Quote:
Originally Posted by flamesfever
I used to focus on all the evils that were done in the name of religion, until I thought in fairness, I should also give credit for all the good that religion has done.
When you consider the astronomical number of people in the world i.e. 6.5 billion people, it seems to me that we should be marvelling at the amount of stability, rather than focusing on the instability in the world.
In my view, Religion plays a huge part in maintaining that stability. To expect to displace religion throughout the world with atheism IMO is not only unrealistic but may have disastrous consequences.
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Is morality and goodness a religious ideal? If so how does Hell fit in?
When a baby is born into the world they arent religious...they are atheist. The baby's parents teach that child to believe in their choice of dogma or not. Looking at the middle east most of the children are taught to <hate, dislike, kill> those who are not Muslim. In the west the children are taught to <hate, dislike> those who are not Christian. So is that baby who is born into the world a hateful being...or is it taught to hate?
Some children may not have any religion in their upbringing, but have angry parents, poor parents who arent around to provide guidance, or have chemical instabilities that cause negative behaviour. Could be many other issues they are raised with, but overall, baby's are born good, devoid of evil or hate.
Religions force parents into believing that their child cannot be saved unless their choice of theism is foisted upon that child. I think this is child abuse plain and simple. Let the child grow unfettered and clear of mind...let them choose their path without fairytale ideals being presented as real and the devil lurking under their bed.