What’s with you buddy? Why do you bash religion and Christianity so much? What has it ever done to you?
I get asked this a lot, because I’m so outspoken about the positives of atheism and the negatives of religion. People who are religious always seem to take this seriously, and I can’t blame them because religion is supposed to be a very personal thing. But in actuality, what provokes me to post about it is when people let it seep out of the person and into the political.
My problem isn’t with religion itself, not with Christianity or Islam, and not with its existence, but with the dangers of unsubstantiated belief. I’m talking about blind faith, ideologies that aren’t subject to scrutiny or questions, and the way people just seem to follow them without concern.
Strong belief in the tenants of Christianity for example, are symptoms of a bigger problem. If someone is willing to accept the idea that a man healed people, turned water into wine, and then ascended to heaven as a ghost, then that same person has a higher likelihood of accepting other ideas without scrutiny. Thats how people get support for genocide, mass murders, holy wars, suicide bombings, and the such.
Religion doesn’t make people bad. Christianity tries to teach people to be good, and I am aware of that. But when you seek to impose moral laws on people who don’t follow your beliefs, you’ve left the acceptable realm of private spirituality and entered the realm of religious persecution and oppression. For example, banning gay marriage or banning abortions… two examples of religious oppression of people who aren’t conservative or fundamentalist Christians. This is what pisses me off, this is what provokes me into writing about the dangers of religion.
You see, when someone accepts so blindly the idea of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent super being that watches and cares about everything you do, that someone has acted in a dangerous fashion. That very same person could easily be convinced that all Muslims are evil and bad, that all Jews are wrong, that all brown-skinned people aren’t God’s children. I’m not saying that everyone who believes in God is a racist, I’m just pointing out the dangers of religious faith.
Take evolution for example. There really is not reason not to accept evolution as true. It has mountains of evidence, the benefit of being a logical deduction, and has no known alternative. Creation is a faith-based belief, who’s believers accepted the idea without evidence, without a logical argument, without work or study, without questioning or concern. That is a problem. If you are willing to accept such a magical idea so easily, what other ideas are you going to be convinced of?
There is a great disregard for healthy skepticism, and this is what leads us to absurdities like banning abortion and gay marriage and continuing capital punishment. It is also what leads suicide bombers to blow up coffee shops and busses, it is what leads Israelis and Palestinians to continue fighting for thousands of years, it is what bombs abortion clinics, started the crusades and the Spanish inquisition, and is what killed the native Americans.
You just get too sucked into the idea that something that appeals to you is true, without question.
I often say that religion is fine by me as long as it remains personal and not political. But some religions require that to not be the case. How can you believe in something as silly as floating magical beings if no one else believes it? How can you control a mass of people without making them believe that a super powerful being will smite them if they disobey the rules?
This is why I care. I don’t care if you believe in Vishnu, Jesus, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster… I’ll think you’re wrong, but thats just because I know better and I can live my life without unsubstantiated claims. What I do care about is the idea that you’re fact-less and baseless claims dictate how you treat other people and how you alter the freedoms and rights of others. In addition to how you would slow down the progress of science and peace. The sad part is that devoutly religious people (who are usually conservatives) are usually unable to keep their beliefs to themselves and not let it interfere with the happiness of others.
Enjoy.
whereIstand Tags
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