26th March 2004, 2:13 PM
Religion is hardly restricting human development. It has sparked some of humanity's greatest achievements. One needs only to remember how much of the art of the Renaissance was influenced by religion, or to view the beautiful cathedrals, mosques, and some of the giant Buddha statues to know.
Art, not technology. The Renaissance wasn't the direct result of religious influences. Statues and paintings aren't going to get us to the moon. How can you say that religion doesn't restrict progress! What about Evolution; half the country even today doesn't want Evolution being taught in schools! Wasn't it just sixty years ago that ignorant Creationists OUTLAWED evolution in Tennessee?
Religion is like almost everything else man practices: It has good and bad traits. It has been used for great evil and for great good. It can just as easily inspire creativity, reason, and morality in a person as it can hatred and intolerance. Just because it doesn't go right every time is no reason to get rid of it.
I believe that it was useful once, but no longer. The bad that it has made continues to do outweigh the trivial soundeness of mind it brings. Millions have died for religion. What has been gained...?
---Millions died in forced conversions, crusades, witch hunts, inquistions
---Millions were tortured; i.e. when Columbus cut off the hands of Indians who would not convert in the Caribbean.
---It is a corrupt institution... (at least the Catholic part is.)
---It promotes ignorance.
---Religion promotes hatred: Catholics, many hardliner Christians don't like gays because its against their religion to be with the same sex. This even effects our closet-Christian government!
--Without religion, the Jews wouldn't have suffered because of their beliefs in the Holocaust.
---Today, religion drives the only serious threats to world peace: The Jews vs. the Arabs, and the Muslims vs. the Democracies, which are predominantly all Christian. If religion weren't so broad, there certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as much death and hatred in the world today. 9/11 almost certainly never would've happened.
on the other hand,
---Religion provides some morale standing.
---It makes people happy and comforts them.
Art, not technology. The Renaissance wasn't the direct result of religious influences. Statues and paintings aren't going to get us to the moon. How can you say that religion doesn't restrict progress! What about Evolution; half the country even today doesn't want Evolution being taught in schools! Wasn't it just sixty years ago that ignorant Creationists OUTLAWED evolution in Tennessee?
Religion is like almost everything else man practices: It has good and bad traits. It has been used for great evil and for great good. It can just as easily inspire creativity, reason, and morality in a person as it can hatred and intolerance. Just because it doesn't go right every time is no reason to get rid of it.
I believe that it was useful once, but no longer. The bad that it has made continues to do outweigh the trivial soundeness of mind it brings. Millions have died for religion. What has been gained...?
---Millions died in forced conversions, crusades, witch hunts, inquistions
---Millions were tortured; i.e. when Columbus cut off the hands of Indians who would not convert in the Caribbean.
---It is a corrupt institution... (at least the Catholic part is.)
---It promotes ignorance.
---Religion promotes hatred: Catholics, many hardliner Christians don't like gays because its against their religion to be with the same sex. This even effects our closet-Christian government!
--Without religion, the Jews wouldn't have suffered because of their beliefs in the Holocaust.
---Today, religion drives the only serious threats to world peace: The Jews vs. the Arabs, and the Muslims vs. the Democracies, which are predominantly all Christian. If religion weren't so broad, there certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as much death and hatred in the world today. 9/11 almost certainly never would've happened.
on the other hand,
---Religion provides some morale standing.
---It makes people happy and comforts them.
H.R.M. DARVNIVS MAXIMVS EX TENEBRIS EXIT REX DEVSQVE GORONORVMQVE TENDORVM ROMANORVM ET GRÆCORVM OMNIS SEMPER EST