Hussein DEAD

[Nemo88]

And how do you propose punishing religion? Because some folks are fanatical and take their beliefs too far hardly calls for punishing the majority. Perhaps abolishing religious beliefs would have been a better statement, but we all know that's a ridiculous notion/suggestion.

I was kidding

[club33az]

Besides, how do you go from a mass murder like Saddam to a mass mind set of religion? Religion covers a whole lot of people. ONE PERSON (Saddam) slaughtered almost 200,000 people at one go of it! HUGE difference.

Not to mention, Nemo, how come you left out how many people religion has helped?

[jonvn]

The Germans had a good way of punishing a religion. You simply kill all the members.

[Maxdad]

And how do you propose punishing religion? Because some folks are fanatical and take their beliefs too far hardly calls for punishing the majority. Perhaps abolishing religious beliefs would have been a better statement, but we all know that's a ridiculous notion/suggestion.

I dunno Cinder... John Lennon suggested abolishing religions in his half-assed song, Imagine, and people think of him as a god.

Weird, weird world we live in.

[jonvn]

I'd abolish religion. But millenia of murder of those who won't believe have evolved us into a species that needs to believe.

So people do. Whether it makes a lick of sense or not.

And because it makes no sense, then people can use it to justify whatever action they were going to do anyway.

I don't see religion as a positive influence at all.

[club33az]

That's because only the bad parts of religion (or any faith based medium) make the headlines. It doesn't mention at all the strength and fulfillment that it gives to billions of people the world over.
I, myself, have pretty much lost, not my faith, but my confidence in the Catholic church over that past few years (there stance on gays in particular but their horrible, criminal handling of the priests abuse of children). Now I'm left with a tremendous amount of spiritual faith, but not a whole lot of religious faith. But I wouldn't, in a million years, deny religion to someone who wants it. I've seen so much good that organized religion, of all faiths, have done.

[jonvn]

I'm afraid I've seen just the opposite.

[Maxdad]

Sorry to hear that, amigo.

In fact, I'm sorry for a lot of things about religion, because religion, on the whole, could be, and has been, good for civilization, even though the common perception these days is that the only thing religion has brought us is misery, persecution, and a myriad of evil actions.

I tend to take a step away from it in comparison to most of modern society. In the beginning of Man's existence, a yearning for powers higher than one's self led man on the road to discovery. Man wanted to make sense of the world around him, and so the perception of a higher power seemed to put it all into an understandable context.

Unfortunately, when one guy explained fire as the earthly presence of one god, and another explained it as the earthly presence of another, they began hitting each other to change the other guy's mind.

Let's face it. We humans are stupid. We aren't smart enough to handle an understanding of higher powers.

I truly think they exist, but I know not everyone does. In my world, I have seen what I consider proof, but for others, it could just be gas. I dunno.

These Sadaam taunters think they have it right. Sadaam though he had it right. So did Charlie Manson. and L. Ron Hubbard.

But so did St. Paul, Nicholas of Smyrna, St. Francis, Mother Theresa, Thomas Jefferson, Mohammed, Buddah, and Ghandi. People who actually did good stuff. Our civilization was founded on god-seeking principles. We value life because of it. Most of us believe in some sort of higher power.

So, tyrants like Sadaam fall, and he is executed by equally clueless people. People use religion for an excuse for revenge. It happens. It is awful, and stupid, but it happens.

That still doesn't invalidate the good things done in the name of religion. If you look, you'll find them. People also use religion for a reason to reach out to their fellow man in love. Orphanages get built. Hospitals. Schools. Research is funded. People help others who hurt. All because they believe.

I'm just saying, look for the balance.

[jonvn]

L. Ron Hubbard did have it right. He said "The best way to make money is through a religion." So he started one. And he was right.

[Maxdad]

LOL. You are indeed correct there!

I am just glad I made my millions in ministry and got out before I got prosecuted.

Cha-ching.