Comments on: Is religious belief healthy?

By: Lavonn

Lavonn — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:46:46 +0000

Your article perfectly shows what I needed to know, tahnks!

By: Bunc

Bunc — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 17:04:41 +0000

I like the Buddhas take on the whole thing – basically -think for yourself !

By: GoDamn

GoDamn — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:40:27 +0000

Religon is responsible for a lot of war and destruction. It often provides the best excuse. People say Hitler wasnt a xian and he just used religon, but even if thats true, the germans comitting atrocities were xian, werent they? How could they do that? Religon. Or for that matter, look at the conflicts around the world today. Furthermore, I dont look at religous charities as being charity. They do it because they think they will be rewarded for it. Incidentally, I always wondered how jesus’s death was a sacrifice. Being god, death is meaningless to him. What did god loose, to call it a sacrifice? There has to be a loss for a sacrifice, but jesus is sitting up there with daddy just like old times,right? As for morals, I cant help but wonder, if religon were proved false tomorrow, would people become killers and cannibals etc.? The problem with religon is that it abhors learning and free inquiry, promotes intolerance of outsiders and has a grotesque obsession with sin and the personal (especially sexual) lives of its followers. Religon is the biggest problem we face. It must go.

By: thinkdeep

thinkdeep — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:37:24 +0000

Good essay until you brought in 9/11. To blame religion for evil is to fall into the same trap that the rest of America has fallen into including the Evangelicals.
Arabs have a culture and a religion that is different. So we blame the religion? Men will kill. And will use what ever excuse is necessary or convenient to gain power or territory. Or to get it back.
Reasons for War:
Terror, Union, Freedom, Manifest Destiny, All the world England, God, Democracy, Master Race, Us vs. Them – take your pick

By: fontor

fontor — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:05:48 +0000

Not good enough. It has to be true.

By: LeoPardus

LeoPardus — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:24:56 +0000

avid_mass:

How is allowing a child mature on their own into adulthood without making or influencing their “faith” choices indoctrinating bigotry?

That alone wouldn’t be. (Though it’s impossible not to ‘influence’ their choices.) However, you would not be doing that. A child raised with the attitude you’re showing would be indoctrinated with your hatred and bigotry toward faith. In other words you would be essaying to indoctrinate them against religion.

In your view that would probably be a good thing. But in the view of a parents who believe their faith a wonderful thing, your way would be evil, sick, monsterous, etc.

There’s nothing narrow minded about my view of your doctrine.
First, I never came up with any Christian doctrines. Second, I’m not Christian. Third, your view is entirely narrow-minded. You’ve condemned raising children in one’s faith as evil, and you don’t appear to make any allowances that your view of Christianity or raising children in it could be at all wrong. You also don’t appear to find any possible good in raising children in a faith. There’s no way to make that out as “broad minded”.

Reading your posts, it seems that you were brought up in a particular sector of Christianity that is quite at odds with what I experienced. I’ve seen plenty of the “fear, and threats, and damnation” brand of Christianity and could never quite grasp why people wanted it.

At any rate there’s much more to Christianity, and to religion in general, than what you experienced. Of course it’s all based on a foundational lie (i.e. that there’s a God), but it’s not all based on fear and threats.

By: artisticmisfit

artisticmisfit — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 03:09:51 +0000

avid_mass, I don’t tell my child that lie. I don’t use the words like play along or burn forever in eternity. That’s Catholic or Evangelical talk. Yuck.

By: avid_mass

avid_mass — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 02:01:41 +0000

the same thing i’m telling everyone is echoed well enough here:

bright kid, glad he’s doing for himself.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xo_nW1H8Ywg

By: avid_mass

avid_mass — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 01:50:57 +0000

LeoPardus: How is allowing a child mature on their own into adulthood without making or influencing their “faith” choices indoctrinating bigotry?

There’s nothing narrow minded about my view of your doctrine. I’ve been a part of it, read both testaments throughout growing up. It’s disgusting. It’s all about fear, but as long as you play along like good little boys and girls you won’t burn forever in eternity. That is such a putrid lie you tell your children. It’s indeed sick.

By: Jim Jordan

Jim Jordan — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 00:30:20 +0000

It seems like the solution to this question was in the post itself. If by religious belief you mean positive, helpful institutions, that should be supported. If you mean negative energy like fundamentalists who are quick to condemn and slow to help if they help at all, oppose that.

Your shaky conclusion begs the question, what replaces all those Christian and other religious charities? Once you take away the positive aspects of religion, what fills the void? For that matter, why don’t we have far more secular charities stepping in to replace the religious charites – where’s the evolution if it exists? Have we really outgrown religion?