@divegeester saidWhich brings us back to the fact this conflict is mostly political, not religious.
Err Israel.
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@vivify saidReligion is a human foible, on account of us evolving brains capable of questioning the reason we are here and the inevitability of death. It is hardly surprising that such brains, especially millennia ago, invented deities to give meaning to life and reassurance that death was not the end. Some primitive humans looked up to the planets, and made gods of them, while others looked to nature itself. (A poster, on another thread, recently suggested religion was somehow hardwired into us. It isn't. It is fear of the unknown that hardwired into us).
Whatever. Religion is stupid. The world is better without it.
Religion, today, has the same lingering effect. It offers answers to the unknowable and a way to avoid certain death. But you are right. Religion 'is' stupid, and in the wrong hands is dangerous and stagnating. It often leads to wars and prevents a brain from progressing, and is holding us back as a species. Despite all that we now know about the vastness and age of the universe, there are still people who believe we started out in a garden or that dinosaurs were taken aboard an ark.
Religion truly is the opium of the masses. In that sense, they are all the same. Christianity has no higher ground.
1. the black and white issue. Religion is comparable with one's job and God comparable to your boss. You have a right to keep working or you get fired. Most religious organizations will let reverts back in, while many workplaces are come-and-go. Perhaps work, signalbearer for the rule, shows noone's exempted from absolutes.
2. in some respect it's relative, less bad equals good enough. Everyone makes mistakes, owner knows the scope. Does a modern system of logic make for learning to not keep having infidelities, or is a postmodern model better fit?
@Rajk999 interesting that there are 10,000 hard words (burn, fire, hell, punish, torture, despise, hate, wrath, battle, fight, force, invade, oppress, violence, destroy, kill, murder slay) in the Bible, compared to 1000 in the Qur’an. Just saying.
@Pianoman1 saidJust saying .... without thinking apparently.
@Rajk999 interesting that there are 10,000 hard words (burn, fire, hell, punish, torture, despise, hate, wrath, battle, fight, force, invade, oppress, violence, destroy, kill, murder slay) in the Bible, compared to 1000 in the Qur’an. Just saying.
What is going on with Islam in the world right now?
Do you know?
@Rajk999 Oh, for goodness, grow up. You cannot be so mindless as to think that in the past 2,500 years Islam is the only aggressive religion, and you certainly cannot tarnish a whole religion by the acts of a crazed Neanderthal minority. It’s a given that all religions are divisive. Roll back the years and it was Christianity that was the religion of hatred, intolerance and aggression. You only have to reference the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the zealous missionaries who had to ‘save’ the heathens from Hell, the ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ mentality,
I expected better of you!
@Pianoman1 saidGrow up? Is that an argument. The fact that you are appealing to ancient history means you are making lame excuses for Islam who at this very moment in time are guilty of the following atrocities:
@Rajk999 Oh, for goodness, grow up. You cannot be so mindless as to think that in the past 2,500 years Islam is the only aggressive religion, and you certainly cannot tarnish a whole religion by the acts of a crazed Neanderthal minority. It’s a given that all religions are divisive. Roll back the years and it was Christianity that was the religion of hatred, intolerance a ...[text shortened]... e’ the heathens from Hell, the ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ mentality,
I expected better of you!
- promotes the killing of non-muslims, referred to as infidels
- the rape of non-muslim women during jihad or holy war
- sex with minors eg Muhammed who is the holy prophet was guilty of that
- killing of adulterers and fornicators, gays and lesbians
- women are kept down and suppressed
- muslims are encourage to hate non-muslims
- they cause problems in every country where their numbers are high.
So your argument is that because Christianity committed atrocities 500 years ago, Islam is entitled to do the same or worse and people need to grow up and leave them alone ... are you really that stupid?
@Rajk999 I don’t deny that in the present world Islam has misguidedly spawned mindless idiots who are guilty of the appalling atrocities that you quote. The Iranian Ayatollahs, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah etc have combined to thrust the life of their benighted citizens back to the Dark Ages. What I take issue with you is pointing the finger of blame for aggression solely towards Islam. All religions are divisive, intolerant and mistrustful of each other, with the possible exception of Buddhism, though I don’t class that as a religion. By the way, many African Christian countries still regard homosexuality as a wicked sin punishable by death or incarceration.
@Pianoman1 saidA couple corrections :
@Rajk999 I don’t deny that in the present world Islam has misguidedly spawned mindless idiots who are guilty of the appalling atrocities that you quote. The Iranian Ayatollahs, the Taliban, Hamas, Hezbollah etc have combined to thrust the life of their benighted citizens back to the Dark Ages. What I take issue with you is pointing the finger of blame for aggression solely ...[text shortened]... Christian countries still regard homosexuality as a wicked sin punishable by death or incarceration.
- Islam has not spawned mindless idiots. They are idiots yes. Mindless ..no. They are following the commandments in their religion. They have a mind and they can think ... dont delude yourself. They leaders know what they are doing, and the followers know that their leaders are correct. What they do is clearlly written in the Quran and Haddiths.
- I can point finger of blame any f ..king way I like. In which environment does your statement hold true. In a home can a child say to someone " Hey, Johnny did that last year, so I can do it as well now. Can an accused in the court use that argument and say " Hey judge, that serial killer killed more people so Im entitled to kill as well" What an utterly nonsensical argument.
- All religions are not divisive. Only Islam is divisive.
- All Christians regard homosexuality as a sin.
@Pianoman1 saidIn the case of the conflict Northern Ireland, religion was just an excuse for the conflict because there is nothing to fight over between Protestants and Catholics. The reason is that those in the southern part of Ireland did not like the British royalty and did not want to submit to the Crown. It is a long standing hatred the Irish had with the English. Nothing to do with religon. Have a look at Braveheart or read the history.
@Rajk999 “ All religions are not divisive. Only Islam is divisive.”
This is risibly ludicrous.
Tell that to the inhabitants of Northern Ireland for starters. They will laugh in your face.
Sir Winston Churchill, one of the most astute world leader of the last century and the one who was credited with defeating the Nazis said this about Islam. Have a read.
How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries, improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live.
A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement, the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men.
Individual Muslims may show splendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome.
