From what I can see, religion is the cause of more human suffering and death than anything else throughout history. We know so much more about science now, than when religion first started and yet religion still dominates world affairs. Why ?
I'm not sure about religion being the primary cause of suffering. It's people who cause other people to suffer, whether or not that suffering is inflicted in the name of religion. Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot - four of the worst genocide instigators in recent Centuries - didn't murder millions in the name of any classical religion. Indeed the Nazis showed us how science can be perverted to justify the most unspeakable crimes against Humanity. Eugenics and Darwinism are all about science. Religion can bring great comfort to people who are suffering and in distress. It can give hope where science-based denial of faith in God brings only cold despair. It defines the identity of the majority of the World's population. John Lennon's "Imagine" was meant to be a homage to peace, but his own imagination fell far short when he included religion in his wish-away list. For most moderate, reasonable people religion is a force that restrains them from cruelty and the desire to alienate. Helping the poor and needy is a central pillar of most major religions. As a friend of mine once put it; Science tries to explain how the Universe works. Religion tries to explain why it works. There should be room in this life and in our collective future for both philosophies in my view. Neither one gains anything worth having by opposing the other. Well, you did ask...
Alarm bells here for me, I'm afraid. Everyone is entitled to their belief, and that's all I have to say on the subject. I won't be reading this thread.
I fully accept that religion can bring comfort and hope to people and help to placate them, which is basically what it’s about. Equally much good does come from it and the philosophy that it encourages of helping others more unfortunate than us. But so much suffering also comes from it. Gaza being the obvious current high profile example. And I’m not sure that Hitler acted entirely without a religious motive, although economics related to religion was also forefront in his thinking. I’ve done things which are supposedly against what God would want, but I did them for good reasons and I’d like to think that if I could sit down and have a chat with God then he’d understand and agree that I acted well and wouldn’t hold them against me in the final reckoning. Any God that requires me to follow a very strict code of conduct without allowing me free thought to do good, I am very wary of. If I’m a good person who has sometimes broken his rules to do good, aren’t I more deserving than a very bad person who disingenuously repents ? And why is God always a he ?
100% Was hoping it could be a discussion where all views could be aired without anyone trying to question someone else’s belief or non-belief. More about religions pro’s, con’s, history and differences rather than who’s right and who’s wrong. We’ll see.
We don't have a gender neutral term for a living being. Not a suitably respectful one anyway. If God exists it's likely male or female characteristics just don't apply. God tends to be referred to as 'he' because of male domination of most cultures - deriving from fear of women. Nothing really to do with religious faith. Interpretations of religious texts which lead to strict observance and intolerance of those who don't comply is power politics, not religion. Put in the simplest terms; Science has no concept of right and wrong. It is only about the possible and the impossible - acquiring knowledge to expand the former and reduce the latter. Religion is about nothing but right and wrong. Good and evil. Living the best life you can to aid the former and combat the latter. A well balanced life should embrace the possibilities of science, but be guided by the morality of religion. PS: The origins of religion seem to coincide with the birth of imagination. Seems to have happened very gradually, beginning around 50,000 years ago. About 2,500 generations. There are many intelligent species of animals on this Earth, capable of solving complex problems and adapting to changing conditions with remarkable ingenuity. Even using and fashioning tools, as our pre-Human ancestors learned to do well over 1 million years ago. But there is no evidence whatsoever that a dolphin or a chimpanzee or an octopus (for instance) can imagine an abstract world which is better than the one the given animal actually lives in. If they did, they would (again for instance) show the abstract respect for the bodies of their dead that all Human cultures do. Many species of animals show cultural development as well, but none show evidence of being able to imagine possibilities beyond the world of their senses. And it's a good thing for Homo Sapiens that they do not.
