the need to eat and prosper is powerful.

that's what makes the world go round.

[_JAK]

It causes more people to become atheist than the worst dictatorships, crimes, and natural disasters in all of human history. Religion has been a sort of insurance policy that there is no God. Because if "God" is so twisted, devious and hypocritical as to "ordain as a prophet" a man who would ask his male followers to f*** their wives, then I don't blame anyone for believing that God doesn't exist.

I would be atheist myself if I didn't see beyond this con. Religions present a God who is totally foreign to me. Glorified male APES pretending to speak for God.



>>>

I would consider this to be a good thing about religion (if it were true that it caused people to become atheists - I think it may in a few cases, but I don't think it's the norm).

I was agnostic for many years after leaving the church. I just didn't think you could prove it either way, and it took a long time to let the idea go. But slowly, I realized that just because I couldn't prove he didn't exist was a good reason to give the idea any more credence than fairies or ghosts or anything else supernatural.

I'd love it if there were a loving god; I'd love to believe that there's more life after this one, but that's my heart talking, not my head. I try very hard not to give in to wishful thinking when assessing what's real and what isn't.

Some Schmo stated:
I'd love it if there were a loving god; I'd love to believe that there's more life after this one, but that's my heart talking, not my head. I try very hard not to give in to wishful thinking when assessing what's real and what isn't.

It is interesting how 24/7 news on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC and special insightful documentaries on PBS afford us today a perspective and a view of what happens on the planet earth and what has happened even millions and hundreds of millions of years in the past. Through such windows and books and magazines as well, we have access to information which was entirely obscured from view and understanding less than one century ago.

Yet there are many today who avoid or deny the research of thousands who make our opportunity to view the universe possible. The Hubble Space Telescope offers us understanding and perspective about our universe that is both surprising and illuminating.

Still, medical scientific right here on our little planet earth seems equally surprising and illuminating. Both are working “very hard” to replace “wishful thinking” with accurate information, reliable and useful for all of us either directly or indirectly.

It is correct to reject “wishful thinking” as a substitute for candid, honorable, responsible recognition of trustworthy information confirmed by continuous testing and evaluation.

JAK

[_Roger Morrison]

As I scanned the Topics, as usual I looked at the Author to find legitamacy. Then I checked the last respondent. Making this one score high...
Ray as the originator, then JAK with his as usual uncommon sense and intelligence addressing reality that many seem to be in denial of...

"...Evil of Religion" is one side of the coin. The other being the benefit of Religion. If one cannot recognize both sides, then IMSCO they are in denial of social reality.

I respectfully suggest we differentiate between Christian philosophy--the Charity stuff--and Theistic theology doctrine, dogma, Priestcraft and Ecclesiasticism wherein the Evil lurkes in human hearts and minds that have for whatever reasons been steeped in superstition, ignorance, fear, guilt, prejudice, discrimination, elitism and all things non-charitable...

In summary: Get Theism, out of Religion and we might get closer to genuine charity..."...and we'll all live Happy-ever-after!"

Generally speaking, Science is built on truths. Religion is built on fantasies...
Roger
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