« All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom. » ― Albert Einstein
@poligraf With respect to Albert Einstein, religion has caused the greatest pain and bondage of humans throughout history. The belief in a mythical deity has held humans back from evolving and continues today. Religion fuels racism and bigotry.
i'll trust Einstein's wisdom, and my own experience, over anyone's oversimplifications of history…
for one, blaming religion for the misuses of religion makes as much sense as blaming science for pseudoscience… resorting to such aspersions, which are clearly one-sided and counterfactual, suggests prejudice and bias…
@poligraf Religion is a human creation. Religion has very little to do with creating a better world but everything to do with controlling people through fear and subjugation. Jesus, according to the Bible, told people do not go to Church to pray, do it privately and quietly at home. In other words, have your personal beliefs but don't follow a religion.
« In other words, have your personal beliefs but don't follow a religion. »
that is merely your opinion… and clearly, trying tell people what they should do regarding their faith and beliefs is doing exactly what you're wrongly blaming religion of doing…
fact is, it's totally possible to explore and experience religious phenomena without being subject to fear and subjugation… what you're suggesting are only the typical cliched misrepresentations of those who oppose religion…
sure, religious knowledge can be used by to serve agendas, which might include a will to control others, but those are the misuses of religion mentioned earlier… and that can also be said of any knowledge, whether it's deemed religious, scientific, economic, or otherwise…
obviously, religion is man made, but that doesn't diminish it's worth… it's totally legitimate for people to share their experience of the divine intelligence, in small groups, or within larger communities…
as far as having « very little to do with creating a better world, » you might want to reconsider your claim in light of, for instance, the document penned by members of the Parliament of the World's Religions and titled « Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration. »
@poligraf I have no objection to people having discussions about their beliefs, that's a good thing. Religion on the other hand is big business, they pay no tax, is controlling and generally responsible for much of the world's problems. Everything you point out that benefits people can be done without religion. We will just have to agree to disagree. I'm with Woody on this one.
again that's a misrepresentation of what religion actually is… religious phenomena far exceeds and is far more diverse than what you're suggesting here… and again, that some people try to control through religious knowledge doesn't imply that the knowledge itself is problematic…
the claim that religion is « generally responsible for much of the world's problems » is clearly an oversimplified unsubstantiable representation…
siding with counterfactual prejudice doesn't serve anyone…
obviously… still, that doesn't justify pushing misleading memes, counterfactual claims, oversimplifications, misrepresentations, prejudices, and blaming something one misunderstands and dislikes for « much of the world's problem »…
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