Writers For Change Forum Religion is the Root of All Ev..

In 100 words, argue for or against the motion.

Spirituality is the root of all that is good. Representative of a true connection of an individual soul to a greater power, it is the means by which we learn to rise above the ego and become the best that we can be.

Religion, however, is a man made effort to direct and control individual spirituality. It can be, therefore, the root of much evil.

Stalin was not religious.
Stalin was evil.
Therefore religion is not the root of all evil.

Without religion, nothing could really be classified as evil. We might not even have the word. We would just say that's weird, that's different. ::sleepy::

In a hypothetical world without religion, if you killed my children, I'm not going to say, "That's weird. "or "That's different." I'm going to call it "murder".

Religion didn't give us our concept of right and wrong...People cry when they are hurt...Therefore, making someone cry is considered wrong...Punching someone in the face would probably make them cry...Punching someone in the face is wrong...We don't need religion to tell us that...Stabbing someone hurts, if you hurt someone, naturally they are gonna want to hurt you back...these are the simple principles of nature...religion just formalized these ideas...Religion didn't create or classify evil and non-evil. All it did was set up punishments, and rules to regulate evil...some things are inherently bad

Evil has existed, and will continue to exist, long after religion as we know it has gone the way of the buffalo. Religion is simply the shared practices of persons and groups who adhere to the same ideas about how the spiritual world works. As such it is neither good nor evil. It is the individuals therein, and their choice of action in the world, that make a thing good or evil.

I'll give you an example:
An Episcopalian (please feel free to insert religious group of your choice here, I am not picking on this group in particular. I believe people and groups from Christians to Buddhists have the same capacity for good or evil. I just think the word Episcopalian is nifty.) Anyhow, where was I? Oh, Yes...

An episcopalian man decides that it is his religious duty to donate his time to helping those less fortunate than himself. He volunteers at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen. We can all agree that this is a good thing.

Now, a man from this same group decides to take the old axiom "spare the rod and spoil the child" at face value. In fact he believes it is his duty to beat the evil out of his wife and children. I'm pretty sure we can all agree that this constitutes evil.

Is it the fault of religion that these two men from the same group chose such different interpretations? I think the answer is obvious.

We all need to have hope in something right? its not our fault that religion's were created to cope with these things...and its not (mostly) our fault that religion is corrupt, and tries to brainwash people into submission. Some people truly want change, but some people in religion just want to keep you there, and take your money.
You decide.

i agree with brandon. people do fucked up s**t because they take the idea of a spiritual bond and make it into some bullshit doctrine designed to give them power and regulate the followers.

Religion is the fall guy of humanity. Throughout history mankind has used religion to give into our basest impulses from war to racism to gender bias, but the root of the problem lies in the human psyche. We, as a race, find differences and exploit them, claiming them to be holy causes, but the truth is we fight over power, over land, over resources. Religions reflect humanity not the other way around.

jacob just broke it down for y'all. real s**t. sometimes i think the idea of a higher being is just some s**t we made up to justify our actions. people are fucked up enough to pull some bullshit like that

Evil co-opts religion, turning it viral, a leprosy of reason that slips into even the most logical minds. Under the guise of Divine Duty, Evil rapes, kills, and pillages the innocent, all in the name of God.

::sleepy:: Religion serves greed. The first Christian bishops are those who burned the books of Romes libraries to keep reading for themselves; people had to come to church to hear of history and morality. Eventually, even some priests weren''t allowed to read or to teach it or learn it. This period is called the Dark Ages; ignorant are easier to control by fear alone. In the first 400 years of Christianity, 19 million people were burned alive; men for their estates, women for their knowledge of herbal medicines and preference for the old religions focused on Diana (Mary was deified to replace the goddess.) the old for their uselessness, rebels against the churches encroachment, anyone suggested as a heretic, etc.
The church willingly serves as a cover for imperialistic advancement. They go in first to soften up the population for domination and chain of command rule. Without Christianity, capitalism would not have survived.

In other words... f**k religion, f**k dogmas, f**k every false god and devil.

Religion = man's greatest mistake.

I don't care if you disagree, don't bother trying to change my mind.

=]


-Phoenix