I don't buy that all wars have been caused purely by religion, even the Crusades was chiefly about feudalism and controlling very profitable trade routes and resources from the East.
Religion has always been used as a political tool to blindfold the masses into believing that killing other people is the right and correct thing to do and that laying their life down in the name of their God will buy them a ticket to their own personal heaven. This has always been the case from the Mayans, Egyptians, ancient Greeks, Romans, Vikings etc. all ebleiving that laying their life down in war will sercure them a respected place in Heaven, Valhalla, Elysium etc.
Religion is an important part of all societies from the very first primitive communities it was a way of explaining the rain, thunder and lightning, volcanoes, fire, tidal waves etc. and it worked to help people become aware of those dangers but as science has improved so as our understanding of our environment and why these things happen. But still religion evolved as a form of power and politics in which some people latched onto and used it to add controls and constraints to their societies as a form of law and order.
So it's unquestionable to deny that religion hasn't had it uses throughout history, however thesedays I think it's becoming more and more politically driven and is trying to hold society back rather than allow it to advance.
(Religion has always been used as a political tool to blindfold the masses into believing that killing other people is the right and correct thing to do and that laying their life down in the name of their God will buy them a ticket to their own personal heaven. This has always been the case from the Mayans, Egyptians, ancient Greeks, Romans, Vikings etc. all ebleiving that laying their life down in war will sercure them a respected place in Heaven, Valhalla, Elysium etc.
Religion is an important part of all societies from the very first primitive communities it was a way of explaining the rain, thunder and lightning, volcanoes, fire, tidal waves etc. and it worked to help people become aware of those dangers but as science has improved so as our understanding of our environment and why these things happen. But still religion evolved as a form of power and politics in which some people latched onto and used it to add controls and constraints to their societies as a form of law and order.
So it's unquestionable to deny that religion hasn't had it uses throughout history, however thesedays I think it's becoming more and more politically driven and is trying to hold society back rather than allow it to advance.
maiden is filmed before a live studio audience,
Fri 18 May 2012, 11:36,
archived)
sorry youve lost me, how did it help people become aware of those dangers?
(,
Fri 18 May 2012, 11:53,
archived)
Just talking off the top of my head, so feel free to throw that bit away.I suppose it didn't really make people aware of those dangers but tried to explain them probably for some control reasons. "The mountain thunders with fire, give me gold to appease the Gods!" that type of thing.
My main point was that religion as been a part of society since early communities, I kind of get there is a round about sort of way.
(My main point was that religion as been a part of society since early communities, I kind of get there is a round about sort of way.
maiden is filmed before a live studio audience,
Fri 18 May 2012, 11:56,
archived)
There's a good analogy by Douglas Adams where he talks about throwing out the baby with the bathwaterThere were some islands (I forget the name) where they had planted their crops according to the regligious calendar for centuries, then westerners came and laughed at such superstition. They supplied the islanders with new seeds and fertilisers and promised that they would have four or five times the yield if they switched to western methods. And for a couple of years they did have massively high yields, but then they dropped, because the fields were overworked. Eventually they went back to the old "religious" methods because they worked.
Essentially, religions were a good way of codifying things that people needed to know to survive, but they were also a good way of codifying a whole load of bullshit. The trick is to extract the good bits and abandon the rest.
(Essentially, religions were a good way of codifying things that people needed to know to survive, but they were also a good way of codifying a whole load of bullshit. The trick is to extract the good bits and abandon the rest.
emvee cruor deo cruoris,
Fri 18 May 2012, 12:08,
archived)
I can agree with that. I'm not anti-religion per se just the dogmatism aspect of it.whether you could actually separate the two is another issue.
( maiden is filmed before a live studio audience,
Fri 18 May 2012, 12:13,
archived)
If an encyclopedia was wrong 90% of the time, no-one would bother using it.I think it's quicker to just assume it's all bullshit and start again from scratch. All the stuff about being good to each other is pretty much hard-wired in anyway and I'm not going to be planting any crops in the holy land any time soon
(,
Fri 18 May 2012, 13:03,
archived)