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Is religion really that violent?
It should be noted that not all I state below concerns Atheism, but rather simply the possibility and reality of secular violence vs religious violence.
World Wars I and II claimed more than 80 million casualties, along side the Civil war, Vietnam war, Korean War, Russian war with Afghanistan (nonreligious wars) they claimed more casualties than all the religious wars caused by any or all religions combined.
Incidents of secular authorities targeting religious groups and committing atrocities include the Pol Pot regime.
Deaths under Pol Pot stacked up to 2-5 million. He targeted all major religious groups, western culture and capitalism. He banned all religion under penalty of death and caused the death of millions.
Consider these counts of murder by governments.
61,911,000 Murdered: The Soviet Gulag State
35,236,000 Murdered: The Communist Chinese Ant Hill
20,946,000 Murdered: The Nazi Genocide State
10,214,000 Murdered: The Depraved Nationalist Regime
5,964,000 Murdered: Japan's Savage Military
2,035,000 Murdered: The Khmer Rouge Hell State
1,883,000 Murdered: Turkey's Genocidal Purges
1,670,000 Murdered: The Vietnamese War State
1,585,000 Murdered: Poland's Ethnic Cleansing
1,503,000 Murdered: The Pakistani Cutthroat State
1,072,000 Murdered: Tito's Slaughterhouse
Consider after 1917 the Russian Revolution and when Marxist Atheism attempted to eradicate religion and the 61 million deaths caused in the next 40 years according to Professor Rudolph Rummel in his book 'Death by Government'
Consider that McCarthyism and the blacklists that followed (the ruthless and unreasonable pursuit of all people thought to be communists where people lost their jobs and careers were ruined) the actions of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany are no different than the religious inquisitions.
Also consider the research of Robert Pape a political scientist who specializes in suicide terrorism.
Pape compiled the first complete database of every documented suicide bombing from 1980-2003. He argues that the news reports about suicide attacks are profoundly misleading.
Pape says
"There is little connection between suicide terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism, or any one of the world's religions"
After studying 315 suicide attacks carried out over the last two decades, he concludes that suicide bombers' actions stem from political conflict, not religion.
Consider the statements of David Jack Eller an anthropologist of culture, violence, and religion who himself is an atheist.
"As we have insisted previously, religion is not inherently and irredeemably violent; it certainly is not the essence and source of all violence"
"Religion and violence are clearly compatible, but they are not identical. Violence is one phenomenon in human (and natural existence), religion is another, and it is inevitable that the two would become intertwined. Religion is complex and modular, and violence is one of the modules - not universal, but recurring. As a conceptual and behavioral module, violence is by no means exclusive to religion. There are plenty of other groups, institutions, interests, and ideologies to promote violence. Violence is, therefore, neither essential to nor exclusive to religion. Nor is religious violence all alike... And virtually every form of religious violence has its nonreligious corollary"
"When a pure or hybrid religious group and/or its interests are threatened, or merely blocked from achieving its interests by another group, conflict and violence may ensue. In such cases, although religion is part of the issue and religious groups form the competitors, or combatants, it would be simplistic or wrong to assume the religion is the "cause" of the trouble or that the parties are "fighting about religion". Religion in the circumstances may be more a marker of the groups than an actual point of contention between them"
Don't we glorify people such as soldiers and mercenaries who kill and are killed for the causes of nationalism, liberty, democracy, our way of life? When people do the very same for what is supposedly a religious cause we demonize them and label them as fanatical, irrational, barbaric, violent, evil. When the same actions are done in the name of our way of life we deem them patriots and heroes. When the issue concerns religion it is the opposite, the moral value shouldn't be so completely divided over such a single characteristic.
My only reason in stating this is to say that far more terrible things and far more losses have been incurred to secular nonreligious causes and even our "good ideals" than religion has ever caused.
I am not trying to say Atheism or secularism is violent or evil... I am saying it is unfair and simplistic to attribute violence and evil to the religion and also attribute much greater moral value to Atheistic ideals and Secular
6 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoAtheism/Christianity - without Agenda?
