The Fool - Isn't "religion is evil" a rather broad statement? Do you really believe ALL religions are inherently evil? Do no religions do any good for the world so that they must all be eradicated?
As for the Crusades: http://www.angelfire.com/ky/dodone/Crusades.html . It took quite long, but I think civilization is slowly maturing -- and so are our religions (despite the fact some seem lodged in the past and are only maturing reluctantly). Looking at the world *today*, can you really say that all of the world's religions *as a whole* ultimately produce more far more bad than good in the world? Remember two things - 1) much of the world's charity is organized/administered by religions and 2) Just as you say that some people commit evil for their god, there are many (and I'd say far more) who commit good for their god. And I'd say the threat/promise of an afterlife that many religions have has a net postive effect. What justifies your absolutism to say religion must be eradicated? Does this absolutism apply to other institutions and facets of life? You never responded to other people's analogous questions, so I'll pose some here: - The Germans committed many evil, terrible atrocities in WWII. Should all Germans today be eradicated? - Alcohol has ruined lives, caused countless deaths, and probably even caused a number of wars. Should alcohol be abolished? - Some people will put forward a fervent case replete with proof that the USA (aka "Great Satan") -or perhpas even all western civilization- is quite evil and should be eradicated. Would you agree? Honestly, I don't think anyone here is strongly debating whether assorted religions are responsible for some evils of the past/present. The thing is that you're overlooking a great many other factors, such as the fact that religions are human institutions and are subject to human fallibilities just like everything else we do. Also, economic factors play/played a big role in much religious zealotry of the present and past. Blaming religion without considering things such as these is only seeing a small part of the picture. -Bryon _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
