Thursday, August 19, 2010

Is Religious Tolerance Destroying The Earth?

The title is a question that has been asked for generations and is being asked in many circles now. Another one is "Are Religions profitable enough to us or should they be removed?"  I am aware that through the ages Religion has been the biggest supporter of the poorest and neediest amongst us, but that has to be weighed against the high incidence of death that it brings with it now and has brought with it in the past.
Religion has always been like a good drug that has good effects and bad affects. On the one hand it cures the ills of Society while on the other hand it causes more deaths on a daily basis than poverty, in fact Religion is gravely responsible for much of the poverty it helps to alleviate around the world. In many countries the restrictions put on the communities by religion are the said rules that prevent certain conditions that are beneficial to the community.

 One major example is the restriction of women to become educated, which in turn keeps the whole community down. I am sure you have all heard the saying ...If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (community or nation) You also have had in the History of the Earth, many millions of deaths by Religious wars, The Inquisition, The Crusades, The era of Christianization, which spanned hundreds of years and by itself took millions of lives. The Holocaust was as much a Religious duty of Hitler in his eyes, as it was an act or attempt of Genocide. The Iraqi war is view by some to be some kind of twisted continuation of the Crusades by modern Evangelists because we had no reason to attack Iraq before first attacking North Korea and other Regimes who are hostile to us.

One has to decide if the good that Religion has done for the Earth as a whole outweighs the destruction it has done. Religion in my opinion is responsible for the Retardation of the Human race in its quest and destiny of becoming a Space-bound species. We do not have to look further than the Middle East region to see the destruction Religion encourages between one Religious group and the next. Hamas bombs Israel today and Israel retaliates tomorrow. The Kurds, The Shiites, The Sunnis are sometimes warring against each other, The Hindus and the Pakistanis wars and the list goes on... Religion can be seen as the most destructive force on Earth, barring Greed which is inexplicably linked and interwoven into the very fabric itself, of Religion.

We do not even have to go that far to see one Religious group's Bigotry against another, we need only take a look in our own back yard, at the newest religious controversy brewing in New York with the proposed plan to build a Muslim institution in the form of a 13 story building that houses a Museum and many other things...including a place of prayer for Muslims, and other Religions. 

I heard an interesting discussion on a radio program by Patt Morrison, where her guests were Firstly, The Acclaimed Author Sam Harris, co-founder & CEO of Project Reason; author of the books,The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation;  his upcoming book out in October, is The Moral, and Secondly her guest the Acclaimed editor at the Daily Beast and internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions; his latest book is Beyond Fundamentalism: Confronting Religious Extremism In the Age of Globalization. There was a female caller to that program who brought to light the opinion that we could entertain the idea of banning the building of All Religious houses...for various reasons. Her charge was that the Methodist Church was refused a permit to build around the  same area.

I would like to also ask the question of how far away from Ground Zero should Religious Buildings be constructed. Now bear in mind there is a Church within 2 blocks and a Mosque within 4 blocks of Ground Zero, so you have to use these existing buildings as the guidelines for your decision. Perhaps a ban should be placed from building Religious houses of worship any where within a 50 block radius from Ground Zero for ALL religious houses, or maybe for that matter on the entire Island of Manhattan. This is of course after the removal of all existing Religious houses of worship within the boundaries of Manhattan.

It is my humble opinion that 9/11 was a product of Global Religious tensions and it was only a matter of time before it occurred in the location and fashion that it was done. As Technology advances so too we will see this reflected in future attacks upon us. The Earth is being overrun by Religion and the Fanaticism it ultimately produces, this has a profound affect on the way our society thinks and acts toward each other, War being the approved and preferred method of engagement, rather than an engagement of minds and ideas.

 Because of these Wars, we are truly paying for the privilege of having  Religion... with our Blood...literally, with dead and wounded people by the Millions. I think animal sacrifices was a better idea, instead of sacrificing  innocent people... who are victims, termed  "collateral damage" and soldiers in Religious wars. You see the craziness of Religion when you realize that Judaism, Islam and Christianity all come from the same source, and they share certain traits found in Hinduism as well.  Obviously there will be many in agreement and many who disagree with my Building  ban on Religion, but we should respect  each other's right to have an opinion. I invite your thoughts to this dialog...

13 comments:

  1. Being a devout Atheist, I could do without any churches or holy places what so ever. But I know many people believe, just as wouldn't tell my kids there's no Santa, I keep my beliefs to myself. I just want all those places to pay taxes. All that being said, I don't have a single problem of the heath center being built near ground zero. Hell man they'll have a Pool..:-)

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  2. Teeluck you know I am in no way a Biblethumper and this "anti-religious attitude" of mine has largely alienated me from many evangelical members of my family but trying to ban religion is just as vindictive as those bigots ignorantly screaming about Islam being a "cult" or "evil".