How many Atheists believe and will admit to believing that as Richard Dawkins also says that one cannot be 100% sure that God does not exist?
How many Christians are willing to accept that nonbelievers have the right to disagree and refuse religious beliefs and that nonproven religious beliefs deserve no more consideration that all other nonproven beliefs?
Why so much spirited agenda? Why so much tomfoolery and selfishness? When do people grow up and mature and realize arguments and debates don't change anything that really matters 90% of the time?
How many Christians are willing to accept that many Atheists can find no single good reason to believe in God and they have sincere good reasons for not believing? Why is that so hard for some Christians to accept?
Why can't Atheists admit there is not one shred of evidence that what Christians choose to believe is not a possibility and that they should be afforded the right to believe that?
When do we create a world of acceptance and altruism? A world that truly is able and willing to cast off the shackles of blindness by being willing to understand each other? Both sides have been exceptionally selfish and cruel
9 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoThe Toaster: Proves God exists?
The Toaster a wonderful display of creation and divine intelligence.
Watch as the toaster knows miraculously how to spring the bread at the right time so it doesn't burn. I mean really... this is amazing and also when it does eject the bread harbored in it's heating belly it naturally springs the bread upward in a beautiful ascending direction, like to heaven... who else could have planned it so? It isn't just a perfect picture of the influence of a divine intelligence in our existence? And... if you mess with the dial, not follow recommended guidelines on how to toast bread... the bread is burned... like people are when they do not follow the guidelines for Godly living...
So... what say you. Isn't the toaster just a perfect picture and evidence of God's influence in our world and therefor his existence? Let's try Occams Razor... the simplest and most obvious answer to why the toaster knows when to spring the bread, where to spring the bread (up toward heaven) and if you screw with it you get burned, displays divine intent and it's congruence with biblical theology.
So... the Toaster... Marvel in it's divine genius! A Savantish Masterpiece of work!
Don't you agree? If not... explain.
7 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoAbu Waleed's question on bigotry?
Abu Waleed spent probably about 10 -15 minutes writing a LOOONG question about how he doesn't like Christians because he think's they don't like him... he demonstrated a huge amount of screed and he doesn't know what a bigot actually is. I actually find this hilarious...
Is it spiritually ethical to simply delete his question and why does Abu Waleed not actually know what spiritual bigotry actually is? What should Abu Waleed to learn about this better?
3 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoHave I proved God exists?
If God didn't exist... HE WOULDN'T ALLOW YOU to exist either, right?
And because of that fact... GOD MUST EXIST! right?
What do you think about that?
16 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoCan you survive SSJ5 sex?
Spiritually speaking... could any woman survive sex with someone who is SSJ5? If you don't know what that is then don't answer cus your dumb and don't watch good tv. This is a deeply spiritual question.
7 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoAtheist creed/movement?
Why do some Atheists think that because they are Atheist they are apart of a group or club or system or creed... ?
Atheism is not a club or a creed or group or movement... it's whether or not you believe in a God and there is no other indicative factor.
Atheism doesn't describe anything else about a person, there is no desire, moral value, character trend that comes with being an Atheist. Atheism is indicative on one thing and that is the lack of a God belief... so why do some Atheists think there is some Atheist creed or system?
16 AnswersReligion & Spirituality9 years agoNonspiritual people: What compels you?
What would compel so many self declared nonreligious and nonspiritual people to hang around in a place devoted to discussing spiritualism?
At what point do the actions of those who declare adherence to or identification with certain systems, begin to define that system itself? What is the relevance of a definition that does not account for what has become common, standard traits by means of sheer repetition to absolutely predictable ends?
This is not an attack on the Atheists, not even the mean stupid ones. But really... what about spiritualism fascinates or employs the nonspiritual the extent that it evidently does? When does said foolishness define that very system or state of being?
