How can anybody watching the Israel/Hamas fighting see religion as anything other than harmful?

Jews want a land where we can live in peace. What's religious about that?

The European diaspora didn't work out too well for us. When the (relatively tolerant) Ottoman Empire was dismantled (for picking the wrong side in WWI, not for being Muslim), the Middle East became mighty dangerous for us.

It's not faith, it's not deity. It's needing a country with borders that will be open to us.

Why is that too much to ask?

Like anything else man is capable of doing great harm with anything you put in his hand. Wars have been fought over land, money, women, and yes religions.

But the true source of these conflicts are not the things, but mankind's depravity. There is nothing more depraved than war.

You cannot dispose of the depravity by taking away the object of the conflict.

I will give you a for instance, the other day I was in a classroom where a couple of children got into a disagreement over a who could use the magnetics lab next. The argument escalated until the teacher intervened and determined that neither student would be allowed to use the magnetics lab until next week.

One of the children really wanted the lab more than the other, and his eyes burned with hatred at the other child as they took their seats. If I were a betting man, I would wager that the child so filled with hatred plotted the rest of the afternoon on how to exact revenge.

You see even though you remove the object of conflict and you even remove the warriors from the battlefield, you cannot remove the hatred. At least not by physical means.

Man has to discipline himself to not hate other men. I have found that discipline in Christianity. I hope I can help others find it as well.

Hope that helps.

So what would you chalk up Nazi Germany, China, the former Soviet Union, North Korea, Darfur, and other troubled countries and spots in the world to?

Perhaps some people USE religion to promote their political agenda as much as some people using other means to deliver their "message" for power and to support their agenda.

Some use religion, some use Nationalistic pride....perhaps you should read the Bible....no where is there anything except the teaching of peace, love, kindness, compassion for the poor and the old, the weak and the sick.

To feel this way about religion tell me you know little of it. At least Christianity....

You could see religion as other than harmful by educating yourself more. If all you know about religion is from the news media, I'm not surprised you can't see what many other people can see (who have looked into religion more thoroughly).

What is clear to you, is simply scratching the surface of an enormously complex issue for other people.

The fighting in Israel and Gaza (etc etc) is not about religion. It is about land rights and pride. There are plenty of humble Muslims, and humble Jews, and humble Christians. Unfortunately, stories like "Muslims feeds hungry child." "Jew is kind to Christian stranger," and "Humble Christian prays and receives spiritual peace" are just not that sensational as far as headlines go.

I haven't mentioned Hindus or Buddhists, but humble Hindus and Buddhists also benefit greatly (as do the Abrahamic faiths) through the humble, obedient religion that they practice. Only a very few are the militant kind. Note: Pride is the universal sin. Even atheists are guilty of it. But religion teaches humility. It is not religion's fault that some humans will not listen to God's quiet, peaceful voice.... even though He tries so much to touch people's hearts and fill them with love, peace and wisdom.

The conflict is far more deeply rooted in politics, resources, and ethnicity than it is religion. I will admit that religion is the wrapping paper that covers this conflict, but its not the driving force. Believe it or not, there was fighting in the Near East long before Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

I wont make the claim that I "understand" the Near East and its rival cultures, but it is quite ignorant to condense something as profound as the Israel /Hamas conflict into a demonization of religion.

I agree. Hamas wants to remove all land in Israel and turn it into a Muslim theocracy without Jews.

The Hamas Charter:

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."

The Islamic Resistance Movement believes that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgement Day. It, or any part of it, should not be squandered: it, or any part of it, should not be given up. "

"There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors."

religion, really, so where did religion take part in the many deaths that have been seen? Hitler and the killing of Jewish people, etc. so how can you say its about religion and this being harmful? People go to war to protect their ideals.

When was the last time you saw a Christian car bomber? A Jewish suicide bombing of an Embassy? A Coptic kidnapping and ransom demand?

That's right - you haven't! Spoiled Arabs are harmful - the religions they persecute in ther name of their so-called prophet are not.

Depends on whose religion you are talking about. The arabs have a religion of hatred, and their hatred is expressed through their actions.

first answerer does have a point, people would fight anyway. Hitler would have wanted a "master race" anyway, and world war II would have happened, him being Christian or not. The war over oil would still be here, instead of "holy wars".

So it would have happened regardless. :)