    I'm with Sue, I believe in a God but not organized religion. The very last thing we need right now, both in this country and the rest of the world, is further polarization. Starting some secular Crusade will only push people into the hard-line camp who would otherwise be open to working with a more diverse group. Even worse, it will aid those who wear a cloak of religion but only promote hate.

    I humbly throw out the idea that more progressive groups form some sort of entente with the religious types who are trying to help. There are good religious people such as Jimmy Carter, the late Mother Teresa, and a Muslim Pakistani man who on a shoe string budget saves unwanted babies in Pakistan after they have been abandoned. Discounting the good work they do only undercuts their efforts and aids those who only want to see the world burn.

    Yeah, religion can be destructive but humans don't need any God to fight over food, water, and other resources, we primates do quite well on our own with that.

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  3. I think the wars and violence attributed to religion are more about power struggles between different social orders and cultures. Religion is certainly the most volitile fuel poured into the fire, though. Funny how, no matter where the conflict, it seems to center aroung the big three desert/tribal religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. They seem to have the most difficulty getting along with others.

    Speaking of good drugs and religion, I personally like the peyote/mushroom sacraments of Native American spiritualism best. Those folks never go looking for trouble.

    And the world has certainly seen worse prophets than Jerry Garcia.

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  4. "One has to decide if the good that Religion has done for the Earth as a whole outweighs the destruction it has done."

    We could apply the same question to sports, food and medicine, couldn't we?

    To begin with, religion isn't one thing. Just within Christianity, attend the Sunday morning service at your local Roman Catholic and Presbyterian church, then head south for a tent revival and a cult gathering where they handle snakes and speak in tongues. Drastic differences.

    Just as religion isn't one thing, the religious aren't all alike. That applies even among people within the various religions.

    Food can be so mishandled that it's poisonous if eaten. Sports can be played in ways that make them deadly dangerous. Medical malpractice injures people for life and kills some. Religion can be pursued in ways that make it harmful. In none of these cases does doing away with the thing itself make a bit of sense. What must be dealt with is the people who use the various things in ways that make them dangerous and harmful.

    And, people generally must be educated enough and cautious enough that they will have nothing to do with religions, or factions within religions, that are dangerous or harmful.

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  5. Tee... it's a good post. And I do think the 'god' question is the large lesson for the species (homo-homo sapiens). I am good with our Constitution... and the 1st Amendment. This is IS to give every citizen their complete, uncensored rights until the majority vote it out of existence. Thanks so much for joining the discussion on CCRS! I've put you link onto my show page.

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  6. I would like to also ask the question of how far away from Ground Zero should Religious Buildings be constructed. Now bear in mind there is a Church within 2 blocks and a Mosque within 4 blocks of Ground Zero, so you have to use these existing buildings as the guidelines for your decision. Perhaps a ban should be placed from building Religious houses of worship any where within a 50 block radius from Ground Zero for ALL religious houses, or maybe for that matter on the entire Island of Manhattan. This is of course after the removal of all existing Religious houses of worship within the boundaries of Manhattan.

    I recommend no religious anything within 3 blocks. That's the easy-button solution. Great minds, tee, I wrote about that myself this morning :)

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  7. Sue,yes they hate in return, which begs the question...should we tolerate religion without trying to evolve upward?

    Tim, yea don't tell anyone you can be bribed with the pool...and are you sure there is no Santa? After all, we can't prove Lucifer exists either but tell that to the fanatics!

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  8. Beach, yes I agree with you that trying to ban religion is not the way to go, that is why I suggest us evolving as you have, to your understanding that there is a higher power we can connect to without dogmatic religions run by delirious fanatics.

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  9. Dave, yes that trifecta of religion is the problem, one we should not encourage or tolerate, by not trying to find a better solution to the belief of gods.

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  10. S.W, "We could apply the same question to sports, food and medicine, couldn't we?"
    Do we not try to improve on these three as we go along? So evolving to a better understanding that does not adhere to 2000 yr old "wisdom" seems the way to go.

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  11. Gwen, I am in agreement with you about the 1st Amendment. My suggestion is to not tolerate religion festering like a sore on society but finding a cure to it by evolving to a more spiritual understanding. We do not have to look much further than the fanatics to see where religion can lead us.

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  12. Bee, my mind can not even scratch the surface of yours...but I'll try, lol.

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  13. Religion - the prototypical double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can prevent the war of all against all within a society. On the other hand, it can thoroughly promote one between societies. All things well considered, we're better off with reason.

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