15 AnswersReligion & Spirituality10 years agoAtheists: What do you miss the most?
Question for previous believers.
Please try to be serious... do you miss anything from your believing years and if so what is it?
I myself found that I missed the happiness can content that my beliefs had brought me, even though I no longer believed those ideas were true. But I still wished I could feel that way again. I did not wish they were true but I wished I could feel the way I did when I believed they were.
Anyone?
27 AnswersReligion & Spirituality10 years agoAtheism/Christianity - without Agenda?
How many Atheists believe and will admit to believing that as Richard Dawkins also says that one cannot be 100% sure that God does not exist?
Why so much spirited agenda? Why so much tomfoolery and selfishness? When do people grow up? This goes for Christians too.
How many Christians are willing to accept that many Atheists can find no single good reason to believe in God and they have sincere good reasons for not believing? Why is that so hard for some Christians to accept?
When do we create a world of acceptance and altruism? A world that truly is able and willing to cast off the shackles of blindness by being willing to understand each other?
12 AnswersReligion & Spirituality10 years agoHow to rally the Colbert Nation?
I want to ask my Lord and Savior... the leader of the Colbert Nation to rally his unstoppable army and destroy the Ashton Kutcher that ruined 2.5 Men and get Charlie back... how do I do this?
1 AnswerComedy10 years agoWould you Could you believe?
For unbelievers only...
If you would, honestly describe the events that would need to take place for you to begin to believe in a God.
If you cannot imagine such an event or if you cannot manage to answer with a legitimate response, do you feel that that discredits the quality of your resolution on the issue?
7 AnswersReligion & Spirituality1 decade agoWhy waste your time on God?
For firm unbelievers only...
Why would you waste your time on God?
If the following assumptions do not correctly apply to you then disregard
Why do you ask questions that you don't expect answers to?
Why do you commit yourself to challenging something that is stupid to begin with?
Why do you spend your time evaluating and criticizing something you don't believe has any truth to begin with?
Why do you spend your time in inquiry to the people you don't expect to have valid answers to your questions?
Why is something so foolish, worth much or any of your time?
Why does your correctness, your found truth... cause you to act so childish and void of valid purpose?
If your resolute and in your resolution you contain a shred of moral quality, why aren't you willing to commit yourself to bettering those who don't understand rather than instigating and playing a petty game? A game that has no potential for change in our community.
5 AnswersReligion & Spirituality1 decade agoDell imaging utility question?
My Dell Inspirion has an alternate drive / imaging utility that allows you return the Harddrive and PC settings to factory condition. Yet when the process runs, the process is termed as "reformatting"
My question is, is this utility imaging or simply reformatting my Harddrive? I want to reimage the harddrive so personal information cannot be recovered, carved out, etc if I ever sell my computer. Supposedly if my harddrive is recovered from an image old files or data cannot be recovered such is not the case if the harddrive is simply formatted or the files are just overwritten.
Is the built in utility imaging or reformatting my drive?
1 AnswerOther - Hardware1 decade agoLadies, would you want to fight?
I know all the regulation blah blah... all I want to know is, from you ladies out there... how many of you want the right to serve in a primarily combat oriented role where your routine and primary mission is to engage hostile enemies in combat?
I don't want info on the regs, or on whether or not it's sexist... I got all that. Ladies raise your hand if you want to go!
5 AnswersMilitary1 decade agoBaking with protein powder or other supplements?
Haha I know this will get a laugh and I am not simply a fat boy trying to add whey protein into his pancakes with extra maple syrup.
Seriously ladies, help me out.
Is it possible to feasably add something like a whey protein powder to food during it's preperation, would it bake or would the heat simply destroy the chemistry and nutrients in the powder?
Example, would it be possible to make healthy, protein powder added bran muffins? Something like that. Shakes get old after a few days... protein muffins would be super!
1 AnswerCooking & Recipes1 decade agoIs America a Christian Nation?
What say you? America..Christian or No Christian?
16 AnswersReligion & Spirituality1 decade ago