Finally, a religion/anti-religion thread.

[One-Eye]

[One-Eye]

[Henrietta]

[Narbus]

[Corey]

[Axtech]

[One-Eye]

[Venom]

[One-Eye]

[emily]

[starvingeyes]

[Galaxia]

[Ray]

Of course God has a sense of humor. Look at the duck-billed platypus.

We express sincere regret over the above-said statement about duck-billed platypi. We did not wish to anger or offend any fans of these stupid little creatures.

And, y'know... I'd like some proof that the state (what? Is this a Nickelback forum? Why does everyone refer to a country that's a united congregation of seperate states -- and, oh, sorry Minnesota, four "Commonwealths" -- that holds communals to achieve a common goal, as "the state"?) has managed to kill more than religion.

If this "state" you refer to happens to be America, you're not counting the thousands of years where misinterpreted statements of the Bible and differences in seperate religions led to deaths of some, few, or many. Overall, I'm sure religion wins out -- by a good margin.

[One-Eye]

[Henrietta]

[Venom]

[One-Eye]

While you're right about the violence attributed to religion, Venom, I don't think that's the whole story.

Religion is a symptom, not the disease. Religion just gives greedy, power-hungry people a moral high ground to stand on while they destroy others. Most wars have religion plastered all over them, but this is only on the surface. Religion is there so that people will feel justified in their actions - that God is on their side. But it's really about territoriality, race, culture, and evolution. The inherent human desire to destroy all those different from oneself, in an attempt to secure the longevity of one's own genetic line. Religion is a byproduct of this, not the cause. Eliminating religion would not eliminate war. War is in our nature, in our genes, part of the very core of being human.

[joe_canadian]

[One-Eye]

Belief is secondary. We believe because we need an excuse. We couldn't live with ourselves if we knew we were killing innocent people in our selfish desire to dominate. So we make up gods who tell us we are righteous, humble, and good when we do these things, and that the people we kill deserved to die because they were evil. It helps us to sleep at night. A perfect example of this is the recent war between America and Iraq. "We are good! We are right! We are fighting for freedom! God bless America! They are bad! They are evil! We will stop them!" Or was it "We are good! We are right! We are fighting for justice! Praise be to Allah! They are bad! They are infidels! We will destroy them!"

Does it matter whether we believe it or not? That's like asking whether or not the gun likes to fire. It's a meaningless question. The result is the same. Religion is a tool, used by the powerful against the weak, and by the human intellect against itself.

As Nietzsche said, "Religion is the opiate of the masses."

[One-Eye]

Disclaimer: The above comment is referring to religion on a wide scale, not to personal faith.