If we were to list the attrocities committed in the name of Christianity, it would be very easy to do and very pointless. It is also easy to select examples (anything from teddy bears in the Sudan, to the decimation of the Twin Towers/Lee Rigby/Boston Marathon etc) in an attempt to prove a point, thus elevating our own position with a prejoritive one-upmanship. This is not only demeaning to others of an alternative faith, but also self-deprecating for those who preach intollerance. The Islamic community can very easily illustrate that they are not at fault or at least not the only ones at fault -and many of them do, with the result that both sides become entrenched by the divide of hate. In the meantime, I'm off to scoff a pork pie /out
Can they? So your idea of democracy is to defend something but, in the same post, deny other people the right to give their opinion. What will you do if I defy your instructions, have me stoned? How can anyone defend the kidnapping of 300 schoolgirls to be used as sex slaves by an Islamic group? Are people not allowed to be intolerant of that kind of thing? And what current example would you select, in the name of Christianity, that compares ......... seeing as it's so easy to do.
I think we pretty much can all agree... Religion is man kinds worst invention. Think of how much further along we would have been if not for the inquisitions, crusades, holocaust (this was aimed at a specific religious group), and any dark age of the past - holding us back from creating, inventing and discovering new ideas. If people weren't burnt at the stake for practising medicine, for saying that the earth revolved around the sun and it was in fact round - all because someone from the days of old wrote down in a book an omnipotent being clicked his fingers and in 7 days created everything . If there were no religion and everyone just accepted each other as we are, the world would be a much better place.
If there were no religion people would continue to behave exactly the same through greed, prejudice and arrogance. Religion is simply the camouflage that people clothe themselves in to perpetuate their aims. Nothing would change, it's just how mankind is. Hitler didn't instigate the Holocaust because of profound religious beliefs, it was greed, arrogance & power that drove him. The Holocaust included political opponents, intellectuals, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, disabled people etc etc. Chuck in equal numbers of Soviets/Poles/etc and you'd probably find that the Jews were in the minority.
Shameless, you're already an atheist. You already don't believe in all of the other ridiculous man made gods - Thor, Mars, Ra, Ganeshan, Zeus et al. You just need to grow up a little more, let go of your infantile wish-fulfilment fairy tale, investigate the real wonders of the Universe, and let go more of one more invented 'god'. You're already morally superior to your bronze-age invented myth, you just need to see through the brain-washing you've been subjected and leave these childish lies behind. The human race will never achieve it's true potential while the cancerous meme of religion continues to infect the human mind. You and your sort are on the wrong side of history, and you know it.
I totally disagree! A properly made pork pie, with the right ingredients, can be a vital ingredient in any summer picnic
The root of Hitlers actions are thought to have a religious basis, from being rebuffed by a Jewish girl he was in love with as a young man, from being rejected by "jews" at an art school in Austria, and from believing that Germany would have prevailed in WW1 had it not been for the Jewish owned/backed industrial / banking ruling classes back home in Germany that stabbed the German armies fighting abroad. There are even stories of his hatred of Jews because his mother contracted syphilis from a Jew. Whether that's all true or not, no one would argue that the defining original element of his philosophy was hatred of the Jews. As his nationalist socialist philosophy developed, it was inevitable that other races, religions, perceived threats to Arianism would be identified and aligned as equal in status to the original Jewish threat to the primacy of the German race; Slavs, the mentally ill, homosexuals, freemasonry, etc, etc, the list goes on. The European theatre of WW2 could therefore be argued as having a religious root at its core as opposed to the pacific theatre which was based on economic hegemony, the Japanese nation having no natural resources of their own forcing their army to invoke war to acquire those resources to maintain their own hold on power in Japan. And to say that other religions in today's age are not enacting the barbarism seen within some Muslim societies doesn't mean they could never happen again and shouldn't therefore be a damning indictment on all Muslims today. Christians are slaughtering Muslims in west and Central Africa today, just not as "efficiently" as Boko Haram. It's very easy to sit in our ivory towers, look down on others and think, how disgusting and animalistic other societies are and to too easily forget, or ignore our own history and behaviour. Fundamental Islam has nothing in common with 99% of Muslims who live their faith on a daily basis. It's Fascism, nothing less. At the core of Fascism is hatred, hatred of anything different to itself. My wife is Muslim. What we see on TV is as much anathema to her as it is to me. It has nothing in common with her understanding of Islam. Just editing to add, I'm an aetheist, I abhor religion full stop. But I respect anyone else their right to their own beliefs, as long as they don't personally impinge on my own.
So, even if it's not true no one would argue I doubt it was the Jew's religion he disliked, it may well have been wealth, power & influence - he was a fanatic, not a religious zealot.
Not sure what your first line means Smug, but as for the second part, I never accused him of being a religious zealot.
My first line means that if those things aren't true, or debatable, people will obviously argue. I wasn't accusing you of saying he was a religious zealot, just that he went for the Jews for non-religious reasons. The thread is specifically about religion hence my reference.
Interesting thread this one. I wish my history was as good as some of the above comments. I believe Bosnia could be used as a good example of Christian religion attacking Muslims.
There's no point in trying to reason with religious nuts. If these people could be reasoned with then there would be no religion. The difference between me and their god is that if I had it in my power to stop one child from being raped then I would. So this makes their god either: a) a *****phile b) powerless c) invented Please chose wisely.
Everybody knows a well behaved Muslim mate, and we've all heard how they deplore the actions of their 'representatives' (that the media have adopted) but the issue isn't resolved by saying 'the majority are good people'. Nobody should be pointing fingers at a single religion, I've left the second of your quotes in there because that's my exact stance as well, I totally agree with that. If religious people adhered to our ideal as a template, there'd be no threads like this, there'd be no issues to discuss would there? But they don't, it has to be thrust upon everybody, not just by the media by the way either, by religious people. Faith is everywhere you turn, 'pray for Muamba/Schumacher'... these things don't harm, they bond people so I can see the decency in it, but I cannot and will not comprehend the requirement for Insurance companies for example reeling off "Act of God, so we're not paying out"... change that phrase or pay out. If a Muslim can acquire an interest-free mortgage then I'd like to exercise my right to not believe in god and get paid out for my flooded car for example (I know it's just a phrase they use, they should change it). The gripe I have is with the inequality I suffer because I choose to believe fact rather than fiction, every other nugget can choose to do and act how they like so long as they keep it quiet and don't use force or aggression.
Totaly agree with you Smug just never buy one from Asda been to the factory to see them being made never ate another one since 1988
There was a lot more to that war than the media would have you believe. But you're right in a way, the Serbs certainly had the upper hand.
My attitude to pies is similar to my attitude to women ....... I don't want to know their make up, prefer a low fat content & am prepared to ignore the odd hair when I'm getting my teeth into them
