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Reload this Page The root of all evil
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Old 01-12-2006, 08:25 AM   #81
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Originally Posted by fatpie42
Richard Dawkins? Well I'm right with you there. He's an arsehole. An embarassment to the humanist community....

You did realise that the title referred to Dawkins programme of the same name rather than being a claim that religion is the "root of all evil". It is also worth noting that Dawkins didn't choose the programme title.
Well that's fine and I agree; but, I bet some of the members here would like to argue that religion is the root of all evil
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Old 01-12-2006, 08:27 AM   #82
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Well that's fine and I agree; but, I bet some of the members here would like to argue that religion is the root of all evil
Yes, I think I could have a pop at that.

Anytime, anyplace.
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Old 01-12-2006, 08:31 AM   #83
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All surgeries carry risk and the overuse of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Try again
No need. They still stand, since the question was: "Can you tell me any idea or thing that people use for good that cannot and has not been used to do something bad?"
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Old 01-12-2006, 08:31 AM   #84
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Originally Posted by singletrack1
So then we're really just arguing semantics?

You might not have the word "evil" without a religious reference but you would still have pain, suffering, and wars. Now, I am a peace loving person and would like to see a world without wars, famine, poverty etc. but I don't agree with Dawkins on how that comes about and I don't see religion causing all of those things either.
The religious connotation of the word is inherently different than the secular one. The religious connotation is that there is a satanic influence behind evil. I'm saying that connotation is responsible for a lot of evil all by itself.

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So you are equating religious belief with all suffering, "evil", death, pestulence, famine, plagues, and mass murder? I know its a favorite argument in these parts but there is a world outside of IIDB and what is referenced here rarely relates to what I see in the world.
No, you've misunderstood. There is evil committed in the name of the religious connotation of the word evil. Religion is the root of that evil. I agree there would be secular evil in the world with or without religion.
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Old 01-12-2006, 10:21 AM   #85
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The religious connotation of the word is inherently different than the secular one. The religious connotation is that there is a satanic influence behind evil. I'm saying that connotation is responsible for a lot of evil all by itself.
Hmm. I think I might actually agree threeB. It really gets under my skin when people blame their bad thoughts and the bad things that they do on satan when they should just blame themselves. I personally do hold a strong belief in the existence of satan and I tend to view the devil as evil or a metaphor for disobeying the good or god.

There is no greater evil than the darkness in our hearts and no devil is required for us to ignore doing the right thing.

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No, you've misunderstood. There is evil committed in the name of the religious connotation of the word evil. Religion is the root of that evil. I agree there would be secular evil in the world with or without religion.
Well I call for the theology of total depravity and satanic influences to lie down and die. Don't know if it will happen, though, but I can hope.
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Old 01-12-2006, 10:24 AM   #86
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Originally Posted by Oolon Colluphid
No need. They still stand, since the question was: "Can you tell me any idea or thing that people use for good that cannot and has not been used to do something bad?"
Antibiotic resistant bacteria is not bad :huh:

Perhaps its my wording but it is Doctors who administer the bacteria when it is not needed or patients not taking the full prescription that causes the result.

But, if you want to get into specifics then it is not fundamental religious belief that is bad but fundamentalist *people* who fly planes into buildings that are bad.
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Old 01-12-2006, 10:25 AM   #87
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Yes, I think I could have a pop at that.

Anytime, anyplace.
So, in your opinion, every bad thing that happens in this world is the result of a religious belief?

How do natural evils fit in with that scenario or are we just talking moral evils here?
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Old 01-12-2006, 04:25 PM   #88
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You also have Christian peacemakers who will put their lives on the line to stand up for the message of peace that they see in the life of Jesus. Google Tom Fox, Harmeet Sooden, and other peacemakers who have been abducted because they find a message of peace and hope in their religious belief system.
These "peacemakers" would carry much more weight if they were inspired by something real.

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The only one who has a petty and niggling belief system of the two of them is Dawkins.
In your view.
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Old 01-12-2006, 04:26 PM   #89
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No that is the definition of religion on IIDB. If people were unwilling to think for themselves all religious believers would hold the same belief system and yet the fact that there are thousands of Christian denominations is a favorite argument against Christianity around here.
Exactly. Showing christians really are unwilling to think for themselves, just to merely believe for themselves.

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You can define religiosity however you like but just realize it does not reference reality as the rest of us see it.
That's the idea.
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Old 01-12-2006, 04:27 PM   #90
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ANYTHING can be harmful and yes I understand that non-religious belief systems can be positive.
That is generous of you.

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Maybe you should read the thread title again and see what I am arguing against
I think many have, but have you?

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Originally Posted by singletrack1
Well that's fine and I agree; but, I bet some of the members here would like to argue that religion is the root of all evil
It could well be...
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