Originally posted by AThousandYoungIt goes to show you the average religious person is not so bad, what is bad are the religious leaders who should be thrice condemned to a hell of our own imagining, the insane sociopaths who call for others to don bomb filled vests, like the muslim bombing other MUSLIM's, these bottom feeders would never in a million years actually don a bomb vest themselves, feeling much too important for that, instead dupe some poor 18 yo sod to do it for them after convincing them when they die they will go to heaven and get 40 virgins. THEM I hate with all the fiber of my being.
Bad. Look at the Middle East. It's become one giant religious war of fundie Xtians and fundie Jews vs. fundie Muslims.
I don't find religion very useful. It certainly can cause quite a bit of harm. This harm need not just be through explicit violence but also through the encouragement of structural violence (e.g., racism, homophobia, general xenophobia, misogyny, deleterious superstition). This doesn't mean that religion must cause harm. I know plenty of people who value their faith that are not psychopaths, morons, or bigots. In my opinion, some of their views are silly, but their beliefs are basically harmless.
It seems to be the organisation of religion that is bad. Many a good man has religious beliefs, and many a man does good things in the name of religion.
If a man kills another man with a cricket bat, does Cricket become evil? Or if a man kills because of spurned love, does Love become useless? If man didn't have religion, he would find some other reason to fight.
I wouldn't consider myself religious, but i think that Religion has brought us to where we are today, historically speaking.It has its place, and it has its mad crazies (just like everything else).
Edit. But back to the question at the start of the thread. It is what you do with your chosen religion that makes you/it bad or good.
Originally posted by Gaurav1Personally , if there is one thing I have learnt in this life so far it is that being close to God or being 'on track' has absolutely nothing to do with being 'religious' or 'having religion'.
Personally I believe having a religion is a good thing since it keeps you on track.
Originally posted by Gaurav1Spirituality and humanity keep you on track, not religion. Although religion as a whole isn't a bad thing, you don't need to belong to a certain denomination in order to be a good person. And in lots of ways, many religions have grown to rebuke what they first sought out to teach. The perverted and extreme versions of religion are what pose a threat.
When I say it keeps u on track means it keeps you focused on doing good activities and sinless activities. The Middle Eastern problem probably contradicts this fact though their other intentions are power in particular.